ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the empirical comparison between Kriol and Dalabon has successfully identified a number of loci of convergence or divergence between the two languages, evaluating these on the basis of comparable corpora. This includes for example quantifying the influence of lexical resemblances upon the production of structurally equivalent messages; testing whether expressing compassion via a prosodic contour, a morphological diminutive or an interjection modifies the extent to which compassion is communicated. The comparison between Kriol and Dalabon suggests that ‘culture’ is the leading force, at least in a socially oriented domain like emotions. The roots of this attachment can be emotional and aesthetic. Each language in the world has its unique sonority, which can never be matched by any other one, and for its speakers encapsulates a life of memories. Language maintenance is also political.
