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The status of functional categories (henceforth fc) and their projections is currently a topic of vigorous debate in the field of syntactic theory as well as in first language acquisition research. In this paper I investigate the development and acquisition of INFL in Kréol Morisyen (KM). I argue that the development of INFL in KM can be explained by principles of first language acquisition with restricted input.
In the first part of the paper I analyze INFL in to-date KM. As already proposed in Adone (1990) KM does not have verbal morphology which results into no verb-movement to I. Tense, modality and aspect are not marked on the verb. I propose that they are lexical categories which have been reinterpreted as functional categories during creolization. In the second part of the paper I focus on the acquisition data in KM and other L1 acquisition studies. The data are based on the development of null subjects, TMA markers and serial verb constructions in KM.
I further explore the consequences of these findings for the model of creole genesis. I propose that the absence of lexical subjects, the appearance of TMA markers and the serial verb constructions are all linked to the strength of the fc INFL and the setting of the verb movement parameter. They are a consequence of acquisition. My analysis provides strong support for the view that Universal Grammar plays a central role in creolization.
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