John McWhorter challenges an enduring paradigm among linguists in   this provocative exploration of the origins of plantation creoles. Using a   wealth of data--linguistic, sociolinguistic, historical--he proposes that the   "limited access model" of creole genesis is seriously flawed. That model   maintains that plantation creole languages emerged because African slaves   greatly outnumbered whites on colonial plantations. Having little access to the   slaveholders' European languages, the slaves were forced to build a new language   from what fragments they did acquire. Not so, says McWhorter, who posits that   plantation creole originated in West African trade settlements, in interactions   between white traders and slaves, some of whom were eventually transported   overseas.    The evidence that most New World creoles were imports traceable to West   Africa strongly suggests that the well-established limited access model for   plantation creole needs revision. In forcing a reexamination of this basic   tenet, McWhorter's book will undoubtedly cause controversy. At the same time, it   makes available a vast amount of data that will be a valuable resource for   further explorations of genesis theory.

The Missing Spanish Creoles: Recovering the Birth of Plantation Contact PDF

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