Abstract:
In their typological survey of pidgins, Parkvall and Bakker (2013)
observe that pidgin discourse is characterized by an exceptionally low type-token ratio. Taking this observation as its starting
point, the present paper examines the type-token ratio in Lingua Franca, a contact language traditionally classified as a pidgin.
The study is based on a unique mini-corpus consisting of parallel translations in Lingua Franca and four comparator languages:
Italian, Spanish, French and English. The paper shows that the type-token ratio of the Lingua Franca variety reflected in the
mini-corpus matches, and in parts surpasses, those of its Romance lexifiers and English. The study expands our knowledge of the
basilect/acrolect distinction in Lingua Franca and contributes to the discussion about the role of lexical diversity in the
typological categorization of contact languages.