Is phonology different? Untangling a discrepancy in the “simplicity hypothesis”

[a] If not exactly “right”, work like McWhorter (2001a) touches upon something noteworthy. [b] Even if we only go so far as to say creoles are “locally simple” (Plag 2008:117), we’re still dealing with something pretty important. [c] Even if we weaken the claim further to limit it to “canonical” creoles, it’s still something to take note of. [2]The current state of the evidence suggests, in fact, we probably don’t need to weaken the claim (Parkvall 2008). [3]Framing the question