Pidgin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Not to be confused with Pigeon. For the instant messaging client, see Pidgin (software).

A pidgin (pronounced /ˈpɪdʒɪn/) language is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most
commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the country in which they reside (but where there is no common language
between the groups). Fundamentally, a pidgin is a simplified means of linguistic communication, as it is constructed impromptu, or by convention, between groups of people. A pidgin is not the
native language of any speech community, but is instead learned as a second language.[1][2] A pidgin may be built from words, sounds, or body language from multiple other languages and
cultures. Pidgins usually have low prestige with respect to other languages.[3]

Not all simplified or "broken" forms of a language (patois) are pidgins. Each pidgin has its own norms of usage which must be learned for proficiency in the pidgin.[4]

Etymology

The origin of the word pidgin is uncertain. The first time pidgin appeared in print was in 1850 and there are many sources from which the word may be derived. For example:

• The Chinese pronunciation of the English word business.[5]

• English pigeon, a bird sometimes used for carrying brief written messages, especially in times prior to modern telecommunications.[6]

[edit] Terminology

The word pidgin, formerly also spelled pigion,[5] originally used to describe Chinese Pidgin English, was later generalized to refer to any pidgin.[7] Pidgin may also be used as the specific name
for local pidgins or creoles, in places where they are spoken. For example, the name of Tok Pisin derives from the English words talk pidgin. Its speakers usually refer to it simply as "pidgin"
when speaking English.[citation needed]

The term jargon has also been used to describe pidgins, and is found in the names of some pidgins, such as Chinook Jargon. In this context, linguists today use jargon to denote a particularly
rudimentary type of pidgin;[8] however, this usage is rather rare, and the term jargon most often refers to the words particular to a given profession.

Pidgins may start out as or become trade languages, such as Tok Pisin. Trade languages are often full blown languages in their own right such as Swahili. Trade languages tend to be "vehicular
languages", while pidgins can evolve into the vernacular.[clarification needed]

[edit] Common traits among pidgin languages

Since a pidgin language is a fundamentally simpler form of communication, the grammar and phonology are usually as simple as possible, and usually consist of:[citation needed]

• Uncomplicated clausal structure (e.g., no embedded clauses, etc)

• Reduction or elimination of syllable codas
• Reduction of consonant clusters or breaking them with epenthesis
 • Basic vowels, such as [a, e, i, o, u]
• No tones, such as those found in West African and Asian languages
• Use of separate words to indicate tense, usually preceding the verb
• Use of reduplication to represent plurals, superlatives, and other parts of speech that represent the concept being increased
• A lack of morphophonemic variation

[edit] Pidgin development

The creation of a pidgin usually requires:

• Prolonged, regular contact between the different language communities

• A need to communicate between them
• An absence of (or absence of widespread proficiency in) a widespread, accessible interlanguage

Also, Keith Whinnom (in Hymes (1971)) suggests that pidgins need three languages to form, with one (the superstrate) being clearly dominant over the others.

It is often posited that pidgins become creole languages when a generation of children learn a pidgin as their first language, a process that regularizes speaker-dependent variation in grammar.
Creoles can then replace the existing mix of languages to become the native language of a community (such as the Chavacano language in the Philippines, Krio in Sierra Leone, and Tok Pisin
in Papua New Guinea). However, not all pidgins become creole languages; a pidgin may die out before this phase would occur (e.g. the Mediterranean Lingua Franca).

Other scholars, such as Salikoko Mufwene, argue that pidgins and creoles arise independently under different circumstances, and that a pidgin need not always precede a creole nor a creole
evolve from a pidgin. Pidgins, according to Mufwene, emerged among trade colonies among "users who preserved their native vernaculars for their day-to-day interactions". Creoles,
meanwhile, developed in settlement colonies in which speakers of a European language, often indentured servants whose language would be far from the standard in the first place, interacted
extensively with non-European slaves, absorbing certain words and features from the slaves' non-European native languages, resulting in a heavily basilectalized version of the original
language. These servants and slaves would come to use the creole as an everyday vernacular, rather than merely in situations in which contact with a speaker of the superstrate was necessary.[9]

Pidgin and Creole Languages

Originally thought of as incomplete, broken, corrupt, not worthy of serious attention. Pidgins still are marginal: in origin (makeshift, reduced in structure), in attitudes toward them (low
prestige); in our knowledge of them.

Some quick definitions:

1. Pidgin language (origin in Engl. word `business'?) is nobody's native language; may arise when two speakers of different languages with no common language try to have a makeshift
conversation. Lexicon usually comes from one language, structure often from the other. Because of colonialism, slavery etc. the prestige of Pidgin languages is very low. Many pidgins
are `contact vernaculars', may only exist for one speech event.
2. Creole (orig. person of European descent born and raised in a tropical colony) is a language that was originally a pidgin but has become nativized, i.e. a community of speakers claims it
as their first language. Next used to designate the language(s) of people of Caribbean and African descent in colonial and ex-colonial countries (Jamaica, Haiti, Mauritius, Réunion,
Hawaii, Pitcairn, etc.)
3. Relexification The process of substituting new vocabulary for old. Pidgins may get relexified with new English vocabulary to replace the previous Portuguese vocabulary, etc.
EXAMPLES

English-based creole languages

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

An English-based creole language (often shortened to English creole) is a creole language that was significantly influenced by the English language. Most English creoles were formed in
British colonies, following the great expansion of British naval military power and trade in the 17th,18th and 19th centuries.

[edit] Notable examples

• Atlantic
o Western
 Jamaican Patois: Not to be confused with Jamaican Standard English, which is a dialect of English. Jamaican Patois (sometimes called Jamaican
Creole) is an English-based creole language spoken in Jamaica. It represents a history of contact among many different types of speakers drawn
from many ethnic, linguistic, and social backgrounds. Jamaican Patois is the dominant language in Jamaica and gaining in prestige. Jamaican Creole
was introduced to Central America with the migration of plantation workers and is related to dialects very similar to each other including Bocas del
Toro Creole in Panama and Limonese Creole and Colón Creole spoken in coastal Costa Rica, which Ethnologue considers as dialects of Jamaican
Patois. [1].
 Belizean Kriol: Most live in Belize City, but nearly everyone else in Belize is either a first- or second-language speaker of Kriol. It is the lingua franca
in much of the country. Also spoken in USA. Reported to be very close to Mískito Coast, and Islander (San Andrés) creoles. Historically an extension
of Mískito Coast Creole. Dahufra was a creole used in the 16th to 18th centuries. Jamaican Patois is different in orthography and grammar. Timber;
agriculturalists; fishermen; industrial workers; construction industry; commerce; government, teachers [2].
 Miskito Coastal Creole in Nicaragua
 San Andrés-Providencia Creole in Colombia
o Eastern
 Northern
 Afro-Seminole Creole
 Bahamian Creole: an English-based creole, widely spoken in the Bahamas
 Turks-Caicos Creole is an English-based creole, widely spoken throughout in the Turks and Caicos Islands, with each island having a different
variation.
 Gullah: Gullah is an English-based creole spoken in the Sea Islands and the adjacent coastal regions of South Carolina, Georgia and northern
Florida.
 Southern
 Anguillan Creole
  Antiguan Creole: spoken in Antigua and Barbuda
 Bajan
 Grenadian Creole
 Guyanese Creole: Spoken throughout Guyana and similar to Jamaican Patois (see below), but with a different accent and some word
substitutions; probably due to the greater Indo-Guyanese influence. The language varies across the regions within the country.
 Montserrat Creole
 Netherlands Antilles Creole: Spoken in Saint Martin, Sint Eustatius and Saba.
 Saint Kitts Creole: Spoken in Saint Kitts and Nevis.
 Saint Martin Creole: Spoken in Saint Martin.
 Tobagonian Creole: Spoken in Tobago.
 Trinidadian Creole: Spoken in Trinidad.
 Virgin Islands Creole: Spoken in the Virgin Islands.
Note: Ethnologue considers Anguillan Creole, Antiguan Creole, Montserrat Creole and Saint Kitts Creole as dialects of the same language. Ethnologue also
considers Netherlands Antilles Creole and Virgin Islands Creole as dialects of the same language.

o Krio
 Krio: Spoken in Sierra Leone.It is spoken all over sierra leone and bears similarity to Nigerian Pidgin. It is mutually intelligible with Nigerian Pidgin
and Jamaican patois.
 Nigerian Pidgin: While rudimentally spoken all over Nigeria, English is the accepted language of transaction and communication. The Nigerian
Pidgin dates back to the colonial era, where locals were hired to work with the British colonials and ended up developing it to the Creole language it
is today.
 Aku
 Cameroonian Pidgin English, Kamtok, or Cameroonian Creole: is a linguistic entity of Cameroon. It is also known as Kamtok. Two varieties are
Limbe-Krio and Grafi. Cameroonian Pidgin English is an English-based creole language. About 5% of Cameroonians are native speakers of the
language.
 Kreyol: is spoken in Liberia, and has English and French as superstrate languages, with several West African languages as substrate.
o French Guiana
 Aluku mainly in Maripasoula
 Fernando Poo Creole: Initially spoken in Fernando Po, Spanish Guinea(modernly known as Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea) by Krio Fernandinos who
descended from Sierra Leone Krio people and was used for trade communications.
 Pichinglis: This dialect was initially spoken by, and introduced to Fernando Po, Spanish Guinea (modernly known as Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea)
by Igbo and Ibibio immigrants from Nigeria. The language became prominent among other inhabitants, and was used as a trade language. It's
likely that Pichinglis and Fernando Poo Creole merged to form the English-based Creole dialects spoken on Bioko Island today.
o Suriname
 Jamaican Maroon Spirit Possession Language
 Aluku in Suriname and mainly in French Guiana
 Ndyuka
 Sranan Tongo: in Suriname.
• Pacific
o Australian Kriol: Also known as Roper River Creole, has become the major non-English language among Aboriginal Australians with over 10,000 first
language speakers.
 o Related English-based creoles Bislama, spoken in Vanuatu; Pijin, in the Solomon Islands; Torres Strait Creole, spoken by Torres Straits Islanders. Tok Pisin,
spoken throughout Papua New Guinea, has English as its superstrate language and various Papuan languages providing grammatical and lexical input.
o Hawaiian Pidgin: Hawaiian Pidgin began as a pidgin used in the early European colonization of the Hawaiian Islands. English served as the superstrate
language, with Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Portuguese, and Hawaiian elements incorporated. Children started using it as a lingua franca, and by the
1920s it had creolized and become a language of Hawaii, as it still is today.
o Not a creole but a pair of dialects that developed out of a Cant, Pitkern and Norfuk, spoken by the inhabitants of the Pitcairn Islands and Pitcairnese
migrants in Norfolk Island, formed from an 18th century dialect of English with 5% of its vocabulary taken from the Tahitian language to form the Mixed
language known as Pitkern, or Norfuk in Norfolk Island.
• Saramaccan
o Saramaccaans, or Saamáka
• South-east Asia
o Coño English: a mixed language in the Philippines based on American English, and is used among Filipinos of partial or whole European ancestry. It is
primarily English as it is spoken in the United States with a few insertions of Spanish, Tagalog, and Hokkien Chinese. Initially classified as codeswitching,
Cono English has achieved acceptance among Eurasians and Amerasians in the Philippines as an everyday form of communication.
o Singlish/Manglish: a creole spoken in Singapore and Malaysia by many Singaporeans and Malaysians. Although most Singaporeans/Malaysians are
educated in formal English, Singlish/Manglish is widely used especially in an informal context. It is heavily influenced by Chinese dialects such as Hokkien
Chinese as well as Malay and Tamil

Arabic-based creole languages

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

An Arabic-based creole language, or simply Arabic creole is a creole language which was significantly influenced by the Arabic language.

The main Arabic creoles are:

• Nubi: An Arabic-based creole spoken by descendants of Sudanese soldiers mainly in Kenya and Uganda, formed in the nineteenth century from a Sudanese Arabic-based pidgin used for
intercommunication among Southern Sudanese ethnic groups.

• Juba Arabic: An Arabic-based pidgin or creole, spoken mainly in Equatoria Province in Southern Sudan

• Babalia Creole Arabic: A Shuwa Arabic-based creole spoken in 23 villages of the Chari-Baguirmi Prefecture in southwestern Chad; the substrate language was Berakou.