Pidgin Languages

Pidgin Languages

Definitions • Pidgin is a reduced language that results from extened contact between groups of people with no language in common; it evolves when they need some means of verbal communication,perhaps for trade. It is the native language of no-one, but it is nontheless a main means of communication for millions of people. (Holm, 2000: 5)

• Pidgins are lexically derived from other languages, but structurally simplified. They came into being where people need to communicate but do not have language in common. Pidgins have no (or few) native speakers.

No language in common Historically Trade Colonialization Slavery Geographically Different language families Socio-cultural SUPERstratum SUBstratum

No language in common L1/L2 Pidgin

Language 1 Superstratum (Lexifier language)

Language 2 Substratum

No native speakers PIDGIN

n o ti a z li o cre

PIDGIN DISAPPEARED

decreolization

CREOLE (nativized pidgin)

Post-creole continuum

STANDARD

Simplified Phonological Morphological Syntactic Semantic Pragmatic

Phonological level • Number of phonemes is small • many acceptable pronunciations Machine /mɑ’sɪn/,/mɑ’ʃɪn/,/mɑ’tʃɪn/ • Voiced plosives become voiceless at the end of the word /pig/ - /pik/ • plosive element is lost after nasal /hænd/-/hæn/ • Using few basic vowels as posible /maiself/- /miself/

Morphological level • Lack of inflections • Reduplication for plurals, intesifying adv, superlatives blak ‘black’ blakblak ‘very black’ gaan ‘big’ gaangaan ‘very big’ daag ‘dog’ daagdaag ‘many different dogs’ fiIl ‘to fill’ fiIlfiIl ‘to fill entirely’

Syntactic level • Case, tense, mood and voice are generally absent from pidgins. • Reduced set of propositions and conjunctions • AB grid for representing features A

B

AB

A

B

AB

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+

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+

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Im did tayad 3sg PAST tired He was tired mi did de de 1sg PAST copula there I was there

Akosua re-su Akosua PROG-cry Akosua is crying a da listen to you 1sg PROG listen to 2sg I am listening to you

Semantic level • Small vocabularies • methaphorical extension is necessary Haus sik Haus moni Sit haus Sop Sop bilong tit Sop bilong gras Hongri tumoch Ogli Aredi

Pragmatic level • Limited to a single variety of code • Pidgin doesn’t have rich variety of language styles

References • Hymes, Dell (ed.) (1971) Pidginization and Creolization of Languages. Proceedings of Conference Held at the University of the West Indies Mona, Jamaica, April 1968. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Jacques A., Muysken P., Smith N. (1995). Pidgins and Creoles - An Introduction. John Benjamins Publishing Company • Edward Finegan and John R. Rickford(eds.). Language in the USA: Themes for the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2004 • Shelome A. Gooden, (2003) The phonology and phonetics of Jamaican Creole reduplication.The Ohio State University • Yule G. (2010)- The study of language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press