Pidgins

Question 1

What is a pidgin a combination of?

Answer 1

Two or more languages

Question 2

Why do Pidgins exist?

Answer 2

To fulfil restricted communication needs

Question 3

What sort of circumstances do Pidgins develop in?

Answer 3

Situations such as trade and slavery which force people from different backgrounds together who don’t share a common language.

Question 4

Which language is usually the more “dominant” one?

Answer 4

Usually it’s the language used by the people with the greatest social and economic power

Question 5

What is the “main” language used called?

Answer 5

The lexifier

Question 6

When are Pidgins used?

Answer 6

Only for means of communication with people who don’t share a same language as you. Because of this there are NO NATIVE SPEAKERS of Pidgin languages.

Question 7

What are the main features of language that Pidgins take from their lexifier?

Answer 7

Mainly vocabulary and some grammar but it is very limited

Question 8

Are people who speak the languages which a Pidgin has evolved from able to understand?

Answer 8

Not usually, as they would need to have experienced it a bit first

Question 9

What are the basic features of Pidgin languages?

Answer 9

Limited vocabulary (few function words)
Simplified grammar (only one verb form)

Question 10

Who is a theorist of Pidgins and Creoles?

Answer 10

Loretta Todd

Question 11

Examples of simplified grammar

Answer 11

• reduced inflections (e.g. go but no goes, going etc)
• verb forms and nouns don’t change
• regularising ~ no irregular verbs etc
• drop of inessential features (articles)

Question 12

What can happen to some Pidgin languages?

Answer 12

They die out, due to the communication need no longer needed

Question 13

Why might these communication needs die out?

Answer 13

When two countries stop trading with one another

Question 14

What happens the more the Pidgin language is needed?

Answer 14

The more it will grow and therefore the more complex it will become

Question 15

What could be argued about the English language?

Answer 15

It was originally a Pidgin as the language has had many influences such as the Vikings and the Anglo Saxons which resulted in simplified inflections.

Question 16

Although some Pidgins may “die out” what can happen in other circumstances?

Answer 16

They expand and become more complex and become “proper” languages in themselves

Question 17

Where are Pidgin languages popular?

Answer 17

In multicultural communities

Question 18

What is the most studied example of Pidgin?

Answer 18

Tok Pisin

Question 19

What does “Tok Pisin” mean?

Answer 19

Talk Pidgin

Question 20

Where is Tok Pisin spoken and where did it derive from?

Answer 20

Papua New Guinea from varieties of English spoken in the Pacific region (19th century)

Question 21

What has happened to Tok Pisin overtime?

Answer 21

Children started to acquire it as their first language

Question 22

What is the name when new generations start to use the Pidgin as their first language?

Answer 22

Creolization

Question 23

What is Creolization?

Answer 23

When a Pidgin is used more extensively and it becomes the first language of new generations, the Pidgin becomes a Creole

Question 24

Examples of Tok Pisin vocabulary:

Answer 24

mi = i, me
askim = to ask
antap = ontop 
dok = dog
col = cold
het = head