Creole and Pidgin Languages

1. Creole and Pidgin Languages Alyssa Burns

2. Creole v. Pidgin • A pidgin language is no one’s native language, but is a mix of multiple languages (Schiffman). • A creole language is created when the pidgin language becomes the native language of a certain area. • Not all pidgins become creoles because there is a chance that the language will die out before it can become the native language. Lexicon- the vocabulary of a language or of an individual

3. Hawaiian Pidgin • This was formed in order for the immigrants to communicate with the Hawaiians. There is still some pidgin used a little today. For example: - akamai – smart, intelligent (which is also a Hawaiian word) - brah – brother - ono – means delicious in Hawaiian, but can mean many other things in pidgin

4. Nigerian/English Pidgin • While some may refer to this as a creole language, it is not considered one because the majority think it’s not their first language, even if many children do learn it early. - “You are coming, right?” - Şe you dey come? or You de come abi? - “Man! That test was hard.” – Nna, that test hard no be small.

5. West African Pidgin English • Referred to Guinea Coast Creole English as well and was used along the West African coast during the period of the Atlantic slave trade. • This was used so that British slave merchants and local African traders could communicate their exchanges. • The majority of the vocabulary came from English; while most of the sounds, grammer, and syntax came from West African Niger-Congo languages. - flog – beat, punish - dek - floor

6. Jamaican Creole • This is an “English-lexified creole language” that originated with West African influence. • The language came about when slaves from West and Central Africa learned the English that their owners spoke, and thus the Jamaican Patois was born. • Although, in the Patois there are no past tense forms like –ed or –t, but preverbial particles en and a. - /mi ɹon/ - I ran - /mi a ɹon/ or /mi de ɹon/ - I am running

7. Louisiana Creole • This language contains aspects of French, Native American, Spanish, and West African languages. • Definite articles vary between the le, la, and les which occur in French, as well as a and la for the singular and yé for the plural. - Hello - Bonjou – Bonjour - How are things? - Konmen lé-z'affè? - Comment vont les affaires?

8. Haitian Creole • Haitian Creole and French are considered the official languages of Haiti. • This is based on 18th to 21st century French, some African languages, Arabic, Spanish, Taíno, and English. - The books-Liv yo – Les livres - The cars – Machin yo – Les machines - The girls put on dresses – Fi yo mete rob – Les filles mettent les robes Taíno – pre-columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the Lesser Antilles.

9. Significance to Linguistics • Not many undergraduates will have a course devoted solely to pidgins and creoles.(Sebba). • These can be considered a way of knowing because as Sapir believed, language and the thoughts that we have are effected by the confines of our language. • The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis- language shapes our ideas and people cannot think outside of their language. • These confines create many different world views and perceptions. Creole and pidgin languages could in part be a solution to this problem because it brings two languages together.

10. Work Cited • Schiffman, Harold. "Pidgin and Creole Languages." 25 Mar. 1997. Web. 06 Apr. 2011. <http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/messeas/handouts/pjcreol/node1.html>. • "Eye of Hawaii - Pidgin, The Unofficial Language of Hawaii." Eye of Hawaii - Your Complete Guide to the Big Island, Kona to Hilo. Web. 06 Apr. 2011. <http://www.eyeofhawaii.com/Pidgin/pidgin.htm>. • Sebba, Mark. "The Teaching of Pidgin and Creole Studies | Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies." Homepage | Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://www.llas.ac.uk/resources/gpg/2784>.