Pidgin

For the bird, see pigeon. For the instant messaging client, see Pidgin (software).

Inscription in Hawaiian Pidgin (New Testament, Mark 1:9-11)

Pidgin (or pidgin language) is a simplified language that evolves to make communication easier between groups with no common language. Pidgin uses a combination of different languages, simplified grammar, and reduced vocabulary. This makes it easier to learn and use.

A door sign in Melanesian Pidgin at a Papua New Guinea hotel

Usually, pidgin languages develop for a specific purpose, like trade. They often emerge through slavery and/or colonization. When people speak a pidgin as their first language, it evolves naturally into a Creole language.

The term "pidgin" originates from the Chinese word pídīng, meaning "business" or "trading."

Features

To make communication easier, pidgin languages often have elements (like vocabulary and basic grammar) that come from from multiple languages.

Pidgins are typically used in specific situations (like trade), and not as first languages. Pidgin speakers usually maintain their native, non-pidgin languages. For this reason, pidgins are not as complex or stable as fully developed languages.

Pidgin and Creole languages

Pidgin languages develop before Creole languages.

A Creole road sign in Belize. Pidgins naturally develop into Creoles when spoken as first languages

Pidgin vs. Creole

Pidgin

Pidgin languages are simplified so it is easier to learn and use them. They have:

• Simplified grammar
• Reduced vocabulary
• Elements from multiple languages

Over time, as pidgin languages become more stable and are passed on to the next generation as a native language, they can evolve into creole languages.

Creole

Creoles are fully developed languages with their own grammar, vocabulary, and syntax. They often include elements from the pidgin's parent languages, but they also have their own unique features.

Creole languages arise when children speak pidgin as their first language and use it for all purposes - not just its original purpose (like trade). Thus, pidgin languages serve as simplified contact languages for immediate communication. However,

Fur Traders in Canada (1777). They are probably using a pidgin to trade with Native Americans

Creolization

Pidgins become Creole languages when they become more stable, and when there are native speakers who use pidgin as their first language.

As pidgin languages are passed down through generations, they undergo a process of creolization. This means they develop more complex grammatical structures, expanded vocabulary, and clearer phonological features.

This process of creolization often occurs over generations as children learn the pidgin as their first language. As it is used regularly, the language evolves naturally.

History

English sailors and traders in the 18th century used pidgin to communicate with Chinese merchants.

As colonial powers expanded their influence, pidgin languages emerged around the world, including the Pacific Islands, Africa, and the Caribbean. They often developed as a result of interactions between indigenous peoples, Europeans, and enslaved Africans. Pidgin languages made it possible for these people to communicate with each other without first learning each other's languages.

Countries that use pidgin

Countries that use pidgin languages as their official languages include Papua New Guinea, Jamaica and some other Caribbean and Central American countries:

Country	Creole-Type	Amount Of Speakers	Main Language(s)
Haiti	Haitian Creole (Kreyòl Ayisyen)	90-100%	French
Jamaica	Jamaican Patois (Jamaican Creole)	90-95%	English
Trinidad and Tobago	Trinidadian Creole English (Trinidadian Creole or Trini Talk)	~90+%	English
Seychelles	Seychellois Creole (Kreol Seselwa)	N/A (no number figure) [widely spoken]	English/French
Mauritius	Mauritian Creole (Kreol Morisien)	80-90%	English/French
Guadeloupe	Guadeloupean Creole French	~90+%	French
Martinique	Martinican Creole French	~90+%	French
Cape Verde	Cape Verdean Creole (Kriolu)	N/A (no number figure) [widely spoken]	Portuguese
Sierra Leone	Krio	N/A (no number figure) [widely spoken]	English
Suriname	Sranan Tongo	85%	Dutch
Papua New Guinea	Tok Pisin (Pidgin English)	50 - 60%	Tok Pisin
Saint Lucia	Saint Lucian Creole French	95%	English
Antigua and Barbuda	Antiguan Creole English	95%	English
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Vincentian Creole English	99%	English
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Kittian Creole English	no number figure	English
Dominica	Dominican Creole English	100%	English
Honduras	N/A (no number figure) [widely spoken]	no number figure	Spanish
Colombia	N/A (no number figure) [widely spoken]	no number figure	Spanish
Costa Rica	N/A (no number figure) [widely spoken]	no number figure	Spanish
Belize	Kriol	~50%	English

*Language data changes daily and should not be used as exact numbers

Examples

Creole phrases

• "Mwen renmen ou" (Haitian Creole) - "I love you"
• "Mi famili come lebon" (Tok Pisin) - "My family is good"
• "Mi go fit gari" (Nigerian Pidgin) - "I will eat gari"
• "Nou ka manje manje" (Seychellois Creole) - "We are eating food"
• "Mi papa bin sabi book" (Cameroonian Pidgin) - "My father knows how to read"

Pidgin phrases

• "Me like go market" (Nigerian Pidgin) - "I want to go to the market"
• "You come yesterday?" (Tok Pisin) - "Did you come yesterday?"
• "Mi no sabi speak English well" (Cameroonian Pidgin) - "I don't know how to speak English well"
• "Him big pass you" (Jamaican Patois) - "He is bigger than you"
• "Mi want chop" (Sierra Leonean Krio) - "I want to eat"

Sources

• Bakker, Peter (1994), "Pidgins", in Arends, Jacques; Muijsken, Pieter; Smith, Norval (eds.), Pidgins and Creoles: An Introduction, John Benjamins, pp. 26–39, ISBN 978-1556191695
• Thomason, Sarah; Kaufman, Terrence (1988), Language Contact, Creolization, and Genetic Linguistics (first ed.), Berkeley: University of California Press, ISBN 978-0520078932
• Todd, Loreto (1990), Pidgins and Creoles, Routledge, ISBN 978-0415053112