Language Contact Pidgins Creoles Regional Dialects Minority Dialects

Language Contact

Pidgins Creoles Regional Dialects Minority Dialects Indigenized Varieties

PIDGINS & CREOLES Chinese for ‘business’ Portuguese ‘crioulo’ • Note that the words "pidgin" and "Creole" are technical terms used by linguists, and not necessarily by speakers of the language. • For example, speakers of Jamaican Creole call their language "Patwa" (from patois) and speakers of Hawai`i Creole English call theirs "Pidgin. "

Pidgins & Creoles • Pidgin – A s implified and distinct linguistic code Pidgin (language? ) that helps facilitates trading in settings where 2 or more languages come together. • Creole – Creole Created by the children of pidgin speakers with its own grammar. A common primary means of communication (not just for trade, and not secondary, like pidgins) in situations where the speakers in contact are in need of communication

Pidgin Characteristics • A (creative) mixture of the languages in contact – Words often from dominant language – Structural features often from the ‘dominated’ or subordinate language • NOT a broken down, baby, lazy, NOT dumb, corrupt language…

Pidgin Characteristics (cont’d) • Reduced grammatical structure – Phonology: -CV syllable preferred – Morphology: -Poor affixation – Syntax: -Reduplication is common -SVO pattern preferred -Articles usually omitted (morpho-syntactic? ) – Pragmatics: -Narrower range of functions (than others) – Lexicon: -Limited vocabulary – Semantics: -Semantic extensions (‘grass’ in Korean Bamboo Eng)

Possible outcomes of Pidgins • Die out (when original reason for Die out communication diminishes or disappears) • Develop to more formal roles (lingua Develop to more formal roles franca); which is called an ‘expanded pidgin’ • Develop into a creole

Creoles’ characteristics (Traditionally) ‘pidgins adopted as the native language’ • Often have a (pre)pidgin as the initial state • Usually originated in the social context of plantations with slaves (especially classic creoles) • Nativization • Verb conjugation in relation to aspects usually marked by "auxiliaries" • Often classified as ‘English/French/Spanish…based’ Note: similarities among Creoles worldwide may be due to innate properties of human minds or the similar social contexts or structural similarities among the languages in contact.

POSSIBLE PROCESS Contact between different peoples/languages Miscommunication Pre-pidgin jargon Pidgin Nativization Creole Decreolization Hypercreolization Dominant language(SC? ) ‘Pure creole’ (Haiti? ) (post. Creole continuum)

ACTUAL CREOLES & PIDGINS Chinook Jargon (NW USA) Expanded Pidgins Krio (Sierra Leone) Sango Pidgin English (W. Central Afr. ) (Nigeria) Pidgin Fr. & Eng. Bislama (Vietnam) (Vanuatu) Sabir Tok Pisin (Mediterranean) (Papua New Guinea) Creoles Guyanese Creole (French-based) Haitian Creole (French-based) Caribbean Creole (English-based) Philippines Creole (Spanish-based)

SPANISH http: //www. answers. com/topic/spanish-creole GULLAH http: //www. knowitall. org/gullahtales/activity/nonflash. html JAMAICAN http: //www. jamaicans. com/speakja/index. shtml

Krio (Sierra Leone): “I gladdee for meet you” “I gladdee for meet unna” “me broda and sistardem”

Regional Dialect • A regional dialect is not a distinct language but a variety of a language spoken in a particular area of a country • Some regional dialects have been given traditional names which mark them out as being significantly different from standard varieties spoken in the same place. • Some examples are "Hillbilly English" English (from the Appalachians in the USA) and "Geordie" Geordie (from Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK). University of New England, Australia

Indigenized Variety • Indigenized varieties are spoken mainly as second languages in ex-colonies with multilingual populations. • The differences from the standard variety may be linked to English proficiency, or may be part of a range of varieties used to express identity. • For example, "Singlish" Singlish (spoken in Singapore) is a variety very different from standard English, and there are many other varieties of English used in India. University of New England, Australia

Minority Dialect • Sometimes members of a particular minority ethnic group have their own variety which they use as a marker of identity, usually alongside a standard variety. This is called a. University of New England, Australia minority dialect • Examples are: African American Vernacular English in the USA, London Jamaican in Britain, Aboriginal English in Australia and BSAE-Black South African English.

Language Revival Endangered Languages • Hawaiian (Clark, p. 503) http: //www. geocities. com/The. Tropics/Shores/6794/olinkpage. html • Modern Hebrew – Modern Hebrew the only example of a dead language being brought back to life. Eliezer Ben-Yehuda

Issues of Language Contact • Identity – wanting it both ways? Identity – Integration vs. separatism – Diversity vs. assimilation • Bilingualism Enthusiasts – seeking a Bilingualism Enthusiasts linguistic solution to a social dilemma? (Rodrigues, p. 480 -81) • Success – mastery of standard English Success gives power to succeed? (Jones, p. 491)