Pidgin

The term pidgin or pidgin called a reduced form of language, the different languages ​​people serves as a lingua franca for communication. A pidgin language is thus not a native language, it is learned by its speakers as a foreign language.

" Pidgin " is a simplified in the grammatical structure Behelfssprache that has formed under colonial conditions, such as in Africa, the West Indies, America. Their purpose is to make communicative course with simplified forms of the other languages. Base were English, French, Spanish, Portuguese (rarely also German ) to which the weaker group conformed rudimentary as languages ​​of the colonizers and traders. In many cases was from the pidgin of the first generation in the second a regular functional language, the " Creole " ( Creole ).

Was in linguistics and it is discussed whether this development process is determined by universals of human language ability. Pidgin is learned and follows its own standards, the lack of a second language of migrants is not a target language of learning processes, but merely a transitional phenomenon during the period of language shift.

Etymology

The etymology of the term Pidgin is not released. Several hypotheses can see in the (commercial ) traffic of the British with China in the 19th century an explanation. One theory about the etymology of the term is the pronunciation of the English word business in China: According evolved from business in Chinese speech BIGEON what was then pigeon in English and in turn eventually led to pidgin. Pidgin English was therefore a Pidgin English, Chinese and Portuguese ingredients, which was used as a trade language in Canton in the 18th century and 19th century. This theory can be found in the prestigious Oxford English Dictionary; its Supplement (1982 ) indicates a reference from 1826 as the first occurrence of the term. Another variant of the Chinese origin of the term ( Leland 1876) is the Portuguese word ocupação as origin: A Chinese pronunciation of the word could therefore have had on pasao and pasan expressed Pidgin. A third variant of Chinese origin describes EC Knowlton: It assumes that Pidgin has emerged from the Chinese pei- Ts'in what Knowlton describes as a process of paying of money in a business transaction.

Another hypothesis is that pidgin come from the language of the South American Yayo, where the form Pidian " people " seems to occur in various compositions.

Another theory is in turn of Portuguese influence on the etymology of the term. This time, though not in the Chinese room, but in Africa. Thus, the Portuguese word pequeno ( small) would be the origin of the term. The language spoken by locals simplified Portuguese was called pequeno Português. For this purpose, the term corresponding petit nègre for pidgin French. Indicating the origin of Pidgin from this area could be the fact that the Portuguese pequeno has survived in various, based on English pidgins and Creoles, eg pikini (Jamaica ), pikin ( Krio, Sranan ), Pijin (Solomon Islands).

Franz Winterstein brings pidjom (trade, business ) as the origin of the word into the game, a word from the language of the Jews of London's ghetto, which was designated as Pidjom English. But this is already the translation of the word pidjom problematic.

A final variant, where the term Pidgin could originate is taken directly from the English: An anonymous article ( vitalité you Présence Africaine Pidgin in 1968, 205-7 ) criticizes the view of Kipling on the world and throws the British front, around the world searched for " Mowgli " and their " knitted Ottere " with the language of pigeons (the speech of a pigeon ) described to have.

Development

Pidgins generally move in environments where at least two - usually not more closely related - Languages ​​in contact. A typical context for the development of pidgins is trading ( Handelspidgins ). Historically, generating a high number of explored today pidgins during the time of colonization. Vocabulary and grammar of pidgin are heavily influenced by the languages ​​in contact. Base was usually the language of the ruling colonial power.

Pidgins develop from jargon and are usually only very few purposes, such as the rudimentary communication for trade, work or forced social interaction (eg in labor camps ). Consequently, you have a limited operating range. Your grammar is greatly simplified, restricted the language code. Much of the low comprehensive vocabulary is borrowed from the language, which is the dominant language in the language contact situation ( in the context of colonization, such as the language of the rulers ). A Pidgin has initially no native speaker. Over just a few generations Pidgins can become full-fledged creole languages ​​grammatically, if they exist long enough stable.

The " Relexifizierungshypothese " the Kreolforschung says that Speaker of the substrate languages ​​( during colonization were the languages ​​of the slaves ) replace the vocabulary of their language with words of the dominant language, while they used the grammar of their native language. There were, however, detected both in pidgins and creoles in phenomena that can be traced back to any of the previous contact languages.

The general life of a Pidgins mostly bound to the existence of a specific purpose (eg, to maintain a trading relationship between two language communities ) or to the acquisition of pidgins as their mother tongue, ie the development of creole ( creolization ).

Supported the formation of a pidgin rather than the acquisition of a second language after a few approaches to explanation by the effect that often native speakers towards foreigners or foreign speakers where they suspect a low language skills in their native language, a simplified and emphasized language ( alien language, " foreigner talk", a Xenolekt ) use.

Examples

• Instead of " Please go first to the station, then to the church! ": Go Station - then church!
• Instead of " So, now we need an x-ray of you." Come, take photo!
• Long time no see ( = long time no see ) comes from the Chinese " hao jiu bu jian好久不见" ( well - long time - not - see).
• Look-see ( = to look, literally, look see) comes from the Chinese "看见kanjian ".

Kamtok (West Africa)

The case is similar to that of the International Phonetic Alphabet, the letters are thus more like the Germans as pronounced in English.

PS: Hushai comes from " Who ( ' s ) side"

Jamaican Creole language ( Caribbean, from the lyrics of the Banana Boat song)

• Hey Mista Tallyman, tally me banana! - In English: " Hey, Boss, count and pay for my bananas Which I have Brought aboard "