In the late 1970s, the Australian linguist Craig Volker learned in the Australian city of Goldcoast from a schoolgirl who spoke German at home in Papua New Guinea. This is how the linguist discovered a then unknown Creole language known as ‚Unserdeutsch‘ (cf. welt.de 2016). This German-based Creole language is spoken by about 100 people in Papua New Guinea today (cf. Haarmann 2002, 268). In comparison to Unserdeutsch, which very few people speak, a separate pidgin language called Tok Pisin developed in Papua New Guinea on the basis of English, which is even spoken by about 2.5 million people today (cf. Haarmann 2002, 361).
Delimitation
In principle, it is difficult to clearly distinguish the pidgin language from the creole language, since the transition is fluid. However, pidgin language refers to a „purpose-built trade contact language or auxiliary trade language that evolved to meet the communicative needs that arise in trade and business in the area of overseas ports“ (Lewandowski 1994, 815). Thus, a pidgin language arises in a situation of linguistic emergency, in contact between speakers of two or more languages without mutual understanding of the language (cf. Bußmann 2002, 518). If the pidgin language becomes nativized, i.e. develops into a native language, it is called a creole language.
Origin
Although the origin of the term is not clear, it is assumed in the context of research that the term pidgin can be traced back to a Chinese pronunciation of the English word business „Geschäft, Handel“ (cf. Bußmann 2002, 518). Pidgin languages emerged in the overseas colonies when the languages of the European rulers (English, French, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese) took over the role of donor languages and became lingua franca (cf. Bußmann 2002, 518). In this context, the donor language is a „dominant, prestigious, socially more highly valued variety within a speech community that has a lasting influence on the less highly valued variety“ (Bußmann 2002, 668 f.).
Classification
By the following characteristics, the pidgin language is classified as such:
– It is not spoken by anyone as a native language.
– It has simplified phonological, morphological, and syntactic structures.
– It has a greatly reduced vocabulary.
– It is not usually written.
– It serves as a means of communication for different ethnic groups in multilingual situations (cf. Lewandowski 1994, 816).
Legacy of the colonial era
As an intangible legacy of colonization, pidgin languages are spoken not only in Papua New Guinea, but also in Africa, which are based on European languages and „emerged as fusion products in contact with African languages [e.g.] Cameroon pidgin or Wes Cos, Krio, Crioulo, or Portuguese Creole in West Africa“ (Haarmann 2002, 129). In addition, a pidgin called ‚Küchendeutsch‘ (in English ‚Namibian Black German’/ ‚NBG‘) established itself in Namibia (Africa) during the German colonial period and is spoken by approximately 15,000 people.
Literature
Bußmann, H. (ed.) (2002): Lexicon of linguistics. 3rd ed. Stuttgart: Kröner.
Haarmann, H. (2002): Sprachenalmanach. Facts and figures on all the languages of the world. Frankfurt: Campus.
Heine, Matthias (2016): How the children of Neuprommern invented a language. https://www.welt.de/kultur/article153927764/Wie-Kinder-aus-Neupommern-eine-Sprache-erfanden.html [17 Dec. 2019].
Lewandowski, T. (1994): Linguistic dictionary. 2nd ed. Wiesbaden: Quelle & Meyer.