Suitable for upper-intermediate CEFR B2+
Activity 1
Check your undertsanding of new vocabulary.
Many native English speakers will have at least heard of pidgin English and chances are, if they are monolingual (as are many native English speakers), they will probably have used a form of it on their last holiday abroad. Indeed, those that have travelled extensively or worked in the tourism and hospitality industry may well have experienced or observed cringe-worthy interactions with doltish British tourists that behave as if they are talking to a small child the minute they are presented with a language barrier.
But pidgins actually involve a bit more than this. Whilst the above example might be an ill-advised communication strategy, pidgins are simplified forms of language with reduced vocabulary and grammatical structure that occur in speech communities where there is a consistent need for speakers of two different languages to communicate. True pidgins are blended languages that evolve to combine vocabulary and structures from both communities and are not spoken by either group as a native language.
Historically, pidgins occured throughout the world wherever there was colonial settlement due to an economic and political need for foreign settlers to communicate with indigenous people. For this reason pidigns may emerge and/or disappear relatively quickly.
Creoles, on the other hand, are pidgins that have naturally evolved into stable and enduring native languages for a speech community. However, it would be wrong to assume that creoles are simplified forms of language because although creoles may have many similarities with their parent languages, they can also develop their own semantic qualities and grammatical systems. Creoles are very often as complex as any other language.
The precise number of pidgins and creoles in existence is unknown, particularly as some may be primarily used for spoken communication and therefore remain undocumented. Haitian Creole, with approximately 10 million native speakers, is the largest creole in the world. Tok Pisin, one of three official languages in Papua New Guinea, is the second largest, with about 4 million speakers, many of whom learnt Tok Pisin as a second language.
Activity 2
Make your own sentences using new vocabulary.
Activity 3
Have you had an interesting experience with miscommunication or a need to talk pidgin? Please share in the comments!
Sources
Bryson, B. (1990) Mother Tongue: Penguin: London
Activity 1
Check your undertsanding of new vocabulary.
Many native English speakers will have at least heard of pidgin English and chances are, if they are monolingual (as are many native English speakers), they will probably have used a form of it on their last holiday abroad. Indeed, those that have travelled extensively or worked in the tourism and hospitality industry may well have experienced or observed cringe-worthy interactions with doltish British tourists that behave as if they are talking to a small child the minute they are presented with a language barrier.
But pidgins actually involve a bit more than this. Whilst the above example might be an ill-advised communication strategy, pidgins are simplified forms of language with reduced vocabulary and grammatical structure that occur in speech communities where there is a consistent need for speakers of two different languages to communicate. True pidgins are blended languages that evolve to combine vocabulary and structures from both communities and are not spoken by either group as a native language.
Historically, pidgins occured throughout the world wherever there was colonial settlement due to an economic and political need for foreign settlers to communicate with indigenous people. For this reason pidigns may emerge and/or disappear relatively quickly.
Creoles, on the other hand, are pidgins that have naturally evolved into stable and enduring native languages for a speech community. However, it would be wrong to assume that creoles are simplified forms of language because although creoles may have many similarities with their parent languages, they can also develop their own semantic qualities and grammatical systems. Creoles are very often as complex as any other language.
The precise number of pidgins and creoles in existence is unknown, particularly as some may be primarily used for spoken communication and therefore remain undocumented. Haitian Creole, with approximately 10 million native speakers, is the largest creole in the world. Tok Pisin, one of three official languages in Papua New Guinea, is the second largest, with about 4 million speakers, many of whom learnt Tok Pisin as a second language.
Activity 2
Make your own sentences using new vocabulary.
Activity 3
Have you had an interesting experience with miscommunication or a need to talk pidgin? Please share in the comments!
Sources
Bryson, B. (1990) Mother Tongue: Penguin: London
No comments:
Post a Comment