In this unit, we explore the characteristics of pidgins and creoles. You may have heard these terms used interchangeably, however, as Romaine points out, the two phenomena are really different but complimentary phases of a language process. Although there is disagreement among scholars as to how to define pidgins, many scholars agree that pidgins generally arise from the contact of a target language and 2 substrate languages. The result of such contact is the development of a pidgin, "a language which has been stripped of everything but the bare essentials necessary for communication" (Romaine 1988: 24). Creoles are what then develop out of pidgins as communicative needs increase. Thus, we can think of pidgins and creoles as successive phases of a specific type of linguistic contact. "The first [step] involves rapid and drastic restructuring which produces a language variety which is reduced and simplified with respect to the base language. The second step consists of the elaboration of this variety as its functions expand and it becomes nativized" (Romaine 1988: 41).

READINGS:

Read: Romaine, "Definitions and Characteristics of Pidgins and Creoles," Pidgin and Creole Languages, pp. 23-70.