Pidgin

**Pidgin** (or **pidgin language**) is a simplified language that evolves to make communication easier between groups with no common language. Pidgin uses a combination of different languages, simplified grammar, and reduced vocabulary. This makes it easier to learn and use.

Usually, pidgin languages develop for a specific purpose, like trade. They often emerge through slavery and/or colonization. When people speak a pidgin as their first language, it evolves naturally into a Creole language.

The term "pidgin" originates from the Chinese word _pídīng_, meaning "business" or "trading."

## Features

To make communication easier, pidgin languages often have elements (like vocabulary and basic grammar) that come from multiple languages.

Pidgins are typically used in specific situations (like trade), and not as first languages. Pidgin speakers usually maintain their native, non-pidgin languages. For this reason, pidgins are not as complex or stable as fully developed languages.

## Pidgin and Creole languages

Pidgin languages develop before Creole languages.

#### Pidgin

Pidgin languages are simplified so it is easier to learn and use them. They have:

- Simplified grammar
- Reduced vocabulary
- Elements from multiple languages

Over time, as pidgin languages become more stable and are passed on to the next generation as a native language, they can evolve into creole languages.

#### Creole

Creoles are fully developed languages with their own grammar, vocabulary, and syntax. They often include elements from the pidgin's parent languages, but they also have their own unique features.

Creole languages arise when children speak pidgin as their first language and use it for all purposes - not just its original purpose (like trade). Thus, pidgin languages serve as simplified contact languages for immediate communication. However,

### Creolization

Pidgins become Creole languages when they become more stable, and when there are native speakers who use pidgin as their first language.

As pidgin languages are passed down through generations, they undergo a process of creolization. This means they develop more complex grammatical structures, expanded vocabulary, and clearer phonological features.

This process of creolization often occurs over generations as children learn the pidgin as their first language. As it is used regularly, the language evolves naturally.

## History

English sailors and traders in the 18th century used pidgin to communicate with Chinese merchants.

As colonial powers expanded their influence, pidgin languages emerged around the world, including the Pacific Islands, Africa, and the Caribbean. They often developed as a result of interactions between indigenous peoples, Europeans, and enslaved Africans. Pidgin languages made it possible for these people to communicate with each other without first learning each other's languages.

## Countries that use pidgin

Countries that use pidgin languages as their official languages include Papua New Guinea, Jamaica and some other Caribbean and Central American countries:

|Country|Creole-Type|Amount Of Speakers|Main Language(s)|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
||Haitian Creole (Kreyòl Ayisyen)|90-100%|French|
||Jamaican Patois (Jamaican Creole)|90-95%|English|
||Trinidadian Creole English (Trinidadian Creole or **Trini Talk**)|~90+%|English|
|Seychelles|Seychellois Creole (Kreol Seselwa)|N/A (no number figure) [widely spoken]|English/French|
|Mauritius|Mauritian Creole (Kreol Morisien)|80-90%|English/French|
||Guadeloupean Creole French|~90+%|French|
||Martinican Creole French|~90+%|French|
|Cape Verde|Cape Verdean Creole (Kriolu)|N/A (no number figure) [widely spoken]|Portuguese|
|Sierra Leone|Krio|N/A (no number figure) [widely spoken]|English|
|Suriname|Sranan Tongo|85%|Dutch|
|Papua New Guinea|Tok Pisin (Pidgin English)|50 - 60%|Tok Pisin|
||Saint Lucian Creole French|95%|English|
||Antiguan Creole English|95%|English|
||Vincentian Creole English|99%|English|
||Kittian Creole English|no number figure|English|
||Dominican Creole English|100%|English|
|Honduras|N/A (no number figure) [widely spoken]|no number figure|Spanish|
|Colombia|N/A (no number figure) [widely spoken]|no number figure|Spanish|
|Costa Rica|N/A (no number figure) [widely spoken]|no number figure|Spanish|
||Kriol|~50%|English|

_Language data changes daily and should not be used as exact numbers_

### Creole phrases

- _"Mwen renmen ou"_ (Haitian Creole) - "I love you"
- _"Mi famili come lebon"_ (Tok Pisin) - "My family is good"
- _"Mi go fit gari"_ (Nigerian Pidgin) - "I will eat gari"
- _"Nou ka manje manje"_ (Seychellois Creole) - "We are eating food"
- _"Mi papa bin sabi book"_ (Cameroonian Pidgin) - "My father knows how to read"

### Pidgin phrases

- _"Me like go market"_ (Nigerian Pidgin) - "I want to go to the market"
- _"You come yesterday?"_ (Tok Pisin) - "Did you come yesterday?"
- _"Mi no sabi speak English well"_ (Cameroonian Pidgin) - "I don't know how to speak English well"
- _"Him big pass you"_ (Jamaican Patois) - "He is bigger than you"
- _"Mi want chop"_ (Sierra Leonean Krio) - "I want to eat"