Saturday, April 23, 2016
When Worlds Collide: Understanding the Difference Between Creole vs Pidgin Languages
Language is formally defined as a system of communication consisting of sounds, words, and grammar. This definition is limited because it does not include nonverbal communication (addressed here), which is an additional dimension of language. Language is a fundamental part of culture because, as with all aspects of culture, it is learned, transmitted across the generations, and is real as well as symbolic at the same time. As culture changes so does language, which makes language a key subject of study by cultural and linguistic anthropologists. The study of language can provide us various insights into culture, particularly cultural change through cultural contact. When two or more cultural groups who speak radically different langauge come in contact a phenomenon known as pidgin language is created. This is the topic of today's blog post, which explain and distinguish between pidgin and creole languages.
When cultural groups come in contact it is natural that they would want to communicate with each other, but this communication can be and often is stymied by the inability to communicate through a common language. When this happens both groups may resort to learning each others' language or at least elements of each others' language in order to facilitate communication. Sometimes when this happens the groups no longer speak their own languages exclusively but instead turn to this mixed language, which develops into a pidgin language. A pidgin language is a mixed language with simplified grammar with its vocabulary borrowed from one language but the grammar from another. There are typically no native speakers of pidgin languages because the language is in its early developmental phases. Examples of pidgin languages include Hawaiian Creole English (an admixture of English and Native Hawaiian), Chinglish (a defunct pidgin that was a mixture of English and Chinese), and Nefamese (a mixture of various native Indian [country] languages).
As pidgin languages develop and continue to be used they may eventually become creole languages, which are languages born of mixed origins that develop from the complex blending of two or more parent languages that existed as the common languages for various ancestral groups. Creole languages have native languages, whereas pidgins do not. As well, creole languages have distinctive grammatical structures that typically resemble the parent languages. Because of the solidification of Creole languages as formal languages they can be spoken, written, and learned among native and non-native speakers. Examples of creole languages include Cajun (of the southern United States), Saramacca (of Suriname), and Kinubi (of Uganda).
So while pidgins and creole languages are distinctively different they are still related. They are demonstrations of the dynamic and stable nature of language, as well as how cultural contact leads to various different changes, specifically to language. In our ever expanding and globalized world more pidgins may develop, with the potential of creole languages eventually developing.
Reference
Welsch, Robert Louis, and Luis Antonio Vivanco. Cultural Anthropology Asking Questions about Humanity. New York: Oxford UP, 2015.
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31 comments:
This was actually really interesting. I did not know that we had such things as pidgins and creole languages. This actually had me thing of slang words. It will be interesting to see what new languages can come from these. It is interesting how we can take language from different cultures and create something new. How does this come about? I understand that it comes from people trying to take elements of each others' language in order to facilitate communication as you put it. But how does it become something that is a language in itself that a majority of people may know?
Leslie Milton
Anthropology 101
course 3001
Thanks for your inquiry, Leslie. You can actually find that answer in your textbook in the Language chapter, which has a section on creole and pidgin languages. You may have missed it since it's a comprehensive review of language, but I recommend reviewing that information as it is fair game for your final exam in a few weeks. :)
This was definitely interesting to read. I work with mainly Spanish speaking individuals and when they try to teach me Spanish, they simplify it and the adjectives and verbs aren't technically correct in sentences. I wonder if this is similar to a pidgin language?
Actually, this is not an example of pidgin languages. Individuals in these cases may be speaking a specific dialect of Spanish or not know how to properly speak the language, both of which are common in the English language. :)
This makes me think of ASL, my niece is deaf and my sister is always saying, "When in doubt, act it out". They live far away and my signing sucks, but Dakota is a superb teacher and we have had some hilarious "conversations" with me signing badly and her laughing so hard she could hardly correct me. I have nobody to practice my signing on in daily life, but she speaks fairly well and reads lips. I wonder if we did this enough if my signing could be considered Pigin? Either way, cross cultural communication has always had its problems but it seems determined people usually find a way to communicate.
I'm not a linguistic anthropologist or a linguist, but based on what I know about pidgin languages I doubt that signing and the utilization of spoken language would be considered a true pidgin. But I could be wrong. A review of the chapter may be in order as it could provide more insight (and would be a great review for the upcoming final). :)
It was hard to wrap my head around this concept of two different "branches" of language such as creole and pidgin. After reading on and seeing how Cajun is considered a creole language, I understood the differences between the two. Fun read!
This is interesting to me because I think that it is so important to understand people who speak other languages in order to be able to connect and create relationships with people different from myself. I think it's really cool that if one group of people is around another for an extended period of time they may merge languages and create a pidgin language so they can communicate with each other. It's amazing how language works.
That is really cool how two different cultures can come together and communicate, eventually leading to the creation of a new creole language. The early pidgin languages seem like they would be very interesting to listen to. The way languages change and emerge as new languages over time is very interesting.
Great explanation! I like that you wrote about this. Most people do not understand this idea, and that includes myself until I took a linguistics class, but you explained in a much better way than the text book did. Just a note to C. Goggin who commented about ASL, There is what is called see speak in deaf culture, but that is where signs are not grammatically correct. The structure of the signed sentence is out of order and unnecessary signs are added, but even with that, it gets the point across. If you can, try to get in an ASL class here at TMCC; it is really great to learn and I had a fun time in all the classes.
I learned a lot from this post. I did not know that a pidgin language was a mixture of two languages with the grammar from one and the vocabulary from the other. I also had not heard of, or at least don’t remember hearing of, Creole language or that it had any relationship to pidgin language in that the Creole language is the sophistication of the pidgin, is a native language and can be taught. Sky
I loved this post, great read! It's an intriguing idea to think of how many languages may have developed from pigdin. Although this may not be correct or accurate, I believe there could be pigdin qualities to the English I speak every day. It's quite possible there may be mixtures from different dialects of the language that I am incorporating and I don't even know it!
I find it interesting that many languages collide than what i have noticed with a naked eye. After this article is someone said they spoke chinglish I'd believe them!
It was interesting to read about the mix language. I am Latino and this is kind of funny for me but I hear this most of the time. A lot of Spanish speaker to go to lunch they say "lunche", I know that is not correct but American people probably they say it for fun and said "lunche" too when they are speaking to Latinos. I do not know if that is a pidgins and creole languages. In addition, other words are "vaquiar" means vacuum, "parquiar" means parked, etc. They call this slung language Spanglish.
Reading this I didn't know we had those other types of languages such as pidgin and creole.
Aaliyah Caldwell
This is pretty interesting I kinda want to hear someone speak Chinglish now who knows maybe I will adopt it
So is Spanglish an example of creole language with it being a combination of Spanish and English?
Well, that depends on your definition of Spanglish. If you are using a definition where Spanish and English are used together then it's still not a Creole but a Pidgin. But if you are using the definition where English or Spanish is used with accents of the other language then it's neither.
I feel like this is the case with the Jamaican dialect Patois. Is that an example of Pidgin because they speak the same language and grammar, but vocabulary is different.
Growing up in Chicago we have a large and diverse population. So we often run into people who may not be the best a speaking our native language often with the people i was around you would have to speak patois which is a Caribbean creole language.
With the English Language that we speak today what would be some other countries that speak it also. I know Australia and Canada does so would that relate to Pidgin?
No, those are just dialects of the same language. Pidgins combine two or more languages together.
I have latino friends that switch in and out of speaking english and spanish and sometimes they slur their words together to say a specific word. I also find it interest that certain words we have in the English Language they may not have a way of saying it in spanish so it makes me wonder if some offical words came from slang and just caught on to people and other languages have yet to catch up to the wording.
I'm glad you wrote a post about this because a lot of people don't know about this subject. It was very interesting that you can make another languages into a whole new language.
I had no idea there was such thing as pidgin and creole language. It is crazy to think of how many languages could have come from pidgin. After reading this blog post I'm still not sure if I understand the concept of pidgin and creole language. It is defiantly something I should look more in to.
Logan Taylor
I've actually heard of creole language before. I never knew about pidgin language until i read this blog. I was very interested about the creole. I eventually want to learn more about it.
-Daisha Benton
I feel like this is the situation with the Jamaican tongue Patois. Is that a case of Pidgin since they talk a similar dialect and sentence structure, yet vocabulary is distinctive
Being of Haitian decent I speak the creole language fluently, usually only around my parents though and around other Haitians.
I learned about creole languages when I took a french class in high school. French and creole go hand in hand and other languages are also mixed or even derive from creole.
Isn't creole it's own language itself in Haiti? What is it a combination of? From what I know it has some french in it. but as for the others I am not sure.
By reading this blog i finally understand the difference between the two. I learned that the creole language resembles the parent language and the pidgin is simple grammar with borrowed words to make phrases.
-Jasmine Busby
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