Pidgin
A pidgin is a simplified language that develops
as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a
language in common, in situations such as trade. Pidgins are not the native
language of any speech community, but are instead learned as second languages.
Pidgins usually have low prestige with respect to other languages. A pidgin usually
has a simplified grammar and a restricted, often polyglot vocabulary. The
earliest documented pidgin is the Lingua Franca (or Sabir) that developed among
merchants and traders in the Mediterranean in
the Middle Ages; it remained in use through the 19th cent.
If a pidgin becomes established as the native
language of a group, it is known as a creole. Pidgins such as Chinese Pidgin
English and Melanesian Pidgin English arose through contact between
English-speaking traders and inhabitants of East Asia
and the Pacific islands. Other pidgins appeared with the slave trade in Africa
and with the importation of West African slaves to Caribbean
plantations.
