noun / adjective
pidgin
PIJ-in/ˈpɪdʒɪn/
A simplified language used by groups without a shared language.
Traders from different language groups use a pidgin to communicate.
Etymology
Business lies behind pidgin: the name originally referred to simplified English used for commercial communication in Chinese ports. It later broadened to other simplified contact languages used by people without a shared tongue.
In context
One well-known example is Tok Pisin in Papua New Guinea. It began as a pidgin based largely on English
More examples
- They negotiate prices in pidgin English.
- The pidgin draws words from several languages.
- Researchers compare the grammar of two local pidgins.
Forms
pidgin · pidgins
Similar words
- lingua franca
- Any shared language between groups, not necessarily a simplified one.
- creole
- Typically acquired as a native language, unlike a traditional pidgin.