Not to be confused with the Pigeon bird. For the instant messaging client, see Pidgin (software).

A pidgin ( /ˈpɪdʒɪn/), or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the country in which they reside (but where there is no common language between the groups). Fundamentally, a pidgin is a simplified means of linguistic communication, as it is constructed impromptu, or by convention, between individuals or groups of people. A pidgin is not the native language of any speech community, but is instead learned as a second language.^[1][2] A pidgin may be built from words, sounds, or body language from multiple other languages and cultures. Pidgins allow people or a group of people to communicate with each other without having any similarities in language and does not have any rules, as long as both parties are able to understand each other. Pidgins can be changed and do not follow a specific order.^[3] Pidgins usually have low prestige with respect to other languages.^[4]

Not all simplified or "broken" forms of a language are pidgins. Each pidgin has its own norms of usage which must be learned for proficiency in the pidgin.^[5]

Etymology[link]

The origin of the word pidgin is uncertain. Pidgin first appeared in print in 1850 and there are many sources to which the word may be attributed. For example:

• The Chinese pronunciation of the English word business.^[6]
• English pigeon, a bird sometimes used for carrying brief written messages, especially in times prior to modern telecommunications.^[7]

Terminology[link]

The word pidgin, formerly also spelled pigion,^[6] originally used to describe Chinese Pidgin English, was later generalized to refer to any pidgin.^[8] Pidgin may also be used as the specific name for local pidgins or creoles, in places where they are spoken. For example, the name of the creole language Tok Pisin derives from the English words talk pidgin. Its speakers usually refer to it simply as "pidgin" when speaking English.^[9][10] Likewise, Hawaiian Creole English is commonly referred to by its speakers as "Pidgin".

The term jargon has also been used to describe pidgins, and is found in the names of some pidgins, such as Chinook Jargon. In this context, linguists today use jargon to denote a particularly rudimentary type of pidgin;^[11] however, this usage is rather rare, and the term jargon most often refers to the words particular to a given profession.

Pidgins may start out as or become trade languages, such as Tok Pisin. Trade languages are often full blown languages in their own right such as Swahili. Trade languages tend to be "vehicular languages", while pidgins can evolve into the vernacular.^{[clarification needed]}

Common traits among pidgin languages[link]

Since a pidgin language is a fundamentally simpler form of communication, the grammar and phonology are usually as simple as possible, and usually consist of:^{[citation needed]}

• Uncomplicated clausal structure (e.g., no embedded clauses, etc.)
• Reduction or elimination of syllable codas
• Reduction of consonant clusters or breaking them with epenthesis
• Basic vowels, such as [a, e, i, o, u]
• No tones, such as those found in West African and Asian languages
• Use of separate words to indicate tense, usually preceding the verb
• Use of reduplication to represent plurals, superlatives, and other parts of speech that represent the concept being increased
• A lack of morphophonemic variation

Pidgin development[link]

The creation of a pidgin usually requires:

• Prolonged, regular contact between the different language communities
• A need to communicate between them
• An absence of (or absence of widespread proficiency in) a widespread, accessible interlanguage

Also, Keith Whinnom (in Hymes (1971)) suggests that pidgins need three languages to form, with one (the superstrate) being clearly dominant over the others.

It is often posited that pidgins become creole languages when a generation of children learn a pidgin as their first language, a process that regularizes speaker-dependent variation in grammar. Creoles can then replace the existing mix of languages to become the native language of a community (such as the Chavacano language in the Philippines, Krio in Sierra Leone, and Tok Pisin in Papua New Guinea). However, not all pidgins become creole languages; a pidgin may die out before this phase would occur (e.g. the Mediterranean Lingua Franca).

Other scholars, such as Salikoko Mufwene, argue that pidgins and creoles arise independently under different circumstances, and that a pidgin need not always precede a creole nor a creole evolve from a pidgin. Pidgins, according to Mufwene, emerged among trade colonies among "users who preserved their native vernaculars for their day-to-day interactions". Creoles, meanwhile, developed in settlement colonies in which speakers of a European language, often indentured servants whose language would be far from the standard in the first place, interacted extensively with non-European slaves, absorbing certain words and features from the slaves' non-European native languages, resulting in a heavily basilectalized version of the original language. These servants and slaves would come to use the creole as an everyday vernacular, rather than merely in situations in which contact with a speaker of the superstrate was necessary.^[12]

See also[link]

• Basque-Icelandic pidgin
• Béarlachas
• Creole language
• Chinese Pidgin English
• Decreolization
• Delaware languages#Derived languages
• Engrish or Chinglish
• Fanagalo in South Africa
• Hawaiian Pidgin
• International Sign
• Jamaican Creole
• Lingua franca
• List of English-based pidgins
• Mediterranean Lingua Franca or Sabir
• Mixed language
• Nigerian Pidgin
• Pequeno Português
• Portuñol
• Singlish
• Trading zones

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Bakker, Peter (1994), "Pidgins", in Jacques Arends; Pieter Muysken; Norval Smithh, Pidgins and Creoles: An Introduction, John Benjamins, pp. 26–39 
• Hymes, Dell (1971), Pidginization and Creolization of Languages, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-07833-4 
• McWhorter, John (2002), The Power of Babel: The Natural History of Language, Random House Group, ISBN 0-06-052085-X 
• Sebba, Mark (1997), Contact Languages: Pidgins and Creoles, MacMillan, ISBN 0-333-63024-6 
• Thomason, Sarah G.; Kaufman, Terrence (1988), Language contact, creolization, and genetic linguistics, Berkeley: University of California Press, ISBN 0-520-07893-4 
• Todd, Loreto (1990), Pidgins and Creoles, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-05311-0 

Further reading[link]

• Holm, John (2000), An Introduction to Pidgins and Creoles, Cambridge Univ. Press.

External links[link]

• Language Varieties Web Site

Mercy Johnson Ozioma, popularly known as Mercy Johnson, is a Nigerian actress^[1][2] who made her acting debut in the movie, "The Maid"^[3] in which she played the role of a possessed house help. Her performance in the movie shot her into the limelight and has acted in other major movies ever since. Mercy who is a native of Okene in Kogi state is from a family of seven children. Mercy reveals she got into the Nigerian movie industry (Nollywood) because she failed her Jamb exam. Johnson has appeared in over 60 movies. Mercy has revealed that growing up was tough and had difficulties paying her school fees most times. She also reveals that she worked as a house maid to survive.

Johnson won the 2009 African Film Award for best supporting actress.^[4]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mercy Johnson at the Internet Movie Database

This article is incomplete. Please help to improve the article, or discuss the issue on the talk page. (February 2011)

Tonto Dikeh, also known as Tonto Dike (born June 9, 1985) is a Nigerian actress from Rivers State and is of the Ikwerre tribe.^[1] Dikeh, from a family of seven,.^[1]

In 2005 she competed against other contestants on a reality TV show called The Next Movie Star; she was the first runner up. Dikeh's appearance on the show was as a means of getting closer to the "big time", she says,^[1] and her start in the Nigerian movie industry came soon after.^[1] Nollywood, as it is colloquially known,^[2] is second only to the Indian film industry in number of movies produced each year.^[3][4]

Dikeh says that after her second movie Holy Cross, more movie directors and producers were willing to cast her, and she has appeared in scores of movies since. Dikeh's role in the movie Dirty Secret has generated controversy amongst Nigerians, because the movie contains nude scenes. While some criticize her role of being untraditional and un-African, others say that Dikeh is merely being professional.^[5][6]

In January 2011 Dikeh took part in a charity fashion show in Lagos with Banky W., Omotola Jalade Ekeinde and others.^[7]

Selected Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Tonto Dikeh at the Internet Movie Database

Oge Okoye is a Nigerian actress. Born in London, she graduated from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University with a degree in Theatre Arts.^[1][2][3]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Oge Okoye at the Internet Movie Database

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