pidgin

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Pidgin English, from a Chinese attempt to pronounce the English word business during trades in the Far East.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈpɪdʒɪn/, X-SAMPA: /"pIdZIn/
• (US) enPR: pĭjʹən, IPA: /ˈpɪdʒən/, X-SAMPA: /"pIdZ@n/
• Rhymes: -ɪdʒən, -ɪdʒɪn
• Homophone: pigeon

Noun

pidgin (plural pidgins)

1. (linguistics) an amalgamation of two disparate languages, used by two populations having no common language as a lingua franca to communicate with each other, lacking formalized grammar and having a small, utilitarian vocabulary and no native speakers.

   Middle English likely began as a pidgin between the Norman invaders and the Anglo-Saxon-speaking (Old English) occupants of Britain. Otherwise, how could they have gotten any business done?

Translations

amalgamation of two languages having no native speakers

• Bislama: pijin (bi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 皮欽語 (cmn), 皮钦语 (cmn) (píqīnyǔ), 混雜語言 (cmn), 混杂语言 (cmn) (hùnzá yǔyán)

• Esperanto: piĝino (eo)
• French: pidgin (fr) m, créole (fr) m, langue véhiculaire (fr) f
• German: Pidgin-Sprache (de) f, Pidgin (de) n

• Italian: pidgin (it)
• Japanese: ピジン言語 (ja) (pijin gengo)
• Macedonian: пиџин (mk) (pídžin) m
• Maori: kōrapurapu (mi)
• Pijin: pijin
• Polish: pidżyn (pl) m, język pidżynowy (pl) m
• Russian: пиджин (ru) (pídžin) m
• Tok Pisin: pisin (tpi)

Related terms

• pidgin English
• Pijin

See also

• creole

External links

• Pidgin English - English Dictionary: from Webster's Dictionary - the Rosetta Edition.