Pidgin languages

First, we will talk about pidgin languages – languages that arose to maintain contact between different ethnic groups. For the first time, the word “pidgin” appeared in the press in 1876. Its origin is associated with the term “pidgin English,” namely with the “pidgin”-like Chinese pronunciation of the English word “business.”

Pidgins arise from two or more languages that are mutually unintelligible to their speakers. Pidgins are often learned as a second language. 

Pidginized languages traditionally arose for colonizers to communicate with the local population of the conquered territory or for equal communication, particularly between traders (“lingua franca”). 

A pidgin is formed based on the vocabulary of one dominant language, but then it is influenced by other languages. Over time, the rules and grammar of such languages are established. The pidgin vocabulary is minimal and often is at most 1500 words. 

Creole languages vs. pidgins

However, pidgins can evolve. Creole languages are one example of such development.

Creole languages, most of which arose in colonial times, are formed based on pidgins or after mixing one of the European languages with the languages of the indigenous population. For example, the Haitian Creole language arose based on the French language.

The process of converting a pidgin into a creole language is called creolization. This way, pidgin becomes a secondary substratum (from the Latin “substratum” – base or literally – litter) language. The term comes from the Portuguese “crioulo” – an African slave born in America. Creolization usually occurred in mixed families, on plantations, and among runaway slaves.

Researchers generalize that the main social and linguistic difference between pidgin and creole lies in their speakers: pidgin has a social basis, while creole has an ethnic origin. In other words, Pidgin is not a native language, but Creole caters to a new ethnic group.

Mixed languages

Now let’s talk about mixed languages. Mixed languages arise when bilingualism is “fixed” in a particular territory for a long time. 

What is the main difference between a mixed language and a pidgin? 

As mentioned above, the prerequisite for the emergence of a pidgin language is a language barrier, when the members of the “language group” speak only their mother tongue. On the other hand, mixed languages arise in a situation where both parties speak both languages quite well.

The emergence of a mixed language can be schematically described as follows: the first generation “invents” a language but simultaneously continues to communicate in both languages, one of which is native. But for the next generation, a mixed language becomes the native.

A classic example of a mixed language is the language of the Canadian Métis, “Michif” (fr. Michif). However, it is now spoken by only up to 1,000 residents of the province of Manitoba in the west of the country. 

The structure of this language is complex and unique. So, French nouns predominate in the Michif vocabulary, while verbs are borrowed from the Cree language, the most common Indian language of Canada. Many grammar rules are taken from the Cree. Therefore, the mestizos knew both languages well; that is, it is not a matter of ordinary creolization.

Surzhyk and Spanglish

By the way, mixed languages sometimes include “surzhyk” – a spoken language that combines elements of the Ukrainian and russian languages without applying literary norms. The Proto-Slavic language translates this word as “a mixture of wheat and rye grains, rye and barley, barley and oats, or flour from such a mixture.” Surzhyk is widespread in some regions of Ukraine and the russian areas neighboring Ukraine. 

A similar linguistic phenomenon exists in other countries. For Belarusians, it is “trasyanka,” created based on russian vocabulary and Belarusian phonetics and grammar; a mixture of French and English in the Canadian province of Quebec is denoted by the word “joual,” and “Spanglish” in the USA is the collective name of a whole series of mixed languages created by a combination of English and Spanish.