Book contents
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Maps
- Contributors to Volume VI, Part 1
- General Preface
- Abbreviations
- General Editor’s Introduction
- Introduction to Volume VI
- Part I The Spread of English Overseas
- 1 Transported English in the Colonial Period
- 2 Modelling the Formation and Developmental Trajectories of Varieties of English
- 3 Towards a History of World Englishes
- 4 English as a Second and Foreign Language
- 5 Pidgins and Creoles in the History of English
- Part II Africa
- Part III The South Atlantic
- Index
- References
5 - Pidgins and Creoles in the History of English
from Part I - The Spread of English Overseas
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 April 2026
Edited by
Book contents
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Maps
- Contributors to Volume VI, Part 1
- General Preface
- Abbreviations
- General Editor’s Introduction
- Introduction to Volume VI
- Part I The Spread of English Overseas
- 1 Transported English in the Colonial Period
- 2 Modelling the Formation and Developmental Trajectories of Varieties of English
- 3 Towards a History of World Englishes
- 4 English as a Second and Foreign Language
- 5 Pidgins and Creoles in the History of English
- Part II Africa
- Part III The South Atlantic
- Index
- References
Summary
This chapter outlines the development of pidgin and creole varieties of English worldwide. The foundational assumption is that creole languages emerge from pidginized varieties or at least ones strongly shaped by second-language acquisition. As such, the Australian and Oceanic languages such as Tok Pisin and Australian Aboriginal English will be treated as creolizations of initial pidgins (rather than as “pidgins” themselves, as they often have been), as will the West African languages often called “pidgins” such as Nigerian and Cameroonian “Pidgin” English. The chapter will also treat the creoles of the Caribbean and surrounding area along with the aforementioned West African varieties as sister languages born of an ancestral pidgin. Hawaiian “Pidgin” English, including controversy over its origins, will also be covered, as well as Chinese Pidgin English and Pitkern/Norf’k.
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The New Cambridge History of the English LanguageAfrica, Asia, Australasia and the Pacific, pp. 142 - 172Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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