Contact language: Difference between revisions
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A '''contact language''' is a type of [[language]] which is used when people who share no [[first language|native language]] need to [[communication|communicate]]. Such languages are more generally known as ''[[lingua franca]]s''. | A '''contact language''' is a type of [[language]] which is used when people who share no [[first language|native language]] need to [[communication|communicate]]. Such languages are more generally known as ''[[lingua franca]]s''. | ||
While contact languages are necessarily lingua francas, not all lingua francas are contact languages. Other types include ''[[trade language]]s'' (e.g. [[Swahili language|Swahili]] in [[East Africa]]), ''[[international language]]s'' (e.g. [[English language|English]] in much of the world) and ''[auxiliary language]]s'' (languages | While contact languages are necessarily lingua francas, not all lingua francas are contact languages. Other types include ''[[trade language]]s'' (e.g. [[Swahili language|Swahili]] in [[East Africa]]), ''[[international language]]s'' (e.g. [[English language|English]] in much of the world) and ''[[auxiliary language]]s'' (languages artificially designed for a purpose, such as [[Esperanto]] or [[Basic English]]).<ref>Samarin (1968: 661).</ref> | ||
The term is also sometimes applied to languages which originated in a contact situation, but which are no longer used out of the necessity to communicate. For example, most | ==Pidgins and Creole== | ||
Very often, ''[[pidgin]]'' and ''[[creole language|creole]]s'' are contact languages. A pidgin is a language that is created through a contact situation - typically, users employ [[word]]s from one or more languages they have some knowledge of, underlain by the [[grammar]] of their own native languages together with attempts to simplify sentences. The result is a rudimentary language with fewer 'rules' than other languages - there are fewer sentence types, for instance, so expressing certain ideas may be difficult. The pidgin is fine-tuned to the immediate needs of the speakers, who may primarily use it for bartering, friendly introductions, or some other specific purpose. It therefore has no immediate need to be elaborated unless it proves useful for the [[speech community]] to develop an ''[[extended pidgin]]'', used for more purposes and with increasingly rigid rules. Examples of this include [[Fanagalo]], a pidgin used in some [[South Africa|South African]] mines, which is actually taught in underground classrooms to miners of different linguistic backgrounds; and [[Tok Pisin]], which is widely used throughout [[Papua New Guinea]], in [[writing|print]] as well as in conversation. Where such a pidgin becomes the first language of [[children]], the resulting native language is called a creole, and is inevitably more complex than the original pidgin.<ref>See Sebba (1997), for a comprehensive introduction to pidgins and creoles; and Wardhaugh (2006: 58-87) for discussion on these languages as lingua francas.</ref> | |||
==Post-contact== | |||
The term ''contact language'' is also sometimes applied to languages which originated in a contact situation, but which are no longer used out of the necessity to communicate. For example, most creoles have emerged from such situations, but may no longer be used as a lingua franca - such as in [[Jamaica]], where the [[Jamaican creole|local creole]]<ref>Sebba (1997: 204-210).</ref> is used in informal situations, and a variety closer to [[Standard English]] for speaking to outsiders.<ref>Sebba (1997) labels all [[pidgin]]s and creoles as contact languages; see title.</ref> | |||
Revision as of 22:21, 20 February 2007
A contact language is a type of language which is used when people who share no native language need to communicate. Such languages are more generally known as lingua francas.
While contact languages are necessarily lingua francas, not all lingua francas are contact languages. Other types include trade languages (e.g. Swahili in East Africa), international languages (e.g. English in much of the world) and auxiliary languages (languages artificially designed for a purpose, such as Esperanto or Basic English).[1]
Pidgins and Creole
Very often, pidgin and creoles are contact languages. A pidgin is a language that is created through a contact situation - typically, users employ words from one or more languages they have some knowledge of, underlain by the grammar of their own native languages together with attempts to simplify sentences. The result is a rudimentary language with fewer 'rules' than other languages - there are fewer sentence types, for instance, so expressing certain ideas may be difficult. The pidgin is fine-tuned to the immediate needs of the speakers, who may primarily use it for bartering, friendly introductions, or some other specific purpose. It therefore has no immediate need to be elaborated unless it proves useful for the speech community to develop an extended pidgin, used for more purposes and with increasingly rigid rules. Examples of this include Fanagalo, a pidgin used in some South African mines, which is actually taught in underground classrooms to miners of different linguistic backgrounds; and Tok Pisin, which is widely used throughout Papua New Guinea, in print as well as in conversation. Where such a pidgin becomes the first language of children, the resulting native language is called a creole, and is inevitably more complex than the original pidgin.[2]
Post-contact
The term contact language is also sometimes applied to languages which originated in a contact situation, but which are no longer used out of the necessity to communicate. For example, most creoles have emerged from such situations, but may no longer be used as a lingua franca - such as in Jamaica, where the local creole[3] is used in informal situations, and a variety closer to Standard English for speaking to outsiders.[4]