Melanesian Pidgin
Group of related creoles of Melanesia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Melanesian Pidgin or Neo-Melanesian language comprises four related English-derived languages of Melanesia:
- Bislama, of Vanuatu[1]
- Solomon Islands Pidgin[1]
- Tok Pisin, of Papua New Guinea[1][2]
- Torres Strait Creole, of the Torres Strait Islands and parts of Cape York
RegionMelanesia
Torres Strait Creole is the least closely related of the four, and is sometimes treated as a separate from the other three.[2]
These languages are based on a mixture of a substrate of Eastern Oceanic languages, and substrate of German (from the era of German New Guinea) and/or English (due to "blackbirding", where Melanesians were indentured to work on plantations in Queensland, Australia). Worldwide nautical jargon/pidgins have also contributed to the languages.[1][2]: 546