pidgin English · revision 847

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈpɪ.d͡ʒən/; /ˈpɪ.d͡ʒɪn/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is short for ''Pidgin English'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) earlier ''pigeon English'' (1859),^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from ''pidgin'', ''pigeon'' “business, affair” (1826),^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) a Chinese pidgin pronunciation of English [[business]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The word ''pidgin'' meaning business or affair (1826);^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) as the name of a language, short for ''Pidgin English'', 1876.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Pidgin English'' was the simplified English, with some Chinese, Portuguese and Malay words, used between Chinese and foreigners for trade in the ports of China.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) By 1891 the word was extended to any simplified language used between speakers with no common language.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Commerce has often been the parent of pidgins.^(Etymonline) The phrase ''that's not my pigeon'', “not my business”, comes from the same word.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1826 – ''pidgin'', business.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1859 – ''pigeon English''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1876 – ''pidgin'', the language.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1891 – any simplified contact language.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1934 – ''pidginization''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A simplified language, usually a mixture of two or more languages with a reduced grammar and vocabulary, used for communication between groups without a common language and not spoken as a first language.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(archaic)'' A person's business or concern.^(Wiktionary)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pidginization]]

+ * [[pidginize]]

+ * [[Tok Pisin]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pidgin English]]

+ * [[creole]]

+ * [[lingua franca]]

+ * [[business]]

+ * [[jargon]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}