Pidgin
[pij-uh n] /ˈpɪdʒ ən/
noun
1.
an auxiliary language that has come into existence through the attempts by the speakers of two different languages to communicate and that is primarily a simplified form of one of the languages, with a reduced vocabulary and grammatical structure and considerable variation in pronunciation.
2.
(loosely) any simplified or broken form of a language, especially when used for communication between speakers of different languages.
/ˈpɪdʒɪn/
noun
1.
a language made up of elements of two or more other languages and used for contacts, esp trading contacts, between the speakers of other languages. Unlike creoles, pidgins do not constitute the mother tongue of any speech community
n.
1876, from pigeon English (1859), the reduced form of the language used in China for communication with Europeans, from pigeon (1826), itself a pidgin word, representing a Chinese pronunciation of business. Meaning extended 1891 to “any simplified language.”
Read Also:
- Pidginization
[pij-uh-nahyz] /ˈpɪdʒ əˌnaɪz/ verb (used with object), pidginized, pidginizing. 1. to develop (a language) into a .
- Pidgin-english
noun 1. a pidgin language based on English formerly used in commerce in Chinese ports. 2. a similar language used in other areas, such as Papua New Guinea (where it has semiofficial status) and parts of West Africa. noun 1. a pidgin in which one of the languages involved is English
- Pidginize
[pij-uh-nahyz] /ˈpɪdʒ əˌnaɪz/ verb (used with object), pidginized, pidginizing. 1. to develop (a language) into a .
- Pidginized
[pij-uh-nahyz] /ˈpɪdʒ əˌnaɪz/ verb (used with object), pidginized, pidginizing. 1. to develop (a language) into a .
- Pidgin-sign-english
noun 1. an auxiliary language formed by using the signs and fingerspelling, but not the grammar, of American Sign Language in the word order of English, often used in communication between deaf signers and speakers of English. Abbreviation: PSE.