Pacific Pidgins and Creoles

Pacific Pidgins and Creoles discusses the complex and fascinating history of English-based pidgins in the Pacific, especially the three closely related Melanesian pidgins: Tok Pisin, Pijin, and Bislama. The book details the central role of the port of Sydney and the linguistic synergies between Australia and the Pacific islands in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries, the role of Pacific islander plantation labor overseas, and the differentiation which has taken place in the pidgins spoken in the Melanesian island states in the 20^th century. It also looks at the future of Pacific pidgins at a time of increasing vernacular language endangerment.

Darrell T. Tryon is Professor at the Australian National University, Australia.

Jean-Michel Charpentier researches at the LACITO (Laboratoire de Langues et Cultures a Tradition Orale), CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Paris, France.

"[...] T&C are to be commended for providing a nice collection of clear maps, a major boon to readers unfamiliar with the web of islands that witnessed the development of the Pacific pidgins. And in general, this is a collection between two covers of data and arguments that ought be of interest to all who seek enlightenment based on concrete and exhaustive empirical evidence on how pidgin and creole languages have arisen, diverged, and stabilized."
John McWhorter in: Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages, 2008

"Nevertheless, this book is a milestone in the historical linguistics of Pacific pidgins and creoles. It is a must not only for every linguist interested in pidgins and creoles and their history, but also for sociolinguists interested in language change and development, as well as for all linguists working in the area!"
Gunter Senft in: Linguistics, 44, 1-2006

"Although I knew quite a lot, I also learned quite a lot from reading it."
Alfred F. Majewicz in: Linguistic and Oriental Studies from Poznan 6/2004