Pidgin

A contact language that develops among groups without a shared language, typically for limited communication across social or linguistic boundaries.

Language contact: Interaction between speakers of different languages that produces linguistic influence or new forms of communication. Sustained contact between groups creates the conditions in which a pidgin can emerge.
Creole language: A stable language that develops from a contact language and is acquired as a first language by a community. A pidgin has limited functions; a creole typically becomes a community’s full language.
Nigerian Pidgin: An English-based contact language widely used in Nigeria, with regional variation and expanding social functions. It shows how an English-based pidgin can become widely used beyond narrowly practical exchanges.
Hugo Schuchardt: A nineteenth-century linguist whose work on language contact challenged the view that languages develop in isolation. His research on contact varieties helped establish pidgins and creoles as subjects of linguistic study.
Nativization: The process by which a language variety becomes acquired as a first language by a community. When children acquire a pidgin as a first language, it can develop into a creole.
Lexifier: A language that supplies much of the vocabulary of a contact language. A pidgin often draws most of its words from the language of a socially dominant group.
Lingua franca: A language used for communication between people who do not share a first language. A lingua franca may be an established language, whereas a pidgin develops through contact.
Tok Pisin: An English-based creole language and one of the official languages of Papua New Guinea. Its history illustrates how a pidgin can expand and become a creole.
Derek Bickerton: A linguist known for theories about creole formation and the role of children’s language acquisition. His work on creoles shaped debates about how contact languages develop.
Creolization: The process through which a contact language develops into a stable, expanded language, often acquired as a first language. It describes one possible path from a pidgin to a creole.

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