"Pidgin" and "Creole" as Sociohistorical Labels
- V. 19, N. 2 (2020)
- Submitted: May 14, 2020
- Published: Jun 29, 2020
- DOI 10.25189/rabralin.v19i2.1433
Abstract
In the conference “How Pidgins Emerged? Not as We Have Been Told” delivered by Salikoko S. Mufwene, professor at the Department of Linguistics of The University of Chicago, and distinguished specialist in the study of languages classified as pidgins and creoles, much of the traditional narrative about the emergence of pidgins and creoles is brought into question. All of Mufwene’s work challenges the traditional narrative about pidgins and creoles by, among other things, redefining the comprehension about the labels “pidgin” and “creole”. According to Mufwene, pidgin and creoles developed in separate places, in different ecologies, and in different periods. From this perspective, the labels “pidgin” and “creole” are understood as sociohistorical labels, not as indicating a structural typology or stages of a Pidgin-to-Creole life cycle.
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