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Re: isolating is equivalent to inflected

From:Roger Mills <rfmilly@...>
Date:Monday, December 5, 2005, 19:27
David Peterson wrote:
> Henrik wrote: > << > This lang seems closely related to Tok Pisin. Is it a different > lang/dialect? > >> > > You know, a lot of the English-based creoles look alike, so when > I actually quote something, I quote the name of the language used > on my sources. The book I happen to have is called "A Grammar > of Melanesian Pidgin English". This may just be the old name...;
Likely. How old is the book?
> ...it and Tok Pisin may actually be one and the same language. > But, I've never been sure, so I just wanted to cover my bases. :) >
I'm not entirely sure either, but unless I'm mistaken, "Tok Pisin" is the name of MPE as it is used in Papua-New Guinea (and probably becoming somewhat standardized since it's one of the "official" languages). But there are many other Melanesian areas where "MPE" might have slightly different vocabulary, and might be developing in other directions-- though since many of islands are tied economically to Australia, official Tok Pisin may well be spreading. What does Wikipedia have to say about it, if anything?

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David J. Peterson <dedalvs@...>