Re: CHAT: various infotaining natlang tidbits

In a message dated 2000/06/14 03:23:58 AM, Romilly wrote:

>I may be mistaken,  my impression is that Asian  Pidgin English got started
in the >China ports, then spread into the island world, probably by British
sailors/traders--
>also Aussies in the New Guinea/Melanesia area.
    That is one very valid theory. Also there is a lot of Chinese in the
South Pacific. There are sizable communities of Chinese in Indonesia, Borneo,
Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, etc..
     Chinese have always looked to the South Pacific areas for beche-le-mer
(seaslugs), turtles, sandalwood, spices & fruit  as well as employment as
coolies. Frinstances, to this day there are descendants of coolies on the
island of Nauru where _Ham Soi_ (Chinese Pidgin English; China Coast Pidgin
English) is still spoken & - last I heard - written in a weekly
newsletter/tabloid.

>  BTW, in some versions of Pidgin/Tok IIRC it's sometimes shorted to
_pikin_??
>
    pikini