Re: CHAT: various infotaining natlang tidbits

----- Original Message -----
From: "Lars Henrik Mathiesen" <thorinn@...>
To: <CONLANG@...>
Sent: Tuesday, June 13, 2000 5:11 PM
Subject: Re: various infotaining natlang tidbits


> > Date:         Tue, 13 Jun 2000 16:48:43 -0700
> > From: AcadonBot <acadon@...>
>
> > From: "Lars Henrik Mathiesen" <thorinn@...>
>
> > > of Copenhagen. (Pickaninny is a _US_ 'slave' word.)
> >
> > From Portuguese pidgin, meaning "little," as Spanish pequen~o.
>
> It would none the less be a remarkable coincidence if the Portuguese
> word (are you sure about that spelling?) got extended with the _same_
> syllable-and-a-half in West Africa and/or the US South and in New
> Guinea.
> Lars Mathiesen (U of Copenhagen CS Dep) <thorinn@...> (Humour NOT
marked)

Portuguese pidgin was the first major transoceanic pidgin. It was
more or less relexified into English and French versions.

Some words got retained from the Portuguese form. There
was no spelling, per se.

The slave versions were only some of the more nefarious forms.
There were dozens of forms. West African, Caribbean, China Coast,
Hawaiian, N. Australian -- around the sea lanes of the world.

Potuguese pidgin was perhaps based on the (original) "Lingua Franca"
of the Mediterranean.