Also Known As: Pisin,Neomelanesian,Pidgin,New Guinea Pidgin English,Melanesian English
Description:
Tok Pisin (pronounced /ˌtɔːk ˈpɪzɪn/; tok is derived from English "talk" but like many such words has a wider application, also meaning "word" or "speech" and even "language" - pisin is derived from English "pidgin" and for its speakers is simply the name of the language) is a creole spoken throughout Papua New Guinea; in parts of Western, Gulf, Central, Oro Province and Milne Bay Provinces the use of Tok Pisin has a shorter history, and is less universal, especially among older people. It is an official language of Papua New Guinea and the most widely used language in that country.
Between 5 and 6 million people use Tok Pisin to some degree, although by no means all of these speak it well. Between 1 and 2 million are exposed to it as a first language, in particular the children of parents or grandparents originally speaking different vernaculars (say, a mother from Madang and a father from Rabaul). Urban families in particular, and those of police and defence force members, often communicate between themselves in Tok Pisin, either never gaining fluency in a vernacular ("tok ples"), or learning a vernacular as a second (or third) language, after Tok Pisin (and possibly English)...... full article at Wikipedia |