"PIDGON" ENGLISH.

Dozerdust, Volume 1, Issue 24, 27 November 1943, Page 6

"PIDGON" ENGLISH.

SOME months ago we published a short account of the difficulties one of our officers met in dealing with local natives. He was

compelled to resort to ” pidgeon • English in order to make himself and other members of the Unit, when talking to Javanese have as a matter of habit dropped into tho same patter. It is whrth while, therefore, considering one o# two aspects of "pldgeon ” English- j? n THE natives-have' their own language, which, in some in - stances , is a very primitive form of speech. With few exceptions Europeans have never got to know the native languages, very largely because the language differs from island to island. Consequently there has evolved what, in Engl** ish, is known as ” pldgeon”English. In French it is called « Bl chelamar n and de rived from . the French ” bichc de mer ? the name of an anirv*.?; common to Pacific beaches. The bicho de mor was dried, tree* ted and shipped to China where it was considered a delicacy. It is assumed that first contact with Europeans was with these inter - cstc.d in that small industry and that th:; language in that way came to be known as’ ! Bicholamafr ::: IT is spoken by the natives of tho New Hebi'idosj the Solomons and in New Guinea,, Varying slightly according to thes Island groups, most of the of English origin, with a few Jteonch and Spanish .war. words. The vocabulary is limited, the same wor2 having different meanings according to the way f they arc- used,, Ifcrc are a few examples of the language«

Picannini blong me he finiss go ensaem fiss. (My child lias gone fishing) English setting; Picannini blong me ho finslh gone gatch him fish. All man he Workem blong boat. ( An the men are working on the boat. Him ho good to muss« (He is very good) Him yn kmffin ho sick too muss,mo tlnk 1/imobic him ho dead* ( Th ,0 here woman is ’sick too much, I think she will die ) The wrd 4 finsih " is always used to express that the thing has bec-n dene ox* is in the cuursc of execution;, the v>c rd ” Bimobie M (by and, by} io used to express the f turd, (cont next col.)

Cattle is ts known as " builumoocow " - bullocks more cows* A stry runs that a native was sent to gather manure for the garden, when asked why he had been e© lo „ lang away he replied; Ifasta, me finiss go got him chit blong bulloocow. gk Xfcn living on seas coast arc f known as " nan sal la water "; those, living in the interior or bush \ ? arc known as ” manbhah This is " also used to express contempt for a person. '