Root, Stem, Base

In linguistics, we observe a phenomenon known as contact languages. Contact languages emerge, as the name suggests, because of prolonged interactions between speakers of two ore more distinct and mutually unintelligible languages who do not otherwise share a lingua franca.

They are mostly associated with trade and settler colonialism. This is largely because of the sheer number of contact languages which popped up along Atlantic trade routes.

Among the different types of contact languages, creole languages have the greatest reputation. Therefore, I will spend most of this blog post going over what is a creole language.

What is a creole, pidgin, and jargon?

Linguists separate contact languages into three categories: jargons, pidgins, and creoles.

Jargons

A jargon is a small-scale means of linguistic communication between people who do not share a language. It is temporary and never settles as a long-term means of communication like a creole or pidgin will. It is made up of few words and has little grammatical structure.

Some jargons may solidify from repeated contact. For example, in 1778, Captain Cook recorded the Chinook Jargon. Chinook Jargon was developed in the northwest of North America prior to the arrival of the Europeans. It had a core vocabulary of 500 words.

Pidgins

Pidgins have very likely been present for much of human history. There needs to be the right contact situation for pidgins to emerge. Mass deportations likely triggered the creation of many pidgins. Also, European exploration led to large scale creation of pidgins.

Linguists define pidgins as languages created when two or more groups without a common language experience ongoing contact. They are identified by their limited vocabulary and simplified structures. Pidgins are not learned as a first language for native speakers.

Creoles

Compared to pidgins above, linguists define creoles as languages created when two or more groups without a common language have extensive, not ongoing, contact. You can idenfity a creole language by its full vocabulary and complex grammatical structure. Unlike pidgins, creoles are spoken as the first language with native speakers.

Creoles consist of superstrate and substrate languages. The superstrate is the dominant language and the substrate language(s) are the language of the “powerless”. Superstrate languages usually contribute most of the vocabulary to the creole. Therefore, they are often called the lexifier language. Substrate languages, meanwhile, mostly contribute grammatical information.

Pidgin vs. Creole language

Examples of creole languages

Haitian Creole

Haitian Creole is one of the official languages of Haiti alongside French. It is spoken by 10-12 million people worldwide.

The Haitian Creole language consists of French as its superstrate (dominant) language – which contributes most of the lexical information. Meanwhile, the substrate consists of influences from Portuguese, Aramaic, Spanish, Taíno, and West African languages.

Interactions between French colonists and African slaves developed the language in the 17th and 18th centuries. Haitian Creole became “a form of African resistance against slavery”.

Louisiana Creole

Louisiana Creole is regarded as the only French-based creole which originated in North America. Today it has approximately 5000 native speakers along with some people speaking it as their second language. However, it is a moribund language, sitting at level 8a according to EGIDS. It is spoken mostly by members of the ‘grandparent’ generation (or older).

Louisiana Creole has a similar origin story to Haitian Creole. Researchers believe enslaved people, Indigenous peoples, and Francophone settlers to colonial Louisiana first developed the language. In addition to French as its superstrate, Louisiana Creole’s linguistic influences include West African languages (same as Haitian Creole) and Indigenous languages (especially Muskogean langauges). Other French-based creoles like Haitian Creole and Antillean Creole also influenced Louisiana Creole later on.

Cape Verdean Creole

Cape Verdean Creole is the national language of Cape Verde. While Portuguese is the official language and many Cape Verdeans speak the langauge as well, 100% of the population speaks Cape Verdean Creole. It is part of Cape Verde’s cultural identity.

In the 15th century, Portuguese settlers established a colony on the Cape Verdean islands as a stopping point for the Atlantic slave trade. The enslaved people brought to Cape Verde spoke West African languages including Wolof, Mandinka and Timne. These languages formed the substrate for Cape Verdean Creole. Portuguese is the superstrate language.

Other creole languages

Trinidad English Creole:

• Speaker population: 1.2 million
• Superstrate: English
• Substrates: West Bantu languages, French, Caribbean French Creoles, Spanish, Bhojpur
• Main speaker location: Trinidad and Tobago

Afrikaans:

• Speaker population: 6+ million
• Superstrate: Dutch
• Substrates: English, Khoekhoe, South African Malay, Portuguese Creole
• Main speaker locations: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana

Cavite Chabacano:

• Speaker population: 4,000
• Superstrate: Spanish
• Substrate: Tagalog
• Main speaker location: Cavite City, the Philippines

Kinubi:

• Speaker population: unknown
• Superstrate: Sudanese Arabic
• Substrate: Egyptian Arabic; Swahili, English
• Main speaker location: Uganda and Kenya; communities in DR Congo and South Sudan; formerly spoken in Somalia and Tanzania

References:

• The Guidebook to Sociolinguistics, Chapter 4: Language Birth and Death (pp. 75-101), Allan Bell (2014)
• “Discovering Languages: Exploring the History of Haitian Creole” by Lauren-Rose Stunell (Feb. 6, 2024) | CASLT
• “Louisiana Creole (Louisiana, USA) – Language Snapshot” by Nathan Wendte
• “Methodology: Language status” | Ethnologue
• Cape Verde: Official language, Creole and travel vocabulary | ACTOUR Cape Verde Travel (originally published in French)
• History of Kabuverdianu (Cape Verdean Creole) | Learn Kabuverdianu
• Trinidad English Creole | APiCS
• Afrikaans | APiCS
• Cavite Chabacano | APiCS
• Kinubi | APiCS