Running head: AN ANALYSIS OF THE CREOLE LANGUAGE 1

An Analysis of the Creole Language

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An Analysis of the Creole Language

There are different ways of communicating, and realistically, every living thing

communicates in some manner. The chirping of birds, barking of dogs, and croaking of frogs, are

all means of communication of such animals, and some are even unknown to man. While such

sounds or other exchanges transmit some type of information; nevertheless, it is not verbal

communication. It is a typical assumption that man is the most intelligent living thing. As such,

he can use language communication, which ranks much higher than the other forms in which

animals communicate. Language is distinctive to the human species as it is the only means to

convey their thoughts and practices across countries and societies. Different countries and

cultures have diverse languages. Although the list of the languages on earth is endless, they

evolve over time and diverge, resulting in new ones. For example, a new language can develop

when people combine two or more dialects. With sufficient interaction, individuals can expand

dialects into novel languages, and it usually occurs when children start preferring the vernacular

over their native language, as in the case of creole.

The Connection Between Creoles, Pidgins, and Lingua Francas

Globalization has increased international interactions, implying that people from different

countries and cultures have to find a way of communicating with each other to carry out mutual

activities. A practical solution could involve using a common language, lingua franca. According

to William (1987), language is deemed a lingua franca only on the premise of its functionality,

which is any linguistic means of communication between persons of differing mother tongues for

whom it is a secondary language. It is relevant to all circumstances when linguistic

communication is challenging or impossible, and it applies equally to locations with considerable

dialect variations as it does to those with distinct languages in the typical sense. Any language
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can be a lingua franca, but English is arguably the most common one, given its widespread use

across the globe.

There exists a simpler variant of a lingua franca called pidgin. Williams notes that, in

pidgin, individuals who speak different languages attempt to construct their unique language.

Although the aspect logically qualifies it as a lingua franca, it generally results from the

combination of two or more languages instead of from a single shared language (Williams,

2020). Accordingly, pidgins can establish their specific lexicon and conventions entirely

different from the original languages. They develop for the function of communication between

two social circles, one of which is relatively superior to the other (The University of Duisburg-

Essen, n.d.). The less influential party usually develops the pidgin. Historically, pidgins evolved

in colonial settings where agents of the imperial power, such as merchants and sailors,

interacted with indigenous people. (University of Duisburg-Essen, n.d.). When speaking with the

former, the latter established a jargon, resulting in a dialect based on the colonial and

native language (The University of Duisburg-Essen, n.d.). The extent of such a language was

limited since it suited a specific function, basic communication with colonizers. Pidgins are

restricted languages, which essentially arise to facilitate communication between two parties

speaking different languages.

As new generations pass, a lingua franca or pidgin can evolve into a native language, a

creole. Williams notes that a creole is an advanced kind of pidgin that a community adopts as its

native language after combining communication between two or more languages. However, a

creole is dissimilar from both lingua franca and pidgin because it has distinct rules, and a

community can employ it as a mother tongue. Simplified versions of languages, such as pidgins,

can become more sophisticated over time, particularly if they become the mother tongue of a set
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of speakers. The University of Duisburg-Essen (n.d.) refers to the latter step as creolization.

Creoles usually appear in children whose parents do not speak a common vernacular and must

converse in pidgin (Mühlhäusler, 1982). Nevertheless, pidgins become operationally and

semantically equivalent to other complete languages during the creolization process. Creoles

are extended variants of pidgins that arose in settings when there was a gap in a community's

natural linguistic coherence judging from the preceding account.

It is easier to describe a creole as any pidgin that becomes steady and the progeny adopts

as the mother tongue. There are two crucial elements in such an occurrence: consistency and

child learning, as they are the foundations. The descriptions of pidgins and creoles have

disclosed various similarities and differences, which allow individuals to begin comparing the

two. For instance, based on language development, Mufwene (2001) claimed that if an

incorporated language may fall under the category of a different dialect of the same language,

then creole is likewise a distinct language. In contrast, other scholars like Bickerton (1976)

argued that the emergence of creole was impossible without pidgin as its predecessor. The

researcher added that there was no factual evidence to refute the assumption that a homogeneous,

structured pidgin was the direct predecessor of a creole (Bickerton, 1976). The implication is that

pidgin precedes creole. Creoles and pidgins have formed on every continent. A common

assumption is that many modern standard languages began as creoles before gaining

acknowledgment and status (Escure, n.d.). Current creoles are young languages that have

emerged during the previous two centuries and are common in regions such as the Caribbean,

Central America, West and Central Africa, and the Pacific islands (Escure, n.d.). Such a

geographical distribution represents the economic factors that encouraged the forcible migration

of inexpensive immigrant labor to European colonies' fields and mines. Nevertheless, it is crucial
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to gain more insight into the parallels and variations of pidgin and creole to comprehend how

they connect. The following section will compare the two languages.

Comparison Between Creole and Pidgin Languages

Creoles and pidgins are two closely related languages, and an individual might confuse

one for the other. However, based on their respective descriptions, both languages develop from

an interactive situation in the absence of a shared language to serve as a lingua franca among a

set of individuals. While pidgins and lingua francas are similar in certain ways, the former and

creole derive from the underlying requirement that individuals who use different languages have

to establish a shared means of communication. According to Isa et al. (2015), the shared

communication system is the lingua franca. The rationale for referring to the system as a lingua

franca is because other communities aside from those engaged in the contact scenario may

propagate and use it (Isa et al., 2015). However, during the early phase of pidgin, it is confined to

only those engaged in the interaction. Creole developed from pidgin, although the latter is a

secondary language that speakers of incomprehensible languages in a contact setting established

for communicative purposes. However, Mufwene (2001) contrasts the view, noting that creole

and pidgin emerged independently under various situations and that it is not obligatory for the

latter to precede the former. Accordingly, pidgin is an entirely adequate language in the respect

that it can meet the necessity for communication among individuals of diverse cultures. It is not

necessary to classify creole as a language that succeeded pidgin.

One can also distinguish between pidgin and creole based on native speakers.

Accordingly, Isa et al. (2015) note that the former lacks native speakers, and adults created it.

Contrariwise, the children created the latter, and it has native speakers. Moreover, pidgin's

structure and grammar are simplified and reduced, sometimes to the point of extinction, whereas
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creole is resilient and has evolved into a complete and suitable natural language (Isa et al., 2015).

Another comparison relates to language structure. As such, creole grammar contains less or more

developed grammatical structures than earlier languages, implying that individuals can either

regulate it or not (Isa et al., 2015). Also, creole contains substantial diversity but cohesive

sociolinguistic principles of assessment or integration and broader domains, which speakers can

utilize more for expressive purposes (Isa et al., 2015). In contrast, pidgin results from imperfect

second language acquisition, with limited core vocabulary that is extensively borrowed

from outside the language. Isa et al. (2015) note that pidgin has a simple system, yet it has a lot

of diversity in its surface grammar. Compared to their lexifiers, the grammars have a basic

linguistic structure that includes all the necessary aspects: phonology, lexicon, syntax,

morphology, and morphology (Isa et al., 2015). According to Sebba (1997), in relation to pidgin

grammar, the simplified structural system falls into four components, some of which are also

appropriate for creoles. They include vocabulary reduction, lack of morphological intricacy,

semantic transparency preference, and absence of grammatical complexity. The fact that such

components are also applicable to creoles further illustrates the connection between the two

languages.

Creole Syntax and Properties

The syntactic categorization of the creole language has been a subject of study among

creolists for decades. According to Baptista (2017), creolists, experts who study creole, and

historical linguists have known that the language does not represent a group of languages in the

genetic sense (Baptista, 2017). However, there has been a recurrent idea that comprises a type

premised on the allegedly shared syntactic features. Derek Bickerton was among the first modern

creolists to suggest that the language is distinct from other natural languages. In his pioneering
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works, he acknowledged similitudes and differences among creoles. The creolist suggested that

the general characteristics in creoles are due in part to a biological program, dubbed a bio

program and that such dialects elicit from a solitary grammar with a predefined set of

categories and functions (Bickerton, 1984). He recognizes that the variance or deviation from

a single grammar observed in various creoles may be attributable to the diverse input they get

from a superior language as well as other origins, such as extralinguistic influences. The work

helps demonstrate that although creoles are unique languages, pre-existing dialects, most notably

pidgins, played a significant role in their exclusivity.

More recent studies by the same researcher provided profound insight into the

evolutionary aspects of creoles that contribute to their unique properties. Bickerton (2014)

reviews the creolization process, contextualizing it within the larger paradigm of evolutionary

theory. He emphasizes that the theory still permits the original bioprogram's predictions to be

relevant to a significant degree (Bickerton, 2014). Considering that children develop comparable

syntax regardless of the language they would eventually absorb, Bickerton (2014) believes that

they rely on intrinsic algorithms owing to limited pidgin input. The factor explains the perceived

similarities in creole structures. Nevertheless, the researcher continues to view the language

bioprogram as a monolithic grammar but with a considerably limited scope. His new perspective

is that children now engage the language bioprogram in any language learning context, whether

or not a creole forms. According to Bickerton (2014), the sole distinction between a creole-

producing environment and one that does not is the amount and quality of basic linguistic

material. The more accurate description of creole origin implies that the social and historical

circumstances under which creoles evolve prohibit children from accessing an existing language

rather than exposing them to a nascent pidgin. Accordingly, they must rely on natural
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mechanisms to fill gaps in the nascent language in their surroundings. Basptista (2017) adds that

filling such gaps necessitates children to use universal use mechanisms present in the learning of

any language to recycle content from the original languages. Children's unique cognitive abilities

allow scholars to extensively study creoles as they learn and transfer the language to the next

generations.

Creole exhibits various characteristics when analyzed from various angles. For example,

by expanding his study of the bio program, Bickerton (2014) noted creoles as having three

properties: the universal phrase and clause creation algorithms, minimal repair solutions for

places that those algorithms leave undefined, and any substrate or superstrate effects that are

sufficiently noticeable and persistent in the pidgin data. The researcher's work mainly centred on

children. Accordingly, he noted that the sole attribute that distinguishes a creole from other

languages in the early stages of learning is the abundance and quality of information available to

children (Bickerton, 2014). As such, a creole genesis scenario is primarily based on three key

assumptions: children are the definitive drivers of creolization, the information to which they

have accessibility is insufficient, and creoles have comparable patterns, which actualize

children's intrinsic algorithms (Baptista, 2017). Another distinguishing property of creoles is that

they have native speakers. It is a dialect that evolved from a pidgin. According to Isa et al.

(2015), creoles originated from an extended community, one of which speaks a European

language. So, it combines features from all the source languages to produce a community's

mother tongue. Accordingly, creole has native speakers as it is the foundational language of

children in the respective community (Isa et al., 2015). Children in the corresponding

communities helped create and advance the language, and it became their preferred dialect.

Creole as a Special Language

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The place of creole in linguistics, notably its exceptionality, has been a controversial and

prominent subject for decades. Pieter Muysken, a major scholar in the emerging subject,

addressed the topic of creole languages' specialness, examining the question, are creoles a special

type of language? From the viewpoints of similarity, simplicity, and mixedness. He concluded

that the presumption of a 'creole' dialect from a linguistic perspective fades if one looks

carefully, and what remains is a mere language (Kouwenberg & Singler, 2020). Regardless

of the creole being just a language, Muysken contended that creoles emerge in situations

involving interaction between speakers of different languages, which distinguishes them from

other linguistic results, like language code-switching and shifting (Kouwenberg & Singler,

2020). The implication is that the scholar's work represents a perspective that allows for

uniqueness in the historical background of the creation of creoles while rejecting presumptions

about their similarity and simplicity.

Other scholars have had different opinions regarding creoles' exceptionality. For

example, McWhorter (1998) suggested that the globe's simplest grammars are Creoles, asserting

that the grammar of any noncreole language is at least as sophisticated as the grammar of any

creole dialect. On the other hand, Gil (2001) responded by saying that Riau Indonesian has a

simpler grammar than Saramaccan, the language McWhorter uses to demonstrate his argument.

Due to the general lack of progress in clarifying creoles in terms of morphology and syntax,

academics such as Mufwene (2001) have questioned the value of the language as a typological

class. The creolist contends that creoles are systemically not distinct from any other dialect and

that they are a socio-historic ideology rather than a linguistic one, encompassing insolvent

populations and servitude. However, Thomason and Kaufman (1988) define creole

exceptionalism and argue that the language is an example of a nongenetic language change that a
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language shift causes with an anomalous transmission. The implication is that since creole does

not descend directly from one language, it is unique in its own way, making it special.

There are numerous reasons to suggest that creole is a unique language despite the

numerous contentions from some of the mentioned scholars. However, the most straightforward

explanation for why creole is a special language relates to how it developed. As mentioned

earlier, creole is a stable native dialect that evolves through time from simplifying and blending

multiple languages into a new one. The Cambridge Dictionary (n.d.) defines special as

something that is not ordinary or usual. Based on the definition, creoles are unique because they

do not have a single point of origin; instead, they develop from combining two or more

languages, eventually evolving into a mother tongue among its speakers. The fact that groups of

people who do not share a common language can develop a means of communication that all

parties effectively understand underpins its uniqueness.

Conclusion

A creole is a well-constructed natural language that evolves from the simplification and

blending of multiple languages into a new one in a relatively short period of time. Creoles

developed from another type of language, creole. However, people often mistake the language

with pidgin because of their relatively similar descriptions. Nevertheless, the two languages are

different in a few aspects. First, experts frequently distinguish creoles by a proclivity to organize

their acquired grammar. Secondly, they have a coherent grammatical system and a vast stable

vocabulary. Lastly, children learn a creole as a first language or mother tongue. There have been

numerous debates among linguists regarding the distinctiveness of creole over the decades. Some

like Peter Muysken conclude that when one closely examines creole, its linguistic perspective

fades, and it remains a standard language. The implication is that creole does not carry any
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uniqueness and is just a basic language. However, given that something special implies that it is

unusual, I contended that creole is unique. The rationale was because creole does not have a

single source of origin; it forms from combining more than one dialect, resulting in a unique

language that children adopt as their mother tongue. The occurrence is uncommon, making the

language special. As intelligent as humans are, developing a lingua franca among individuals not

sharing a unique language is not an easy feat. Creole fulfils that purpose, facilitating

communication even when there is a language barrier; it is unique.

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