- Pitkern
language
name=Pitkern
familycolor=Creole
states=Pitcairn Islands ,New Zealand andNorfolk Island
region=Pacific
speakers=<100
fam1=Creole language
fam2=English Creole
fam3=Pacific
iso1=
iso2=
iso3=pihPitkern (also Pitcairnese) is a
creole language based on an 18th centurydialect of English and Tahitian. It is a primary language ofPitcairn Island with fewer than 100 speakers worldwide. However, the closely relatedNorfuk language has a few thousand native speakers. Pitkern and Norfuk are unusual in that, although their home islands are located in thePacific Ocean , they have been described as Atlantic creoles.History
Following the
Mutiny on the Bounty , the British mutineers stopped atTahiti and took 19Polynesia n people, mostly women, to the remote island of Pitcairn and settled there with them. Initially, the Tahitians spoke little English and the "Bounty" crewmen knew even less Tahitian. Isolated from the rest of the world, they had to communicate with each other. Over time, they formed a unique new language which blended a simplified English with Tahitian words and speech patterns.Pitkern was influenced by the diverse English dialects and accents of the crew. Geographically, the mutineers were drawn from as far as the
West Indies , with one mutineer being described as speaking a forerunner of aCaribbean patois . One was a Scot. At least one, the leaderFletcher Christian , was a well-educated man, which at the time made a major difference in speech. BothGeordie and West Country have obvious links to some phrases and words, such as "whettles", meaning food, from "victuals".Many expressions no longer current in English carry on in Pitkern. It includes words from British maritime culture in the age of sailing ships, for example. The influence of
Seventh-day Adventist Church missionaries and theKing James Version of the Bible are also notable.In the mid 19th century, the people of Pitcairn resettled on
Norfolk Island . Later some moved back. Most speakers of Pitkern today are the descendants of those who went back. Many stayed on Norfolk as well, where the closely related languageNorfuk is still spoken. Pitkern and Norfuk are mutually intelligible, and are sometimes considered the same language.Common phrases
"Note: Pitkern spelling is not standardised".
Poetry in Pitkern
Some poetry exists in Pitkern. The poems of
Meralda Warren are of particular note.ee also
* Norfuk
* Pitkern poetry of Meralda Warren [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meralda_Warren#Poetry_in_Pitkern_and_in_English]
External links
* [http://www.lareau.org/pitlang.html Pitkern Language]
References
*Ross, Alan Strode Campbell and A.W. Moverly. "The Pitcairnese Language" (1964). London: Oxford University Press.
*"South Pacific phrasebook" (1999). Hawthorn, Australia: Lonely Planet Publications.
* [http://webpros.co.nz/bounty/phrases.htm Some Phrases in Norfolk/Pitcairn Language]
*cite journal |title=Pitkern and Norfolk revisited: Is Pitkern-Norfolk an Atlantic creole spoken in the Pacific? |last=Avram |first=Andrei A. |journal=English Today |year=2003 |month=July |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=44–49 |doi=10.1017/S0266078403003092
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