versatility in basic english and tok pisin -...
TRANSCRIPT
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Versatility in Basic English and Tok Pisin
Versatility in Basic English and Tok Pisin
Okamoto, Makoto
<Ⅰ>
Basic English here means the one “invented” by Charles Kay Ogden and I.A.
Richards in 1930. According to them, however, Basic English (henceforth
B.E.) was not an invention but a discovery. Because when they tried to
define something in writing The Meaning of Meaning, a tortuous book on
semantics, they found out that the same words were repeatedly used. Even
with such a limited vocabulary, it was enough to cover all the essential
requirements of communication in English; that is, you could say anything
once you had learned those limited vocabulary. For example, suppose you
put the word “house” in the center of a circle with emanating spokes, at the
ends of which are hut, cottage, mansion, bungalow, skyscraper, log-cabin, habitation,
residence, dwelling and so on (see Figure 1) (Huang, 2006). If the center word
can, with appropriate adjectives, replace the other words, then the other
words can be dropped.
The results of the discovery was compiled as Basic English: International
Second Language. Basic, according to C.K. Ogden, was also an acronym for
“British-American-Scientific-International-Commercial” by which he
attempted to give to everyone a second or international language which
would take as little of the learner’s time as possible. His intention was
supported by Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister
Nehru ( Mossé, 1958).
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The idea of B.E., incidentally, has influenced the creation of Voice of
America’s program Special English for news broadcasting which started in
1959. Special English is another controlled version of the English language,
using a limited vocabulary of about 1,500 words. The intended audience of
the broadcasting are people who use English as a foreign language.
Ogden proposed the vocabulary of 850 words to form B.E., designed to cover
all the requirements of communication (Ogden, 1968). Of the 850 words, the
first 100 include the 18 verbs (1) of basic actions, prepositions and other words
of operation.
Another 150 are words to describe something and the last 600 are names of
things, including the 200 which are visible or from which you can draw a
specific object (See Figure 2 ).
Thus you can say, for example: “house with all rooms on one floor” instead
of bungalow; “small, roughly-made house” eliminating hut and simply “great
house” rather than mansion. Likewise hail, mist and sleet can be eliminated by
using “rain” as the center word such as “small ice balls falling like rain”,
Figure 1 An illustration of Ogden’s method of vocabulary selection.
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Versatility in Basic English and Tok Pisin
Figure 2
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“water present in air in drops smaller than rain” and “snow falling mixed
with rain” respectively, the kinds of which we shall see more as we go along.
<Ⅱ>
Tok Pisin (henceforth T.P.), also called New Guinea Pidgin, is the lingua
franca that has never been invented or discovered. It has been established
mostly in urban areas of Papua New Guinea where over 700 different
indigenous languages are found, and is another example that a superposed
language, in this case English, has died out of ordinary spoken use in
colonized areas but still persists in its linguistic effects (Baumgarden, 1996).
Therefore as the former name Melanesian Pidgin English also suggests, the
main lexifier language is English. With respect to this feature, in
parenthesis, some historic events can also be referred to as examples of what
superposed languages have done, such as the extensive influence of Arabic
on Persian after the Arab Conquest of Persia in the seventh century, or the
similar influence of French on English dating from the Norman Conquest of
the eleventh century.
A pidgin like T.P. is a contact language used as second language among
people who have no other language in common. So one of the theories about
pidginization which has evolved is the assumption that the speakers of the
superstratum language deliberately simplified it in order to accommodate
the “ignorant natives” (Bickerton, 1977).
Generally, however, pidginization can be defined as the rapid structural
modification of a language in certain contact situations in which it serves
both as the target of broken language and the source of foreigner talk.
Whenever speakers of one language acquire another, they produce broken
language, and every speech community has simplified registers in its
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Versatility in Basic English and Tok Pisin
repertoire (DeBose & Ferguson, 1977).
Then five qualitatively and quantitatively different stages are pointed out
in the development of a pidgin as follows (Mühlhäusler, 1982):
1. Jargon phase: language contact, imperfect learning on the part of the
subordinate group, use of “foreigner talk” by superordinate group,
various communication strategies
2. Stabilization phase: universal simplification tendencies, substratum
influence, selective reduction of variation
3. Expansion phase: internal development, i.e., expansion from language-
internal resources, some borrowing
4. Creolization phase: universals of language development, some borrowing
5. Postpidgin/postcreole phase: contact of stable pidgin or creole with its
original main lexifier language, heavy borrowing and mixing
Of all the English-based pidgins and creoles of the southwestern Pacific, T.P.
is the variety that is both linguistically most developed and socially most
firmly institutionalized and is said to have completed the entire life cycle as
far as those speakers are concerned, according to Mühlhäusler (ibid).
The single most important factor accounting for the development of T.P. is
the fact that thousands of indigenes were sent to the German plantations in
Samoa at the turn of the nineteenth century to the twentieth, when they
acquired an already established form of Pidgin English. The result was that
the German language, as the language of a colonizing power, naturally
contributed words to the lexicon during Germany’s period of colonization
(Smith, 2002). The pidgin from Samoa, Samoan Plantation Pidgin (SPP),
was influenced by Melanesian languages, and further affected by the
laborers who had developed a pidgin in Queensland sugar plantations
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(Wurm, 1980). The pidginized variety in Queensland is called Queensland
Plantation Pidgin (Mühlhäusler, 1979) or Queensland Canefield English
(Dutton, 1980). Therefore the lexicon of T.P. can be said to have been shared
by a variety of influences, including the languages of successive European
colonizing powers of English and German as well as languages of the central
and south-west Pacific, as Mühlhäusler has illustrated below (1979). Being
a pidgin, it should be pointed out that T.P. naturally has smaller lexicon and
less complex grammar than languages with native speakers.
Following the precedent here again, by using “house” as a center word,
church, hospital and library can be gotten rid of, replaced by “house worship”,
“house sick” and “house book” respectively , if they are expressed in English.
Another example can be, with the word “screw” this time, “screw belong
foot”, “screw belong hand” and “screw belong finger” instead of ankle, elbow
and knuckle.
<Ⅲ>
Since B.E.’s vocabularies are limited and T.P. has smaller lexica as
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mentioned above, probing similarities between the two may be worth
discussing, especially in view of the versatility both “languages” have.
Although the two are non-relevant at all, there does indeed seem to be an
overlapping basic idea, that may lead to something universal, in trying to
describe something. To compare the versatility of the two is to examine the
analytical paraphrasing device each language has, because it is in every
respect inevitable.
Here the author is going to focus his attention to lexical items of nouns of
B.E. and T.P. by which the versatility of the both will be easily understood.
The group of nouns of T.P. are from Mihalic’s (1983) many years of labor
through Okamoto (1997 & 2005). The counterparts of B.E. are from the
dictionary by C.K. Ogden (Ogden, 1940) and are shown together below so
that the comparison can be easily available.
Vocabulary T.P. English Gloss
B.E.
ambulance ka bilong haus sik “ car belong house sick”
“ carriage for moving wounded or ill
persons”
ancestor man bilong bipo “ man belong before”
“ anyone earlier in the family line
than person’s father or mother”
ankle skru bilong fut “ screw belong foot”
“ the part where the leg is joined to
the foot”
appetite bel i laikim kaikai “ belly like food”
“ desire for food”
armor klos ain “ clothes iron”
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“ metal cover for body, ships etc.”
artery rop bilong blut (2) “ rope belong blood”
“ any one of the blood-vessels taking
blood from the heart”
ash sit bilong paia “ shit belong fire”
“ powder formed by thing burning”
bank haus mani “ house money”
“ organization, place, for safe keeping
of money which may be taken out”
bark skin diwai “ skin wood”
“ outer skin of tree-stems”
basement rum aninit long haus “ room underneath along house”
“ floor of building under street level”
belfry taua bilong haus lotu (3) “ tower belong house service”
“ place for bells at top of church”
bill (of the bird) maus bilong pisin “ mouth belong pigeon”
“ hard mouth-part of bird”
boulder bikpela ston “ big stone”
“ great stone”
brassiere banis bilong susu (4) “ bandage belong breast”
“ breast-support put on under woman’s
dress”
bride meri marit nupela “ woman married new”
“ woman newly married”
brine wara i gat sol “ water (to) get salt”
“ water mixed with salt”
brothel haus pamuk (5) “ house prostitute”
“ house of prostitutes”
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cabin haus bilong sip “ house belong ship”
“ room in a ship”
camera masin bilong mekim “ machine belong (to) make photo”
poto
“ apparatus for making pictures by
letting light through small opening
onto film”
cannibal man i save (6) kaikai man “ man (to) know (to) eat man”
“ man or animal living on others of
same sort”
capital namba wan ples bilong “ number one place belong government”
gavman
“ being the seat of government”
cathedral haus lotu bilong bisop “ house worship belong bishop”
cauldron bikpela sospen ain “ big saucepan iron”
“ great open cooking-pan”
cave hul i go insait long “ hole (to) go inside long mountain”
maunten
“ hollow place in mountain”
ceiling rup insait long haus “ roof inside long house”
“ inside roof of room”
century wan handet yia “ one hundred year”
“ one hundred years”
charity pasin bilong helpim ol “ fashion belong (to) help all man”
man
“ giving to the poor”
chimney paip bilong stov “ pipe belong stove”
“ structure by which smoke, steam, is
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taken away from fire”
church haus lotu “ house worship”
“ building used for public forms of
Christian religion”
city bik taun “ big town”
“ great town”
cobweb haus bilong spaida “ house belong spider”
“ spider’s network or thread”
comet sta i gat tel “ star (to) get tail”
“ star-like body with tail of light,
moving round sun”
conscience tok insait “ talk inside”
“ sense of right and wrong”
corpse bodi bilong man i dai “ body belong man (to) die (to) finish”
pinis
“ dead body”
coward man bilong pret “ man belong afraid”
“ person given to fear”
cream strongpela susu “ strong milk”
“ thick part of milk which comes to
top”
crown hat bilong king o kwin “ hat belong king or queen”
“ circle for head, as sign of ruler”
curtain laplap (7) bilong windo “ waistcloth belong window”
“ cloth hanging from top of window”
dairy stua bilong salim susu “ store belong (to) sell milk”
“ store for milk, butter, eggs, etc.”
daughter pikinini (8) meri “ child woman”
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“ person’s female offspring”
dentist dokta bilong tit “ doctor belong teeth”
“ one whose business is care of teeth”
desk tebol bilong rait “ table belong (to) write”
“ table for writing”
dessert kaikai bihain “ food behind”
“ fruit or sweets taken at end of a
meal”
diarrhea pekpek (9) wara “ feces water”
“ over-frequent, liquid motion of bowels
caused by stomach trouble”
dome raunpela rup “ round roof”
“ round arched roof”
dormitory haus slip “ house (to) sleep”
“ sleeping-room with a number of
beds”
drop liklik hap wara “ small half water”
“ small, round, separate amount of
liquid, as in falling rain”
drought taim bilong biksan “ time belong big sun”
“ long time without rain”
duckling pikinini pato (10) “ baby duck”
“ young duck”
earring bilas bilong ia “ flash belong ear”
“ ornament for ear”
earthquake graun guria (11) “ ground trembling”
“ sudden violent shaking of the earth”
east sankamap “ sun (to) come up”
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“ in direction where sun is seen to
come up”
elbow skru bilong han “ screw belong hand”
“ outer point of part forming join
between lower and higher arm”
ewe sipsip meri “ sheep woman”
“ female sheep”
eyebrow gras antap long ai “ grass on top along eye”
“ arch of hair over eye”
famine taim bilong hangre “ time belong hunger”
“ condition of there being almost no
food in a place”
farm bikpela gaden “ big garden”
“ stretch of land worked for produce”
fertilizer gris bilong graun “ grease belong ground”
“ substance for fertilizing earth”
flattery tok gris “ talk grease”
“ saying over-kind things to person
about himself for purpose of pleasing”
flint ston bilong masis “ stone belong matches”
“ sort of very hard stone as used with
steel for producing fire”
footpath rot bilong wokabaut “ road belong (to) walk about”
“ sidewalk”
footprint mak bilong fut “ mark belong foot”
“ mark of foot”
foreigner man bilong longwe ples “ man belong long way place”
“ person not of one’s country”
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fuel ol samting man i ken “ all something man can make fire
along it”
“ material for fire”
funeral pasin bilong planim man” “ fashion belong (to) plant man”
“ taking of dead body to last resting-
place with forms of religion etc.”
future taim bihain “ time behind”
“ time which will be after the present”
gangway Yupela klia “ you clear” (12)
“ structure forming bridge between
ship and land”
garbage pipia bilong kaikai “ rubbish belong food”
“ food etc. put out as waste”
generation ol man i wan lain “ all man one line”
“ step in family tree”
generator masin bilong mekim “ machine belong (to) make electric
lektrik i kamap (to) come up”
“ apparatus for producing electric
current”
geography stori bilong graun “ story belong ground”
“ science of earth’s form, structure,
weather conditions, divisions. etc.”
glutton man bilong kaikai “ man belong food”
“ one taking overmuch food”
godfather papa bilong Baptismo “ papa belong Baptist”
“ man undertaking at Baptism of baby
to be responsible for its training as
Christian”
mekim paia long en
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gooseflesh skin i kirap nogut “ skin (to) get up no good”
“ rough condition of skin caused by
fear or cold”
gullet rot bilong kaikai “ road belong food”
“ way for food between mouth and
stomach”
hangar haus balus “ house aircraft”
“ building for airplane(s)”
hay kunai (13) i drai pinis “ grass (to) dry (to) finish”
“ grass cut and made dry for animals’
food”
helmsman man bilong stia “ man belong (to) steer”
“ man guiding ship”
history stori bilong ol man “ story belong all man”
“ the past as a branch of knowledge”
hospital haus sik “ house sick”
“ building where ill persons are given
medical care”
hymn singsing bilong haus “ song belong house worship”
lotu
“ song of love and respect to God in
church”
hypocrite man bilong tupela maus “ man belong two mouth”
“ one who falsely makes oneself seem
better than one is”
iceberg mauntenais i swim “ mountain ice (to) swim along salt
water”
“ high mass of moving ice in sea”
long solwara
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Versatility in Basic English and Tok Pisin
kid pikinini meme (14) “ child goat”
“ young goat”
kingdom ol ples king i bosim “ all place king (to) control”
“ country ruled by king”
kitchen haus kuk “ house cook”
“ room used for cooking”
knee skru bilong lek “ screw belong leg”
“ part where top and lower parts of
leg are joined”
knuckle skru bilong pinga “ screw belong finger”
“ part where one finger bone is joined
to another”
lamb pikinini bilong sipsip “ child belong sheep”
“young sheep”
lard gris bilong pik “ grease belong pig”
“ pig fat in form for use in cooking”
leech snek bilong dringim blut “ snake belong (to) drink blood”
“ small blood-drinking water-worm”
legend stori bilong ol tumbuna (15) “ story belong all ancestor”
“ old story handed down as history”
library haus buk “ house book”
“ room, building in which books are
kept for reading”
lightning lait bilong klaut “ light belong cloud”
“ bright light produced in sky by
natural electric force generally with
thunder”
lunch smolpela kaikai “ small food”
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“ small meal in middle of day”
manager man bilong lukaut “ man belong (to) look out”
“ one responsible for managing a
business”
mare hos meri “ horse woman”
“ female horse”
mirror glas bilong lukluk “ glass belong (to) look at”
“ looking-glass”
mud graun i gat wara na i “ ground (to) get water and soft”
malumalu (15)
“ dust or earth mixed with water”
nation olgeta manmeri bilong “ altogether man woman belong one
big place”
“ group having common language,
history, government”
navy ami bilong pait long “ army belong fight along salt water
and along all ship”
“ ships, men, of nation’s sea-force”
nest haus bilong pisin “ house belong pigeon”
“ place made by bird for its eggs”
nipple ai bilong susu “ eye belong breast”
“ pointed part of breast”
nurse misis dokta “ Mrs (16) doctor”
“ person looking after ill persons”
nursery rum o ples bilong ol “ room or place belong all child”
pikinini
“ room in house for use of young boys
and girls”
solwara na long ol sip
wanpela bikples
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nut pikinini bilong diwai (17) “ child belong wood”
“ fruit formed of hard outer cover
round soft seed which is good for
food”
orphan pikinini papamama “ child papa mama belong him (to) die
bilong em i dai pinis (to) finish”
“ child whose father and, or, mother is
dead”
patient sikman “ sick man”
“ person getting care from medical
man”
paw han bilong dok o pusi “ hand belong dog or pussy”
“ animal’s foot with nails”
peak het bilong maunten “ head belong mountain”
“ pointed top of mountain”
perspiration wara bilong skin “ water belong skin”
“ liquid giving off through skin”
pew bang (18) bilong haus lotu “ bench belong house worship”
“ long church seat with back”
phonograph masin bilong pilai musik “ machine belong (to) play music”
“ instrument automatically recording
sounds and producing them again”
potato taro bilong waitman “ taro belong white man”
“ plant having thick parts on roots
much used as food”
probation taim bilong traim “ time belong (to) try”
“ testing of person’s behavior, qualities,
before giving him work”
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prow poret bilong sip “ forehead belong ship”
“ pointed front of ship”
purse paus bilong mani “ pouch belong money”
“ small bag for money”
pyjamas klos bilong slip “ clothes belong sleep”
“ sleeping-dress of loose coat and
trousers”
quarrel pait bilong toktok “ fight belong talk”
“ having violent argument”
rumour tok nating “ talk nothing”
“ general talk, current statement,
which is open to doubt”
sap blut bilong diwai “ blood belong wood”
“ liquid in plant taking necessary
chemicals to all parts of its structure”
seaweed gras bilong solwara “ grass belong salt water”
“ sorts of sea plants”
shepherd wasman bilong sipsip “ watchman belong sheep”
“ man who takes care of sheep”
shrub liklik diwai “ small wood”
“ tree-like plant with wood stems”
sieve waia bilong tanim plaua “ wire belong (to) turn flour”
“ vessel or tray with network of wire
for separating smaller grains from
greater”
slipper su bilong misis “ shoe belong Mrs”
“ loose shoe used indoors”
snow ais i pundaun olsem “ ice (to) fall down all the same cotton”
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kapok (19)
“ water from air turned to ice and
falling to earth in soft white bits”
son pikinini man “ child man”
“ person’s male offspring”
stable haus bulmakau o hos “ house bull and cow or horse”
“ building in which horses are kept”
stallion hos man “ horse man”
“ male horse”
steam smok bilong wara i “ smoke belong water hot (to) finish”
hat pinis
“ gas into which water is changed by
boiling”
summer taim bilong biksan “ time belong big sun”
“ part of year between spring and fall”
supper kaikai long apinun “ meal along afternoon”
“ last meal of the day”
tadpole pikinini bilong rokrok (20) “ child belong frog”
“ frog in early stage of development
when it has long tail”
tailor man bilong samapim “ man belong (to) sew up clothes”
klos
“ maker of outer clothing”
talon pinga bilong taragau (21) “ finger belong hawk”
“ long sharp nail of bird”
tear wara bilong ai “ water belong eye”
“ drop falling from the eye”
telescope glas bilong lukim ol sta “ glass belong (to) look all star”
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“ pipe-like instrument through which
things at a distance are seen as nearer”
thumb bikpela pinga “ big finger”
“ thickest of the 5 fingers, different in
form from the other 4”
tool samting bilong wok “ something belong (to) work”
“ any instrument used for working at
something”
toy samting bilong pilai “ something belong (to) play”
“ thing looked on as plaything”
tradition tok bilong ol tumbuna (22) “ talk belong all ancestor”
“ the handing down of belief(s), way(s)
of acting from the past”
tray plang bilong karim “ plank belong (to) carry food (to) come”
kaika i kam
“ flat structure of metal, wood, etc.,
generally with higher edge, used for
transporting cups, plates, etc.
twig liklik han bilong diwai “ little hand belong wood”
“ very small branch of tree”
twin wanbel tru “ one belly true”
“ one or other of 2 babies, animals,
given birth to at the same time”
vacation taim bilong limlimbur (23) “ time belong (to) amuse oneself”
“ weeks for which work of university
etc. is stopped”
volcano maunten i save pairap “ mountain (to) know (to) fire up”
“ mountain having opening(s) through
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which gases, lava etc. come up”
voyage go long sip o balus (24) “ go along ship or airplane”
“ journey by sea”
weapon samting bilong pait “ something belong fight”
“ thing designed, used, for causing
wound or death”
<Ⅳ>
As seen above, even though each English gloss for the T.P. is in the form of
literal translation, still what is meant is equally as clear as what B.E.
means.
A further point to bear in mind is that some T.P. vocabularies are easier to
understand because of the straightforwardness, which must be in part
ascribed to their limitedness in number. Those examples are as follows,
again with the B.E. counterparts so that the comparison can be shown more
easily.
ash T.P. “shit belong fire”
B.E. “powder formed by thing burning”
armor “clothes iron”
“metal cover for body, ships etc.”
brassiere “bandage belong breast”
“breast-support put on under woman’s dress”
artery “rope belong blood”
“any one of the blood-vessels taking blood from the heart”
cave “hole (to) go inside long mountain”
“hollow place in mountain”
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chimney “pipe belong stove”
“structure by which smoke,steam is taken away from fire”
church “house worship”
“building used for public forms of Christian religion”
cobweb “house belong spider”
“spider’s network or thread”
curtain “waistcloth belong window”
“cloth hanging from top of window”
diarrhea “feces water”
“ over-frequent, liquid motion of bowels caused by stomach
trouble”
drop “small half water”
“small, round, separate amount of liquid, as in falling rain”
drought “time belong big sun”
“long time without rain”
earthquake “ground trembling”
“sudden violent shaking of the earth”
elbow “screw belong hand”
“ outer point of part forming join between lower and higher
arm”
famine “time belong hunger”
“condition of there being almost no food in a place”
flattery “talk grease”
“ saying over-kind things to person about himself for
purpose of pleasing”
flint “stone belong matches”
“ sort of very hard stone as used with steel for producing
fire”
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Versatility in Basic English and Tok Pisin
footpath “road belong (to) walk about”
“sidewalk”
foreigner “man belong long way place”
“person not of one’s country”
garbage “rubbish belong food”
“food etc. put out as waste”
geography “story belong ground”
“ science of earth’s form, structure, weather conditions,
divisions, etc.”
gooseflesh “skin (to) get up no good”
“rough condition of skin caused by fear or cold”
history “story belong all man”
“the past as a branch of knowledge”
hymn “song belong house worship”
“song of love and respect to God in church”
hypocrite “man belong two mouth”
“one who falsely makes oneself seem better than one is”
knuckle “screw belong finger”
“part where one finger bone is joined to another”
nipple “eye belong breast”
“pointed part of breast”
nursery “room or place belong all child”
“room in house for use of young boys and girls”
While it is true for some of T.P. vocabularies that their way of saying things
are quite sharp, B.E. expressions are sometimes clumsy because of the
limitation of vocabulary. Writing in B.E. would inevitably fall into utter
circumlocution in order to be precise in statement.
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But still there should be some conspicuous features to be pointed out, when
we go through the comparison between the two T.P. and B.E. That is, the
resemblances between them are at some points too striking to ignore as can
be seen below. For each word, English gloss of T.P. and its counterpart of B.
E. are shown in parallel again.
bark T.P. “skin wood”
B.E. “outer skin of tree-stems”
boulder “big stone”
“great stone”
bride “woman married new”
“woman newly married”
brine “water (to) get salt”
“water mixed with salt”
cauldron “big saucepan iron”
“great open cooking-pan”
ceiling “roof inside long house”
“inside roof of room”
charity “fashion belong (to) help all man”
“giving to the poor”
city “big town”
“great town”
dairy “store belong (to) sell milk”
“store for milk, butter, eggs, etc.”
desk “table belong (to) write”
“table for writing”
dome “round roof”
“round arched roof”
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Versatility in Basic English and Tok Pisin
duckling “baby duck”
“young duck”
east “sun (to) come up”
“in direction where sun is seen to come up”
ewe “sheep woman”
“female sheep”
eyebrow “grass on top along eye”
“arch of hair over eye”
footprint “mark belong foot”
“mark of foot”
future “time behind”
“time which will be after the present”
generator “machine belong (to) make electric (to) come up”
“apparatus for producing electric current”
gullet “road belong food” (25)
“way for food between mouth and stomach”
kid “child goat”
“young goat”
kingdom “all place king (to) control”
“country ruled by king”
lamb “child belong sheep”
“young sheep”
leech “snake belong (to) drink blood”
“small blood-drinking water-worm”
mare “horse woman”
“female horse”
mud “ground (to) get water and soft”
“dust or earth mixed with water”
Okamoto, Makoto
－ 104－
seaweed “grass belong salt water”
“sorts of sea plants”
shepherd “watchman belong sheep”
“man who takes care of sheep”
stallion “horse man”
“male horse”
tailor “man belong (to) sew up clothes”
“maker of outer clothing”
toy “something belong (to) play”
“thing looked on as plaything”
Probing some kind of universal way of thinking through the comparison of
the two languages, although the two are so geographically remote from each
other and so non-relevant, may serve as a starting point for further
discussion. Because the idea which eventually gave birth to B.E. by C.K.
Ogden in the early twentieth century and the eventually formed pidgin T.P.
in the Pacific through a couple of centuries have much in common in the way
of wording and in the way of thinking that could lead to something universal.
Notes
(1) Ogden includes “may” and “will” into the verb group.
(2) Derived from German “Blut”.
(3) Derived from Fiji “worship”.
(4) Derived from Malay “milk” or ”breast”.
(5) The origin is unknown.
(6) Derived from Portuguese “(to) know”.
(7) Derived from Fiji “waistcloth”.
－ 105－
Versatility in Basic English and Tok Pisin
(8) Derived from Portuguese “little” or “child”.
(9) Derived from Tolai “feces”.
(10) Derived from Spanish “duck”.
(11) Derived from Tolai “trembling”.
(12) In English “Gangway, gangway!” means to get out of the way.
(13) Derived from Tolai “grass”.
(14) Derived from Tolai “goat”, resembling the same onomatopoeia as the
Japanese have.
(15) Derived from Tolai “soft” or “spongy”.
(16) Referring to a white woman.
(17) Derived from Tolai “wood”.
(18) Derived from German “Bank” (bench).
(19) Derived from Malay “cotton”.
(20) Derived from Tolai “frog”.
(21) Derived from Tolai “hawk”.
(22) Derived from Tolai “ancestor”.
(23) Derived from Tolai “to amuse oneself”, originally “to go on an outing”.
(24) Derived from Tolai “dove” or “aircraft”.
(25) Coincidentally the equivalent Japanese word for this is shokudo, whose
literal characters are “food” and “road”.
References
Baumgarden, R. (1996) South Asian English (University of Illinois Press)
Bickerton, D (1977) “Pidginization and Creolization: Language Acquisition
and Language Universals” Pidgin and Creole Linguistics (Indiana University
Press)
DeBose, C. & Ferguson, C. (1977) “Simplified Registers, Broken Language,
Okamoto, Makoto
－ 106－
and Pidginization” Pidgin and Creole Linguistics (Indiana University Press)
Dutton, T.E. (1980) Conversational New Guinea Pidgin (Australian National
University)
Huang, Y. (2006) “Basic English, Chinglish, And Translocal Dialect”, English
and Ethnicity (Palgrave MacMillan)
Mossé, F. (1958) Esquisse dune Histoire de la Langue Anglaise (IAC)
Mihalic, F. (1983) The Jacaranda Dictionary and Grammar of Melanesian Pidgin
(The Jacaranda Press)
Mühlhäusler, P. (1982) “Tok Pisin in Papua New Guinea” English as a World
Language (Cambridge University Press)
Mühlhäusler, P. (1979) Growth and Structure of the Lexicon of New Guinea Pidgin
(The Australian National University)
Ogden, C.K. (1930) Basic English: International Second Language (Harcourt,
Brace & World, Inc.)
Ogden, C.K. (1940) The General Basic English Dictionary (Evans Brothers
Limited)
Okamoto, M. (1997 & 2005) “The Analytical Paraphrasing Device in New
Guinea Pidgin (Ⅰ) and (Ⅱ)” (Journal of Komazawa Junior College)
Richards, I.A. & Ogden, C.K. (1923) The Meaning of Meaning (Routledge &
Kegan Paul Ltd)
Smith, G. (2002) Growing up with Tok Pisin (Battlebridge Publications)
Wurm, S.A. (1980) “Language Planning and New Guinea Pidgin” Papers in
Pidgin and Creole Linguistics (The Australian National University)