ellen@ucla-cs.UUCP (08/30/84)
[ini untuk pemakan baris-barisan] sounds like the ad above referenced was in some Pacific pidgin. The various pidgins are not debased English, but follow definite rules, specifically selected from English and the/a local language/s. i suppose i could run down to my friendly local library and attack the card catalog/microfiche for titles, but can anyone recommend some books on pidgin/creole languages? post to net.
David Smallberg <das@ucla-cs.ARPA> <das> (08/30/84)
...
Well, for starters there's the recent (6 mo to 1 yr ago) Scientific
American article on Hawaiian Pidgin (I like its use of "cockroach" as
a verb meaning "steal"). I recall from the article that "kaukau" means
"food", and noticed in the "taim yu usim pidgin" ad that "kaikai"
must mean "eat".
One thing I remember about that Pidgin is that transitive verbs end in "im"
(derived from "him" as a direct object). "Dispela" (from "this fellow") is
the determiner "this", and "gutpela" (from "good fellow") means "good". The
word "pushim" (from "push", of course) doesn't mean "push"; its English
meaning is a different four-letter word (hint: starts with an "f").
-- David Smallberg, das@ucla-cs.ARPA, {ihnp4,ucbvax}!ucla-cs!das