pidgin

n. Pidgins are languages that develop in contexts where speakers do not have a common language for communication. One language will serve as the lexifier, providing the bulk of the vocabulary. Early in its development, a pidgin will have highly variable structure, but as the pidgin stabilizes, so does its grammar. A defining characteristic of pidgins is that they are acquired as second languages. However, when children begin acquiring a pidgin as a first language – say, from caregivers who speak it to each other – the pidgin begins a transformation into a creole. Alternatively, pidgins can become obsolete if a different language takes over as the primary medium for communication. Common to pidgins is a tendency toward subject-verb-object canonical word order, no complex structure involving embedded clauses, limited morphological processes, and a preference for syllables consisting of a nuclear vowel plus an optional onset consonant. – EMF