ISO 639-3 pih Linguasphere 52-ABB-dd | Glottolog pitc1234 | |
Native to Norfolk Island, Pitcairn Islands, New Zealand Native speakers ca. 400 Pitcairn-Norfolk (2008)
36 on Pitcairn (2002) Language family English Creole
Pacific
Pitkern | ||
Pitkern (also Pitcairnese, Pitcairn English, occasionally Pitcairn-Norfolk) is a pidgin creole language based on an 18th-century dialect of English and Tahitian. It arose around 1790 by a group of British mutineers lead by Fletcher Christian that settled on Pitcairn Island after fleeing their voyage in Tahiti and burning their ship. It is a primary language on Pitcairn Island, though its related form Norfuk has more speakers on Norfolk Island. This is due to a migration of the people from Pitcairn to Norfolk island in 1859, after which only a few returned.The language shares a diglossic connection to the standard British-English. Unusually, although spoken on Pacific Ocean islands, it has been described as an Atlantic Creole.
Contents
Map of Pitcairn Islands
Today, this language is severely endangered, having less than 630 speakers worldwide. In 1980 an effort began to standardise the Norfuk language's spelling and grammar, which was met with wide public support and appeal, although it is unknown how far this process has gone on Pitcairn Island itself.
History
Following the Mutiny on the Bounty, the British mutineers stopped at Tahiti and took eighteen Polynesians, mostly women, to remote Pitcairn Island and settled there. 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, and, over time, they formed a unique new language that 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 a Caribbean patois. One was a Scot from the Isle of Lewis. At least one, the leader Fletcher Christian, was a well-educated man, which at the time made a major difference in speech. Both Geordie and West Country dialects have obvious links to some Pitkern phrases and words, such as whettles, meaning food, from victuals.
Many expressions which are not commonly used in the modern English that is spoken in most areas of the world carry on in Pitkern. These expressions include words from British maritime culture in the age of sailing ships. The influence of Seventh-day Adventist Church missionaries and the King 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 stayed. Pitkern and Norfuk dialects are mutually intelligible.
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.