Tok Pisin
Tok Pisin is an English-based creole spoken in Papua New Guinea by about 4 million
people, 120,000 of whom speak it as their first language. It is one of the official
languages of Papua New Guinea and the most widely used language in that country
The word tok means “word” or “speech” as in “talk”, and pisin
means “pidgin”. Other names for the language include New Guinea Pidgin, Melanesian
Pidgin English or Neo-Melanesian. Tok Pisin started out as a Pidgin – a simple
contact language used by people who didn’t share a common language. Over time is
has evolved and become a creole acquiring more complex grammar in the process.
The majority of Tok Pisin vocabulary comes from English, though it also includes
words from German, Portuguese and a number of Austronesian languages such as Tolai
and Malay.
Tok Pisin is used to some extent in the media and government. It also the language
of instruction for the first three years of primary education in some schools.
Tok Pisin pronunciation
Sample text in Tok Pisin
Yumi olgeta mama karim umi long stap fri na wankain long wei yumi lukim i
gutpela na strepela tru. Uumi olgeta igat ting ting bilong wanem samting I
rait na rong na mipela olgeta I mas mekim gutpela pasin long ol narapela
long tingting bilong brata susa.
Translation
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They
are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another
in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Links
Information about Tok Pisin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tok_Pisin
http://www.ida.liu.se/~g-robek/PNG-TokPisin.htm
http://www.une.edu.au/langnet/tokpisin.htm
Tok Pisin Translation, Resources, and Discussion
http://www.tok-pisin.com
Tok Pisin phrasebook
http://wikitravel.org/en/Tok_Pisin_phrasebook
Tok Pisin dictionary
http://www.june29.com/HLP/lang/pidgin.html
Tok Pisin radio broadcasts
http://www.abc.net.au/ra/tokpisin/