From Pidgin to Creole: Stages of Development

Abstract

For any language which is a native language for someone, there is an enormous range of potential functions which that language can fulfil. From a private and involuntary curse uttered on hitting one’s thumb instead of a nail with a hammer, to a carefully crafted poem or song, to a lively argument about sport or politics, there is hardly any limit to what people can do with a language which they speak natively.