ABSTRACT
In this chapter I will provide an overview of the structure of creole languages whose vocabulary is derived from a Germanic language. In practice, this will include discussion of English-, German- and Dutch-based creoles (see below for a list of the languages included). Although there is no agreement on how to define pidgins and creoles or where they came from, all linguists recognize that there is such a group of languages. Their distinctiveness lies not in areal or genetic relationships, but in shared circumstances of sociohistorical development and use. At present there is no way of deciding whether a language constitutes a pidgin or creole unless reference is made to three criteria: linguistic, social and historical. The term ‘creole’ is generally applied to pidgins which have become nativized, although not all linguists agree that creoles need have a prior pidgin stage. Pidgins, by contrast, are nobody’s first language. They come into existence in contact situations, where they are used by speakers with different language backgrounds to fulfil certain restrictive communicative purposes, typically, trade. They are simplified languages characterized by a minimal lexicon, little or no morphology and limited syntax.
