noun
- a simplified form of language that develops as a means of communication between speakers of different native languages
Usage: linguistics
Examples
- The traders communicated using a pidgin that mixed English and Chinese words.
- Pidgin English developed in many colonial ports around the world.
- The workers created a pidgin to communicate across language barriers.
- Hawaiian Pidgin emerged from contact between multiple immigrant groups.
- The pidgin had simplified grammar and limited vocabulary.
- Many pidgins eventually develop into full creole languages.