Pitkern

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Pitkern, also known as Pitcairn-Norfolk or Pitcairnese, is a language spoken on Pitcairn and Norfolk islands. It is a mixture of English and Tahitian, and has been given many classifications by scholars, including cant, patois, and Atlantic creole.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref> Although spoken on Pacific Ocean islands, it has been described as an Atlantic or semi-Atlantic creole due to the lack of connections with other English-based creoles of the Pacific.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> There are fewer than 50 speakers on Pitcairn Island, a number which has been steadily decreasing since 1971.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

History

Following the Mutiny on the Bounty on 28 April 1789, the British mutineers stopped at Tahiti and took 18 Polynesians captive, mostly women, to remote Pitcairn Island and settled there. A pidgin was formed based on English and Tahitian so that the English mutineers could communicate with the Tahitian women they brought to the previously uninhabited Pitcairn Island.<ref name=":0"/> The Pitkern language was influenced by the diverse English dialects and accents of the crew.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.

The first children born on Pitcairn Island mainly spoke a mixture of non-standard varieties of English and the contact language.<ref name=":0" /> In the 1830s, Pitkern's local prestige increased, and the language started to be used in church and school.<ref name=":0" /> In 1856, 194 residents of Pitcairn Island moved to Norfolk Island, where many residents continued to use Pitkern in their households.<ref name=":0" />

After 1914, the Australian government tried to end the use of Pitkern/Norf'k by restricting its use in public spaces.<ref name=":0" />

Relationship to Norf'k

Norf'k is descended predominantly from Pitkern. When the residents of Pitcairn Island moved to Norfolk Island, they brought the language with them.<ref name=":0"/> The language developed and changed over time. The relative ease of travel from English-speaking countries such as Australia, New Zealand or Papua New Guinea to Norfolk Island, particularly when compared with that of travel to the Pitcairn Islands, has meant that Norf'k has been exposed to much greater contact with English relative to Pitkern.Template:Citation needed The difficulties in accessing the Pitcairn population have meant that a serious comparison of the two languages for mutual intelligibility has proven difficult.

The exact relationship between these two languages is a point of contention for scholars. Some believe that the difference between Pitkern and Norf'k is negligible, while others believe that Standard English is more present in Norf'k than it is in Pitkern.<ref name=":0" />

Common phrases

Pronouns included {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, commonly spelled {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'we/us' (or just 'us', with {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} for 'we'); , {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'you and I' / 'you and us', and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'you (plural)'.<ref>Kallgard (1993) Pitcairnese</ref>

<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Pitkern	English
Wut a way ye?	How are you?
lang}}	Where are you going?
lang}}	Are you going to cook supper?
lang}}	I don't think so.
lang}}	Would you like some food?
lang}}	It doesn't matter. I don't mind.
lang}}	What are you doing? What are you up to?
lang}}	I'm going to the ship.
lang}}	How often do ships come here?
lang}}	Come on all you kids!
lang}}	I'm going swimming.
lang}}	Let it be!
Gude!	Good!
You same as tingi!	You beggar!
What-thing that?/Wasing daa?	What is that?
Blue as a pai-pai	Very homesick

Note: Pitkern spelling is not standardised.

Excerpts from a transcription of Pitkern

The sentences below are excerpted from a longer dialogue held in 1951 between a teenage speaker of Pitkern and A.W. Moverley, a foreigner who worked as a schoolteacher on Pitcairn during the mid-20th century.<ref name=":0"/> The dialogue was recorded by Moverley and later transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet by A.C. Gimson, with translations to English provided by Moverley.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Pitkern transcription		main}}	main}}
English cognates		what way	you
Translation		“How are	you (sg.)?”

Pitkern transcription		main}}	main}}	main}}
English cognates		I	feeling	sick
Translation		“I’m	feeling	sick.”

Pitkern transcription		main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}
English cognates		I	been	sore	since	yesterday	the	other one	the	other one
Translation		“I’ve	been	ill	for the past three days.”

Pitkern transcription		main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}
English cognates		I		bring	one	of	victuals	along for	me
Translation		“I’ve	brought		some		food	for myself with me."

Pitkern transcription

main}}

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English cognates

I

been

take

one

I

tater

[Tahitian: "type of pudding"]

in

a

plantain's

leaf

Translation

“I’ve

brought

myself some

potato

pie

in

a

banana

leaf."

Pitkern transcription		main}}	main}}
English cognates		you all you<ref>Mühlhäusler, Peter. "The History of writing Pitkern and Norf’k (talk given at the History Society in 2019)." p. 12</ref>	[Tahitian: "silence"]
Translation		“You (pl.)	be quiet!”

Pitkern transcription		main}}	main}}
English cognates		do not	[Tahitian: "obstinate"]
Translation		“Don't	argue!”

Pitkern transcription		main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}
English cognates		you all you	pile	of	people	can't	what thing	you all you	talking	about
Translation		“You (pl.)	lot			don't know	what	you're	talking	about."

Pitkern transcription		main}}	main}}	main}}
English cognates		you all you	do not	talk
Translation		"You (pl.)	stop	talking!”

Pitkern transcription		main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}
English cognates		us		get	our	flour	out	ship
Translation		"We		get	our	bags of flour	from	ships."

Poetry in Pitkern

Some poetry exists in Pitkern. The poems of Meralda Warren are of particular note.

See also

• Australian English
• Pitcairn Islands
• Norfuk language

External links

• Template:Cite report)
• Template:Cite book
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