Blog Post 1 Lowrey
This class was the first I had ever heard of “creole” as a broad term, so I was very excited to learn about what it meant for a language to be a creole and how they developed. Pidgin languages develop as a result of two or more languages existing together, as speakers of those languages try to communicate with each other, but they’re less complex than a full language. When a pidgin language becomes the native language of children and it develops greater linguistic complexities, it becomes recognized as a creole language. I had only ever heard the term creole used before in reference to Louisiana Creole—which is French-based and developed first as a pidgin for African slaves and thus involved many African languages—as well as the people who speak it. It surprised me to learn that “creole” referred more to a type of language; I always assumed it was specific to Louisiana! Especially because the other creole I knew of, Patois, is not called “creole” like Louisiana Creole is. It really got...
