This is the first introduction that consistently applies the findings of the Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Language Structures and systematically includes extended pidgins and mixed languages in the discussion of each linguistic feature. Part II empirically tests assumptions made about the linguistic characteristics of pidgins and creoles by systematically comparing them with other natural languages in all linguistic domains. Part I presents the theoretical background, with chapters devoted to the definition of terms, the sociohistorical settings, theories on the genesis of pidgins and creoles, as well as discussions on language variation and the sociology of language. Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing Companyĭescription: This lucid and theory-neutral introduction to the study of pidgins, creoles and mixed languages covers both theoretical and empirical issues pertinent to the field of contact linguistics. The Atlas is a detailed, far-reaching handbook of fundamental importance, dealing with a large number of diverse fields of knowledge, with the reported facts based on sound scholarly research and scientific findings, but presented in a form intelligible to non-specialists and educated lay persons in general. Martin Haspelmath, Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie The two text volumes cover a large geographical area, including Australia, New Zealand, Melanesia, South -East Asia (Insular and Continental), Oceania, the Philippines, Taiwan, Korea, Mongolia, Central Asia, the Caucasus Area, Siberia, Arctic Areas, Canada, Northwest Coast and Alaska, United States Area, Mexico, Central America, and South America. Essential reading (and map-viewing) for students of language contact with a global perspective.” Prof.

Description: “An absolutely unique work in linguistics publishing– full of beautiful maps and authoritative accounts of well-known and little-known language encounters.

Atlas of pidgin and creole language structures