Tok Pisin Texts

Varieties of English Around the World #T9

by Peter Mühlhäusler, Suzanne Romaine, Thomas Edward Dutton

Tok Pisin is one of the most important languages of Melanesia and is used in a wide range of public and private functions in Papua New Guinea. The language has featured prominently in Pidgin and Creole linguistics and has featured in a number of debates in theoretical linguistics. With their extensive fieldwork experience and vast knowledge of the archives relating to Papua New Guinea, Peter Muhlhausler, Thomas E. Dutton and Suzanne Romaine compiled this Tok Pisin text collection. It brings together representative samples of the largest Pidgin language of the Pacific area. These texts represent about 150 years of development of this language and will be an invaluable resource for researchers, language policy makers and individuals interested in the history of Papua New Guinea."

294 pages, Hardcover

First published November 27, 2003

Reviews

[Ava · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just marathon'ed this book over a couple hours. This is an indispensable resource for anyone who either wants to learn Tok Pisin or learn about Tok Pisin. Mühlhäusler et al. have procured an excellent collection of texts (with great translations) that give the reader an excellent sense of how Tok Pisin has developed over the last 100+ years. This collection also gives you a better sense of Tok Pisin's inter-speaker variation than any textbook would give you (certainly a better sense than what I got from the grammar I read yesterday). Also, Mühlhäusler et al. provide critical historical commentary on the circumstances of Tok Pisin's development, including but not limited to its use in WWII propaganda, its speakers' metalinguistic awareness, its relationship to periodicals and the press, and much more. And above all, the book starts with a very clear and concise grammatical sketch of Tok Pisin.

Essential reading for anyone with any interest in Tok Pisin.