Pidgins and CreolesA pidgin language is not anyone's native language but is used as an auxiliary or supplementary language between two mutually unintelligible speech communities. It is essentially a simplified language derived from two or more languages ​​- a contact language developed and used by people who do not share a common language in a certain geographic area. It is characterized by a limited vocabulary with simple grammar sufficient to meet basic communication needs. Because they serve a single simplistic purpose, they usually die out. The oldest known pidgin is called "Sabir", based on Mediterranean languages ​​and used during the Crusades from the 11th to the 13th century. (ref: English – history, diversity and change chapter 5 p206) In the nineteenth century, when slaves from Africa were brought to North America to work on plantations, they were separated from people of their community and mixed with people from various other communities, therefore they were unable to communicate with each other. In order to finally communicate with their peers on the plantations and with their leaders, they needed to form a language in which they could communicate, thus creating a new language: pidgin. European expansion and colonization during the 16th-19th centuries was a primary catalyst for many of them. the pidgins known today. Their colonization had seen new varieties of English appear across the world. Some of these remain local languages ​​of relatively low social status while others...... middle of paper ...... amen (taken from a mix of dialects of British English) may have influenced the formation of a pidgin based on English (Bailey 1992, p 126) In conclusion, as can be seen from the two examples given; colonization played a role in the emergence of pidgins and creoles. Jamaica and North America are two case studies where a displaced population was replaced by people speaking different languages, initially brought as slaves, and where communication between these people and English speakers led to the development of a pidgin language which later it has creolized. (ref: English – history, diversity and change chapter 5 p 210) References David Graddol, Dick Leith and Joan Swann (1996) English, history, diversity and change, The Open University Website: http:// babel.uoregon.edu /explore/socioling /gidgin.html