Introduction to Tok Pisin 3301-JF2666-1ST
The course provides introductory information about the history, development, grammatical/lexical structure, and the basic cultural aspects of Tok Pisin, the largest language and the most important lingua franca of Papua New Guinea. The participants will have an opportunity to approach Tok Pisin by studying a variety of texts (conversations, life-stories, ethnographic accounts), as well as some outsiders' (administrative officials, missionaries) accounts of the language. The following topics will be addressed:
1. Pidgins and Creoles; Pidgins and Creoles in the Pacific; Sociolinguistic background of Papua New Guinea.
2.The Phonology of Tok Pisin; Basic grammatical elements of Tok Pisin: nouns, pronouns, possession; Nominal Sentences; Types of verbs and verbals. Negation.
3. The lexicon of Tok Pisin. Sources of Tok Pisin vocabulary.
4. The grammar of Tok Pisin (I):basic sentence patterns.
5. The grammar of Tok Pisin (II): Auxiliaries, tense, mood and aspect markers.
6. The issues of language contact and language attitudes. Stylistic variation. Tok Pisin on the Internet.
Course coordinators
Type of course
Mode
Learning outcomes
Acquiring knowledge
1. The student learns linguistic terminology as well as basic concepts and principles of linguistics and creole linguistics.
2. The student learns linguistic methodology practiced in the U.S., the U.K., and Australia and acquires the rudimentary knowledge of descriptive linguistic analysis
3. The student expands his/her knowledge of English sociolinguistics, in particular contact varieties of English and pidgin/creole languages
4.The student learns how to use research tools of descriptive linguistics, especially as they are applied in the studies of contact languages.
Acquiring expertise
1.The student acquires the expertise of how to use linguistic methodology in research projects.
2. The student acquires the expertise of how to construct his/her own research projects with regard to the goals, scope and methods.
Acquiring social skills
1. The student acquires the understanding of professional standards, especially the understanding of the ever changing environment in research and as well as the understanding of the importance of cross-linguistic and cross-cultural communication.
2. The student acquires social skills and understands the need to build social ties and engage in cooperation in the effort of making the world a better place.
In class discussions students acquire skills of expressing their thoughts in a clear, coherent, logical and precise manner, with the use of language which is correct grammatically, lexically and phonetically.
English language instruction at the B2+ level.
Assessment criteria
Semester paper - preparing a glossed English translation of a selected text in Tok Pisin.
Bibliography
Dutton, T. (in collaboration with Dicks Thomas). 2002. A New Course in Tok Pisin (New Guinea Pidgin). Canberra, Australian National University Press.
Kornacki, P. (2019). Wantok and Lain ‐ a look at two Melanesian cultural concepts in two Tok Pisin texts. Journal of New Zealand & Pacific Studies. 7. 137-156. 10.1386/nzps_00002_1.
Mosel, U. 1985. Early language contact between Tolai, Pidgin, and English in the light of its sociolinguistic background (1875-1914). In: Papers in Pidgin and Creole Linguistics, No.2, RSPacS ANU, p.163-178. Mühlhäusler, P. 1980. Structural Expansion and the Process of Creolization. In: A. Valdman and A. Highfield (Eds.) Theoretical Orientations in Creole Studies, Academic Press: New York, pp. 19-51.
Mühlhäusler, P. 1983. Language and Communicational Efficiency: The Case of Tok Pisin. In: Harris, R. (Ed.) Approaches to Language, pp.157-177. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Todd, L. 1984. Modern Englishes: Pidgins & Creoles. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Velupillai V. (2015). Pidgins creoles and mixed languages : an introduction. John Benjamins Publishing Company.