PIDGIN ENGLISH.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16456, 18 June 1921, Page 8

PIDGIN ENGLISH.

THE ISLAND LANGUAGE. TERMS OF A PROCLAMATION. Tliat’s what for big fellow boss belong Rabaul he makern this fellow talk. These are the precise words in a proclamation issued to the kanakas working in “German” New Guinea by Captain F. K. Jolley, military secretary to Brigadier-General T. Griffiths, C.M.G., C.8.E.. D.S.O. Administrator —“big fellow boss belong Rabaul,” being of cour-e, tbe Administrator, while Captain Jolley has to bo content with the appellation "y this fellow.” All proclamations to the natives are written in pidgin English, which* is the only language outside of his own un. derstood by the native This circuni stance was a continued source of annoyance to the German officials before tho war. But as the natives were quite unable to assimilate German, the medium of talk exchange was of necessity pidgin English. Tfc is a language which can be picked up in a surprisingly short time. For instance: This particular proclamation has to do with three pests which attack cocoa nut palms. One paragraph reads:— Suppose whiteman he look out good and "make plenty work he no good suppose boy he no look cut too, Now suppose; allor boy he no makera, by and bye altogether coconut ho die, and then kanaka he no got lamas. Suppose he no got lamas he no got money. No got money no can payem kaikai. No got kaikai by and ~bve altogether man, now Mary, nowpiccaninny lie die. Notice the easy stages gradually worked up by which the native is told that if he, too, does not look for the pests the work of the plantation owner will go for nothing, tho palms will die, -the natives’ occupation will be gone, he will be without money, and he will not. only die, but his wife and' his children will perish also. Another passage reads : Suppose one fellow coconut he no good finish you must cut ’em down and cookem, or throwem away along sodawater. Some local knowledge is needed here. “ He no good finish ” means that the palm has died. “Cookem” explains itself, but the direction to “ throwem away along sodawater” is not so plain. The kanaka calls the ocean “ sodawater.” Later in the proclamation a long paragraph is necessary to tell the ka” naka what will happen to him if ho does not give effect to the order made by “ the big fellow boss belong Rabaul.” The threat of prosecution and fine on conviction ends in the following terms:— Suppose policemaster he findem altogether place clean ho alright along you fellow, but suppose he dirty, he no clean, he got plenty dewai, and place he stink, then he make court, and by and bye you fellow yon lose plenty mcney.