Pacific Pidgins and Creoles discusses the complex and fascinating history of English-based pidgins in the Pacific, especially the three closely related Melanesian pidgins: Tok Pisin, Pijin, and Bislama. The book details the central role of the port of Sydney and the linguistic synergies betweenAustralia and the Pacific islands in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the role of Pacific islander plantation labor overseas, and the differentiation which has taken place in the pidgins spoken in theMelanesian island states in the 20th century. It also looks at the future of Pacific pidgins at a time of increasing vernacular language endangerment.Darrell T. Tryon is Professor at the Australian National University, Australia.Jean-Michel Charpentier researches at the LACITO (Laboratoire de Langues etCivilisations à Tradition Orale), CNRS (Centre National de la RechercheScientifique), Paris, France. Date of Publication: 7/2004From the Contents:Chapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: Present-day Pacific Pidgins Chapter 3: Previous theories of pidgin development Chapter 4: Early days: History of the contacts 1788-1863Chapter 5: The beginnings: The language situation 1788-1863Chapter 6: The plantations: History of contacts 1863-1906 Chapter 7: Jargon to pidgin: The language situation 1863-1906Chapter 8: Colonial days: History of contacts 1906- 975Chapter 9: Differentiation: The language situation 1906-1975Chapter 10: Today’s world: 1975 to the present TO ORDER, PLEASE CONTACTSFG Servicecenter-FachverlagePostfach 434372774 Reutlingen, GermanyFax: +49 (0)7071 - 93 53 - 33E-mail: deGruyter@s-f-g.com For USA, Canada, Mexico: Walter de Gruyter, Inc.PO Box 960Herndon, VA 20172-0960Tel.: +1 (703) 661 1589Tel. Toll-free +1 (800) 208 8144Fax: +1 (703) 661 1501 e-mail: degruytermail@presswarehouse.com