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Article In: Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages: Online-First Articles

A rare case of language acquisition and pidginization

Two Chinese sailors learning German in the early 19th century

ORCiD logo with link | Nanjing University, China
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Abstract
In the 1820s, two young sailors from Canton (Guangdong), China, began studying German at the University of Halle under the sponsorship of the Prussian authorities; however, they did not achieve the desired results. This case of language contact and acquisition unfolded under unique historical conditions and produced unusual outcomes, as evidenced by the autographs of the two learners and the observations of contemporary German scholars. This article presents the first systematic analysis of these sources with respect to pronunciation, lexicon, morphology, and syntax. It is argued that this unique variety of German, used unilaterally, should not be defined as a pidgin; nevertheless, it exhibits pronounced features of pidginization, notably sharing many characteristics with Chinese Pidgin English.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background
    • 2.1Two Chinese adventurers in Prussia
    • 2.2Biographical documents and historical linguistic corpora
  • 3.Influencing factors and comparison basis
    • 3.1Cantonese as the substrate language
    • 3.2Chinese Pidgin English
    • 3.3Biblical German
    • 3.4Diverse contact languages based on German
  • 4.Analysis of the corpora
    • 4.1Phonetics and phonology
      • a.Examination of spellings
      • b.Syllable structure
      • c.Vowels
      • d.Initial consonants
      • e.Final consonants
    • 4.2Lexicon
      • a.Vocabulary extent
      • b.Semantic transfer
      • c.Semantic reinterpretations
    • 4.3Morphology
      • a.Pronouns
      • b.Classification of content words
      • c.Inflection of content words
      • d.Word-formation by analogy
      • e.Morphological borrowings
    • 4.4Syntax
      • a.Basic word order
      • b.Subordinate clauses
      • c.Yes/no questions
      • d.Preposition omission
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Author queries
  • References
References (33)
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