Bislama language
Encyclopedia
Bislama is a creole language
, one of the official languages of Vanuatu
. It is the first language of many of the "Urban ni-Vanuatu
" (those who live in Port Vila
and Luganville
), and the second language of much of the rest of the country's residents. "Yumi, Yumi, Yumi
", the Vanuatu national anthem, is in Bislama.
More than 95% of Bislama words are of English origin; the remainder combines a few dozen words from French, as well as some vocabulary inherited from various languages of Vanuatu
, essentially limited to flora and fauna terminology. While the influence of these vernacular languages is low on the vocabulary side, it is very high in the morphosyntax. Bislama can be basically described as a language with an English vocabulary and an Oceanic grammar.
, in the 1870s and 1880s, hundreds of thousands of Pacific islanders (many of them from the New Hebrides
(now Vanuatu) archipelago) were enslaved and forced to work on plantations, mainly in Queensland, Australia and Fiji
. With several languages being spoken in these plantations, a pidgin was formed, combining English vocabulary with grammatical structures typical of languages in the region. This early plantation pidgin is the origin not only of Bislama, but also of Tok Pisin
of Papua New Guinea
and Pijin of the Solomon Islands
, though not of Torres Strait Creole
north of Australia.
This pidgin started spreading over the Vanuatu archipelago at the turn of the 20th century, as the survivors of Blackbirding began to come back to their native islands: knowledge of this pidgin would facilitate communication not only with European traders and settlers, but also between native populations of remote islands within the archipelago. This is how Bislama was born, progressively evolving separately from other related pidgins from the Pacific.
Because Vanuatu is one of the most language-dense countries in the world (one count puts it at 113 languages
for a land area of just 12,200 km2), Bislama usefully serves as a lingua franca
for communication between ni-Vanuatu, as well as with and even between foreigners. Besides Bislama, most ni-Vanuatu also know their local language, the local language of their father and that of their mother, and their spouse, and formal schools are taught in English or in French.
Over the past century or so, Bislama has evolved to what is currently spoken and written. Only recently (1995, with second edition in 2004) has the first dictionary of Bislama been published, and this has helped to create a uniform spelling of Bislama.
was gathered. The names biche-la-mar and 'Sandalwood English' came to be associated with the kind of pidgin that came to be used by the local laborers between themselves, as well as their English-speaking overseers.
Robert Louis Stevenson
wrote in an account of his travels through the Pacific in 1888 and 1889, “the natives themselves have often scraped up a little English,... or an efficient pidgin, what is called to the westward 'Beach-la-Mar'.”'. In Jack London
's story "Yah! Yah! Yah!", one of his "South Sea Tales", there is repeated a reference to “a bastard lingo called "bech-de-mer”, and much of the story's dialogue is conducted in it.
Today, the word "bislama" itself is seldom used by younger speakers of Bislama to refer to sea slugs, as a new re-borrowing from pseudo-French "bêche de mer", which has taken the form "besdemea", has become more popular.
Stoa long haos: The store next to the house.
long as 'at' or 'to'
Mi bin stap long ples ia bifo: I have been to this place before.
Mi stap long stoa: I am at the store.
long as 'in'
Jea long haos: The chair in the house.
Long holds many other related meanings, and is sometimes used in improvisation.
s the ending -em, -im, or -um, depending on vowel harmony
. There is a past tense and a future tense marker that usually goes at the beginning of the sentence or next to the verb. For example:
Pronouns do not decline
.
nomo : no/any more (placed before the predicate)
nomo : only / doesn't but
neva : never
jes : shows an action that has just occurred
stat : start, commencement of a process
stap : ongoing or habitual action
gogo : continual action
bin : (been) - completed action
finis : finished, past tense (when before object)
finis : already (when after object)
mas : must
traem : try
wantem : want
save : can, know; from French savoir
sapos : (suppose) if
.
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
, one of the official languages of Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
. It is the first language of many of the "Urban ni-Vanuatu
Ni-Vanuatu
Ni-Vanuatu is a demonym used to refer to all Melanesian ethnicities originating in Vanuatu.It also refers, more generally, to nationals and citizens of Vanuatu, whatever their ethnicity....
" (those who live in Port Vila
Port Vila
Port Vila is the capital and largest city of Vanuatu. Situated on the south coast of the island of Efate, in Shefa Province, the city population at last was 29,356, an increase of 55% on the previous census result . This suggests a 2007 population of about 40,000 or around 65% of the province's...
and Luganville
Luganville
Luganville, called "Santo" by people from Vanuatu's northern islands who use Luganville as their big city, and called "Kanal" by rural residents of the large island of Espiritu Santo, is the second largest city in Vanuatu. The population is .Luganville is one of Vanuatu's busiest ports,...
), and the second language of much of the rest of the country's residents. "Yumi, Yumi, Yumi
Yumi, Yumi, Yumi
"Yumi, Yumi, Yumi" is the national anthem of Vanuatu. It was written and composed by François Vincent Ayssav and adopted in 1980.- Bislama words :CHORUS:Yumi, Yumi, yumi i glat long talem se...
", the Vanuatu national anthem, is in Bislama.
More than 95% of Bislama words are of English origin; the remainder combines a few dozen words from French, as well as some vocabulary inherited from various languages of Vanuatu
Languages of Vanuatu
Vanuatu has three official languages, English, French, and Bislama, a creole language evolved from English. Bislama is the first language of many urban ni-Vanuatu, that is, the residents of Port Vila and Luganville. It is the most common second language elsewhere in the Vanuatu islands...
, essentially limited to flora and fauna terminology. While the influence of these vernacular languages is low on the vocabulary side, it is very high in the morphosyntax. Bislama can be basically described as a language with an English vocabulary and an Oceanic grammar.
History
During the period known as BlackbirdingBlackbirding
Blackbirding is a term that refers to recruitment of people through trickery and kidnappings to work as labourers. From the 1860s blackbirding ships were engaged in seeking workers to mine the guano deposits on the Chincha Islands in Peru...
, in the 1870s and 1880s, hundreds of thousands of Pacific islanders (many of them from the New Hebrides
New Hebrides
New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...
(now Vanuatu) archipelago) were enslaved and forced to work on plantations, mainly in Queensland, Australia and Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
. With several languages being spoken in these plantations, a pidgin was formed, combining English vocabulary with grammatical structures typical of languages in the region. This early plantation pidgin is the origin not only of Bislama, but also of Tok Pisin
Tok Pisin
Tok Pisin is a creole spoken throughout Papua New Guinea. It is an official language of Papua New Guinea and the most widely used language in that country...
of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
and Pijin of the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
, though not of Torres Strait Creole
Torres Strait Creole
Torres Strait Creole is an English-based creole language spoken on several Torres Strait Islands , Northern Cape York and South-Western Coastal Papua...
north of Australia.
This pidgin started spreading over the Vanuatu archipelago at the turn of the 20th century, as the survivors of Blackbirding began to come back to their native islands: knowledge of this pidgin would facilitate communication not only with European traders and settlers, but also between native populations of remote islands within the archipelago. This is how Bislama was born, progressively evolving separately from other related pidgins from the Pacific.
Because Vanuatu is one of the most language-dense countries in the world (one count puts it at 113 languages
Languages of Vanuatu
Vanuatu has three official languages, English, French, and Bislama, a creole language evolved from English. Bislama is the first language of many urban ni-Vanuatu, that is, the residents of Port Vila and Luganville. It is the most common second language elsewhere in the Vanuatu islands...
for a land area of just 12,200 km2), Bislama usefully serves as a lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
for communication between ni-Vanuatu, as well as with and even between foreigners. Besides Bislama, most ni-Vanuatu also know their local language, the local language of their father and that of their mother, and their spouse, and formal schools are taught in English or in French.
Over the past century or so, Bislama has evolved to what is currently spoken and written. Only recently (1995, with second edition in 2004) has the first dictionary of Bislama been published, and this has helped to create a uniform spelling of Bislama.
Name
The name of Bislama (also referred to, especially in French, as "Bichelamar") comes via the early 19th century word "Beach-la-Mar" from pseudo-French "biche de mer" or "bêche de mer" sea cucumber, which itself comes from an alteration of the Portuguese "bicho do mar". In the early 1840s, sea cucumbers were also harvested and dried at the same time that sandalwoodSandalwood
Sandalwood is the name of a class of fragrant woods from trees in the genus Santalum. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and unlike many other aromatic woods they retain their fragrance for decades. As well as using the harvested and cut wood in-situ, essential oils are also extracted...
was gathered. The names biche-la-mar and 'Sandalwood English' came to be associated with the kind of pidgin that came to be used by the local laborers between themselves, as well as their English-speaking overseers.
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
wrote in an account of his travels through the Pacific in 1888 and 1889, “the natives themselves have often scraped up a little English,... or an efficient pidgin, what is called to the westward 'Beach-la-Mar'.”'. In Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
's story "Yah! Yah! Yah!", one of his "South Sea Tales", there is repeated a reference to “a bastard lingo called "bech-de-mer”, and much of the story's dialogue is conducted in it.
Today, the word "bislama" itself is seldom used by younger speakers of Bislama to refer to sea slugs, as a new re-borrowing from pseudo-French "bêche de mer", which has taken the form "besdemea", has become more popular.
Grammar
Two frequent words in Bislama are "long" and "blong", which take the place of many prepositions in English or French."Long"
Long as 'next to', 'by', 'beside' etc...Stoa long haos: The store next to the house.
long as 'at' or 'to'
Mi bin stap long ples ia bifo: I have been to this place before.
Mi stap long stoa: I am at the store.
long as 'in'
Jea long haos: The chair in the house.
Long holds many other related meanings, and is sometimes used in improvisation.
"Blong"
Originally from Eng. "belong", blong takes the place of 'of' or the genitive case in other languages. Just like Eng. of, it is one of the most widely used and versatile words in the language, and can indicate possession, country of origin, defining characteristics, intention, and others.- Buk blong mi: The book that belongs to me, my book
- Man blong Amerika: Man from America, American.
- Hemi woman blong saiens. She is a woman of science, She is a scientist.
- Man blong dring: Man of drinking i.e. a drinker
Verbs
Verbs in Bislama do not conjugate. Usually they consist of a stem word borrowed from English, French or indigenous languages and on many transitive verbTransitive verb
In syntax, a transitive verb is a verb that requires both a direct subject and one or more objects. The term is used to contrast intransitive verbs, which do not have objects.-Examples:Some examples of sentences with transitive verbs:...
s the ending -em, -im, or -um, depending on vowel harmony
Vowel harmony
Vowel harmony is a type of long-distance assimilatory phonological process involving vowels that occurs in some languages. In languages with vowel harmony, there are constraints on which vowels may be found near each other....
. There is a past tense and a future tense marker that usually goes at the beginning of the sentence or next to the verb. For example:
- Mi wantem bia ~ I want beer.
- Mi bin wantem bia ~ I wanted beer (bin=past tense marker, from the English "been")
- Bambae/Bae mi wantem bia ~ I will want beer. (Bambae/Bae=future tense marker, from English "by and by")
Nouns
The plural is formed by putting "ol" before the word: bia=beer. Ol bia = "beers". "Ol" comes from the English "all". When used with numbers, the singular form is used. 2 bia, 3 bia, etc...Pronouns
Bislama features dual, trial, and plural personal pronouns as well as an inclusive and exclusive we (inclusive meaning I + you, exclusive meaning I + he/she/it/they, not you). Following are the Bislama plural personal pronouns, in italics the English transliteration where useful to understand/remember, and the grammatical category.Dual
- yumitu : (you me two) - us, inclusive (you and me)
- mitufala : (me two fella) - us, exclusive (me and someone else)
- yutufala : you two
- tufala/tugeta : those two
Trial
- yumitrifala : (you me three fella) - us three, inclusive (you two and me)
- mitrifala : (me three fella) - us three exclusive (us three)
- yutrifala : (you three fella) - you three exclusive (you three)
- trifala/trigeta : those three
Plural
- yumi : us inclusive (all of us)
- mifala : us exclusive (that person and me)
- yufala : all you
- ol : many of them
- olgeta : all of them
Pronouns do not decline
Declension
In linguistics, declension is the inflection of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles to indicate number , case , and gender...
.
Aspect markers
no : not- hem i no kakae yam = he doesn't eat (a, the) yam
nomo : no/any more (placed before the predicate)
- hem i nomo kakae yam = he doesn't eat (a, the) yam any more
nomo : only / doesn't but
- hem i kakae yam nomo = he only eats yam
neva : never
- hem i neva kakae yam = he never eats yam
jes : shows an action that has just occurred
- mifala i jes wekap = we just woke up
stat : start, commencement of a process
- hem i stat kukum kumala = he/she has started to cook sweet potatoes
stap : ongoing or habitual action
- hem i stap kukum kumala = he/she is now cooking sweet potatoes / he/she usually makes sweet potatoes
gogo : continual action
- hem i kukum kumala gogo = he/she keeps on cooking sweet potatoes / he/she continually cooks sweet potatoes
bin : (been) - completed action
- hem i bin go long Kanal = he has gone to Luganville (principal city in Santo)
finis : finished, past tense (when before object)
- hem i finis kakae = he is finished eating
finis : already (when after object)
- hem i kakae finis = he has already eaten
mas : must
- hem i mas kakae = he must eat
traem : try
- hem i traem singsing = he tries to sing
wantem : want
- hem i wantem go long Kanal = he wants to go to Luganville
save : can, know; from French savoir
- mi save toktok langwis bislama = I can speak Bislama
sapos : (suppose) if
- sapos yumitufala i faenem pig, yumitufala i kilim hem i ded = if we find a pig, we'll kill it
Internal variation
Dialects exist, based mainly on different pronunciations in different areas which stem from the different sounds of the native languages. The future tense marker can be heard to be said as: Bambae, Mbae, Nambae, or Bae. There are also preferences for using Bislama or native words that vary from place to place, and most people insert English, French, or local language words to fill out Bislama. So in the capital city it is common to hear 'computer'; in other places you might hear 'ordinateur'.Pacific creole comparison
| English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
Bislama | Pijin | Tok Pisin Tok Pisin Tok Pisin is a creole spoken throughout Papua New Guinea. It is an official language of Papua New Guinea and the most widely used language in that country... |
Torres Strait Creole Torres Strait Creole Torres Strait Creole is an English-based creole language spoken on several Torres Strait Islands , Northern Cape York and South-Western Coastal Papua... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| and | mo | an | na | ane, 'ne, an, a |
| the / this | __ ia / ya | __ ia | dispela __ | (the) dha - dhemtu - dhem / (this) dhis __ (ia) / (that) dhis __ dhe, dhas __ (dhe) |
| he / she / it / him / her | hem | hem | em / en | em |
| for | from | fo | long | po |
| (adjective marker) | -fala | -fala | -pela | -Ø (-wan when not before the noun - em i big man he's a big man - man i bigwan the man's big) |
| woman | woman | woman / mere | meri | uman / oman (dialect difference) |
Literature and samples
The longest written work in Bislama is the recently completed BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
.
| Luke 2:6-7: |
| Bislama: |
"Tufala i stap yet long Betlehem, nao i kam kasem stret taem blong Meri i bonem pikinini. Nao hem i bonem fasbon pikinin blong hem we hem i boe. Hem i kavremap gud long kaliko, nao i putum hem i slip long wan bokis we oltaim ol man ol i stap putum gras long hem, blong ol anamol ol i kakae. Tufala i mekem olsem, from we long hotel, i no gat ples blong tufala i stap." |
Yumi, Yumi, Yumi
Bislama words CHORUS: Yumi, Yumi, yumi i glad long talem se Yumi, yumi, yumi ol man blong Vanuatu God i givim ples ya long yumi, Yumi glat tumas long hem, Yumi strong mo yumi fri long hem, Yumi brata evriwan! CHORUS Plante fasin blong bifo i stap, Plante fasin blong tedei, Be yumi i olsem wan nomo, Hemia fasin blong yumi! CHORUS Yumi save plante wok i stap, Long ol aelan blong yumi, God i helpem yumi evriwan, Hem i papa blong yumi, CHORUS |
English translation CHORUS: We are happy to proclaim We are the People of Vanuatu! God has given us this land; This gives us great cause for rejoicing. We are strong, we are free in this land; We are all brothers. CHORUS We have many traditions And we are finding new ways. Now we shall be one Person, We shall be united for ever. CHORUS We know there is much work to be done On all our islands. God helps all of us, He is our father, CHORUS |
Further reading
- Camden, Pastor Bill. 1979. Parallels in structure of lexicon and syntax between New Hebrides Bislama and the South Santo language as spoken at Tangoa. Pacific Linguistics, A-57:51-117.
- Charpentier, Jean-Michel 1979. Le pidgin bislama(n) et le multilinguisme aux Nouvelles-Hébrides. Langues et Civilisations à Tradition Orale 35. Paris: SELAF.
- Crowley, TerryTerry Crowley (linguist)Terry Crowley was a linguist specializing in Oceanic languages as well as Bislama, the English-lexified Creole recognized as a national language in Vanuatu. From 1991 till his death he was a professor at the University of Waikato in New Zealand...
. 1990. Beach-la-Mar to Bislama: The emergence of a national language in Vanuatu. Oxford Studies in Language Contact. Oxford: Clarendon Press. xxi + 422pp. - Crowley, TerryTerry Crowley (linguist)Terry Crowley was a linguist specializing in Oceanic languages as well as Bislama, the English-lexified Creole recognized as a national language in Vanuatu. From 1991 till his death he was a professor at the University of Waikato in New Zealand...
. 1995. An illustrated Bislama-English and English-Bislama dictionary. Vila: Pacific Languages Unit and Vanuatu Extension Centre, University of the South Pacific. (Revised 2004.) vii + 478pp. * Builds on the work of Camden (1977) and other sources to provide a very comprehensive modern dictionary of modern Bislama, together with a comprehensive English index. - Crowley, TerryTerry Crowley (linguist)Terry Crowley was a linguist specializing in Oceanic languages as well as Bislama, the English-lexified Creole recognized as a national language in Vanuatu. From 1991 till his death he was a professor at the University of Waikato in New Zealand...
. 2004. Bislama Reference Grammar. Oceanic Linguistics Special Publication No. 31. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. - Darrell T. Tryon and Jean-Michel Charpentier. 2004. Pacific Pidgins and Creoles: Origins, Growth and Development. Berlin and New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 2004. xix + 559 pp. Hardcover ISBN 3-11-016998-3.
External links
- Bislama Translator & Spelling Dictionary for Microsoft Word English - Bislama online translator and MS Word dictionary
- Vanuatu Daily Post - news in English and Bislama
- A bibliography of Bislama, from an Australian National UniversityAustralian National UniversityThe Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
website - Peace Corp Bislama tutorial
- Portions of the Book of Common Prayer in Bislama Preabuk long Bislama