Tense and aspect in Chinese pidgin Russian and Chinese pidgin English : a comparative study

Abstract

This paper aims to revisit some of the conventional understanding regarding pidgin languages by examining the tense and aspect systems of two Asian pidgins which have been receiving, relatively, less attention in this field of studies. Though Chinese Pidgin English (CPE) and Chinese Pidgin Russian (CPR) share the same substrate, namely, Chinese, CPR has been an understudied language compared to CPE. Nevertheless, both Chinese pidgins are, comparatively, not often to be the focus or the topic in the field of pidgin and creole language studies. This paper attempts to explore and to discuss the implication involved in the tense and aspect systems of the two understudied Chinese pidgins. The result of the examination and analysis in CPE and CPR questions the prevailing argument which suggests that tense and aspect system is absent in most pidgin languages. Meanwhile, the regularity observed in the tense and aspect systems of CPE and CPR reaffirms the claim which suggests that pidgins are simplified languages. The result of this analysis further implies that a holistic but detailed report or analysis related to the typology of pidgin languages is required in order to further explore the differences and similarities among pidgins.