PIDGIN & PHONETICS--Business as Usual in China--BIRMINGHAM POST, 1863

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The Paleolinguist Bulletin                                                                Summer 2023

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The Birmingham Daily Post (England), 21 May 1863, Column 1, Page 6.

A CHAT ABOUT CHINA

     Everybody has heard of "pigeon English" as the dialect in which our countrymen and the Chinese manage to exchange ideas. Colonel Fisher supplies an explanation of the term :—

     " I believe the word 'pigeon' is originally derived from 'business,' which a Chinese would turn into 'pidgeness,' 'pidgeons,' 'pigeon.' And as all matters in China treated of between foreigners and Chinese are of a business nature, so they are all 'pigeon,' and the language made use of in conducting all business in the 'pigeon' language." 

     ANALYSIS: Note the phonetic similarity between "business" [bˈɪznəs] and "pigeness" [pa͡ɪd͡ʒnəs] Both words begin with a bilabial plosive consonant; the former is voiced /b/, the latter a vulgarization into a voiceless /p/. Early accounts of the origin of "pigeon" overlooks the similarity. In addition, the same occurs inside the word itself, with the voiced alveolar fricative /z/ being vulgarized into the voiced postalveolar affricate /d͡ʒ/. Apparent from the analysis was the inability of the Chinese to physiologically articulate correctly the required English word. That's only part of the difficulty. The article gives more insight that the Chinese had in understanding English:

The Chinese believe that the Eaglis (English?)  had, like themselves, a mandarin dialect and a vulgar tongue, the latter being that called "pigeon." This was one of old Sing-Chong's difficulties. "He used to say that though he understood us when we addressed him, he could never make out what  we said to one another."

     To what degree the Chinese shopkeeper had in understanding English was reflected in the inability to speak his own language:

"In respect of language, the same written character exists throughout the whole empire, but the pronunciation varies in a very great degree. The pure language, or Mandarin, is spoken commonly about Pekin; but in the provinces none but the educated are able to converse in Mandarin, and not all of them. The difference is so great as to render it almost impossible to follow what is said. Indeed, for all practical purposes, they are different languages. I have known a statement made before the Commissioners at Canton, by a man from a distance, pass through four different interpreters before it could be got into Mandarin, the dialects being so numerous and various..." 

     Thus, the oversimplification of "pigeness" by modern interpreters, where it appears to fluctaute between dialect and creole,  may be the result of their own inability to understand even their own language; especially when it comes to the bridge created by phonetics.

Great Wall image: The Tribune India

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James C. L'Angelle                Undergraduate Research    University of Nevada, Reno

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