AN INTRODUCTION TO PIDGINS AND CREOLES. John Holm. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Pp. xxi + 282. $69.95 cloth, $24.95 paper.

Abstract

Although the primary focus of this introduction is the Atlantic pidgins and creoles, it contains considerable information on many other pidgins and creoles as well. Chapter 1 includes the definitions of terms, which are clear and concise with the exception of the notions of semi-creole and creoloid, which are somewhat vague, and the notion of interlanguage, which is not necessarily characterizable as unstable, especially if it fossilizes. Chapter 2 largely mirrors its comprehensive counterpart, Holm (1988). New in this volume is the mention of the earliest known attestation of a creole language (Martinique creole in 1671), the shortening, partial rewriting, or both of the monogenesis sections, and the identification of other trends. Chapter 3 succinctly underscores the importance of social factors in the creation and characterization of pidgins and creoles, without which, according to Holm, they cannot be defined. It also includes sociohistorical synopses of seven languages (i.e., Angolar Creole Portuguese, Papiamentu Creole Spanish, Negerhollands Creole Dutch, Haitian Creole French, Jamaican Creole English, Tok Pisin, and Nubi Creole Arabic).