Angle On P-NG's

Pidgin Has a Word For It Angle On P-NG's Education Problem

By R. W. Robson

/e have before us a copy of npain Nius, which is a news

t written in Pidgin English

metically spelled), and com

i and distributed by the

leran Mission in Lae.

LOOKS like something in a unpletely foreign language—and is not read easily even by le who habitually make use of New Guinea Pidgin. e Lutherans are one of the stian Missions which decided to written Pidgin in the further of their education work; but, ad of accepting the nearest ish equivalent in spelling the in English words (which might familarised the natives with le English in written form; h they must eventually be it), the Lutherans (and others) adopted the new standard >graphy, which was agreed on 55 by the P-NG Education Ad y Board and the Committee on uages. this method, the Pidgin ish words are phonetically id, according to native pro iation, and this dispels most of esemblance between the original s (mostly English) and their ;rn standard spelling. It thus nes more difficult to teach le English to a native who has ne literate in Pidgin English as some now call it, Neo nesian). ■e is a paragraph copied exactly Kompain Nius —which happens j an attack by the Lutheran r upon the Jehovahs Witnesses which recently has become lished in New Guinea: I gat wanpela nupela kain >in i kamap long Nu Gini nau mi taik tok save long yupela. i wok longtaim liklik long ■t Moresby na ol i kamap tu g Wau na Lae na Rabaul. Nem >ng ol i Jehovas Witneses. aim ol i save tromwe liklik hap 1a bilong ol long karr bilong Lm bel bilong yupela. Dispela n misin i no save go long den pies na katim bus na nim gaden bilong 01. Nogat. 1 save wokabaut long gaden mg arapela misin tasol na wok g stilim boi bilong ol.” the Lutherans had kept it in n but had used the nearest sh equivalent words it would been something like this:

new -fella-kind JLT 6 u £ a l°£ g New n i! ke talk savy y along you-fella. All he work long time liklik along Port Moresby— now all he come up along Wau and Lae and Rabaul. Name belong-all he Jehovahs Witnesses. All-time allhe throw ’way liklik half paper belong-all along car belong shootof m m^ssion y^e' f nn a heathen nlace and S pT,T y nnri nSnf wrn N?. d A bel ?i lg K a11 ;

niinl walkabout

Q S el 2 ™ h is r ’? ella work along steal nim oeiong-aii.

Phonetically, this is not Pidgin as the native speaks it; but it is intelligible to the person who is com-

pletely literate in English, and uses Pidgin regularly as a medium for talking with the natives, a Translation!

M 1 ransianon.

For the benefit of the benighted section of PIM readers who know no Pidgin, the foregoing may be simply rendered thus: 1 sh ould tike to tell you about a new kind of Mission which has now appeared in New Guinea. This Mission worked for a little time in p ort Moresby. Now it has come to Wau and La e and Rabaul. It is called Jehovahs Witnesses. These new missionaries constantly distribute small pieces of paper intended to put new ideas into your minds. This new kind of missionary does not go

into the heathen (non istian) places, and cut the busn plant new gardens for the sup of the new Christian com lities. That is not his way. All does is to walk about among people and gardens established the other Missions, and take y the native people already estab -3d there as adherents of the Hons. le foregoing serves to emphasise of the outstanding difficulties in way of native administration in ■ Guinea—namely, the absence a common language, through ;h to reach more than H million jrate natives; and the continu multiplication in New Guinea eligious sects, who want to give ruction to the natives.

Serious Attempt

ie use of Pidgin English, writ phonetically, by the Lutheran, lan Catholic and other Missions the manner illustrated above — i represent a really serious at pt by competent people to pro- New Guinea’s 11 millions with immon, written language, lat attempt has been aided much by the Neo-Melanesian ionary and Grammar, compiled he Rev. Francis Mihalic, of the

New Guinea Catholic Mission and published in 1957. It was a natural fcllow-up to Hands Off Pidgin English, by Professor Robert A Hall, published in 1954.

The use of phonetically-spelled Pidgin, in the absence of anything else, seems likely to extend. But, in the opinion of some experienced observers there can be little real social and cultural progress in Papua, and New Guinea until the majority of natives are familiar with simple English; and that desirable end appears still a long way off— although the Administration an nounced in January that all Mission schools must begin teaching in Eng lish by the end of this year. (See Feb. PIM, p. 144).