What is the distinction between pidgin and creole?

Answer 1

A pidgin language is a simple language used to foster communication between two people or groups of people who do not speak the same language. It usually borrows vocabulary from both languages, can visual communication such as hand gestures, and often uses only a couple of verb tenses. Its purpose is to transmit vital information. By definition, a pidgin language is not the mother tongue of anyone. However, a pidgin language can over time evolve into a creole language. The most well documented occurrence of this is Haitian Creole. In the early days of the French colony of Saint Domingue (present day Haiti), African slaves and French colonists communicated with each other in a pidgin language because the Africans did not speak French and the French did not speak any of the African languages (indeed, the Africans had just as much trouble communicating with one another as they did with their French masters). This pidgin language eventually evolved and was enriched to what we now call Haitian Creole, the mother tongue of millions of people.

Answer 2

A pidgin is a simplified language that develops as a way for speakers of different languages to communicate. It typically has a limited vocabulary and simpler grammar. A creole, on the other hand, is a more developed and stable language that forms when a pidgin becomes the native language of a community, with a more complex grammar and expanded vocabulary.