FROM FISIN TO PIJIN - CREOLIZATION IN-PROCESS IN THE SOLOMON-ISLANDS

In a combination of ethnohistorical records and longitudinal data gath ered over a period of 30 years, the development of Solomon Islands Pij in is documented and analyzed in light of the current debate surroundi ng creolization theory. Using a pragmatic definition of a creole (Jour dan 1991), the authors argue that pidgins can be very elaborate codes even before they become the mother tongue of children, and that this e laboration is the result of the linguistic creativity of adults. It is further shown that, in sociolinguistic niches where adults and childr en use the pidgin as their main language, the impact of the latter on the evolution of the language is of a different nature. (Creolization theory, pidgin languages, substrate influences, urbanization, Solomon Islands Pijin).