One of the languages that I (Adam) don’t talk about much, but use quite often in Papua New Guinea, is a language called Tok Pisin (Talk Pidgin). A pidgin language is one that is used for communication between people from different language groups, and it is generally not anyone’s mother tongue. It is almost always a simplified form of an already existing language, with limited vocabulary.
It can be quite entertaining for English speakers to learn Tok Pisin as it is a simplified form of English. It is fascinating to see how English words have been appropriated for other uses with a change in their meaning. To give you a small taste of what Tok Pisin is like, I am copying the Lord’s Prayer below in Tok Pisin. First, I will write it with the standard spelling, and you will probably have difficulty understanding it—but give it a try. (You will understand more if you read it out loud.) Then, I will write the prayer again spelling all of the words that come from English with their normal English spelling. You will be amazed at how much Tok Pisin you already know, simply because you speak English.
Papa bilong mipela,
yu stap long heven,
Nem bilong yu i mas i stap holi.
Kingdom bilong yu i mas i kam.
Mipela i mas bihainim laik bilong yu long graun
Olsem ol i save bihainim long heven.
Nau yu ken givim mipela kaikai inap long dispela de.
Na yu ken lusim ol rong bilong mipela,
Olsem mipela i save lusim ol rong ol arapela i mekim long mipela.
Na yu no ken larim ol traim i kamap long mipela,
Tasol yu ken kisim bek mipela long ol samting nogut.
Kingdom na strong na biknem
Em i bilong yu tasol oltaim oltaim. I tru.
How did you do? I imagine it was pretty difficult for you to make much sense out of the prayer. But now I want you to read the prayer again with standard English spelling. Believe it or not, there are only four or five words in the entire prayer that are not derived from English. (Those words are defined below.)
kaikai = food
na = and
save = regularly (pronounced sah-vay)
i = untranslatable (ignore this word)
-im = perhaps from the English word him (ignore this word)
Papa belong me-fellow,
You stop along heaven,
Name belong you i must i stop holy.
Kingdom belong you i must i come.
Me-fellow i must behind-im like belong you along ground
All-same all i save behind-im along heaven.
Now you can give-im me-fellow kaikai enough along this-fellow day.
Na you can loose-im all wrong belong me-fellow,
All-same me-fellow i save loose-im all wrong all another-fellow i make-im along me-fellow.
Na you no can let-im all try-im i come up along me-fellow,
Thats-all you can catch-im back me-fellow along all something no good.
Kingdom na strong na big name,
Him i belong you that’s-all all-time all-time. I true.
Did you understand more this time? Are you surprised at how much Tok Pisin you already know? Even though it was probably not entirely clear, in just a few short minutes you are already well on your way to understanding the Lord’s prayer in another language. But just in case it is still a bit foggy, let me write out the prayer one more time in a literal word-for-word English translation.
Father of us
You are in heaven,
Name of you must be holy.
Kingdom of you must come.
We must follow desire of you on earth
As they regularly follow [it] in heaven.
Now you can give us food enough for this day.
And you can release wrongs of us,
As we regularly release wrongs others make against us.
And you can not let trials come up upon us,
But you can take us back from things [that are] no good
Kingdom and strength and big name,
They belong [to] you alone, [for] all time, [for] all time. [It’s] true.
Did you notice that in just this short prayer I had to translate the word long (along) with six different English words (in, on, for, from, against, upon)? That is the nature of Pidgin languages: they are simplified. And that is one of the greatest shortcomings of Pidgin languages: they don’t have the precision that other languages do. Hearing the Bible in a Pidgin language rarely sounds as sweet and clear as it does in one’s own language. And even if the general point comes across, the depths and riches of God’s word are often lost, just as they were when you struggled through reading through the Lord’s Prayer in Pidgin, even though it was spelled out in English. That is why I am so thankful for your partnership with us to translate the Bible into Enga, so the people of Enga can hear the Word of God clearly and know what they need to do to behind-im it (I mean, ‘follow it’).
It can be quite entertaining for English speakers to learn Tok Pisin as it is a simplified form of English. It is fascinating to see how English words have been appropriated for other uses with a change in their meaning. To give you a small taste of what Tok Pisin is like, I am copying the Lord’s Prayer below in Tok Pisin. First, I will write it with the standard spelling, and you will probably have difficulty understanding it—but give it a try. (You will understand more if you read it out loud.) Then, I will write the prayer again spelling all of the words that come from English with their normal English spelling. You will be amazed at how much Tok Pisin you already know, simply because you speak English.
Papa bilong mipela,
yu stap long heven,
Nem bilong yu i mas i stap holi.
Kingdom bilong yu i mas i kam.
Mipela i mas bihainim laik bilong yu long graun
Olsem ol i save bihainim long heven.
Nau yu ken givim mipela kaikai inap long dispela de.
Na yu ken lusim ol rong bilong mipela,
Olsem mipela i save lusim ol rong ol arapela i mekim long mipela.
Na yu no ken larim ol traim i kamap long mipela,
Tasol yu ken kisim bek mipela long ol samting nogut.
Kingdom na strong na biknem
Em i bilong yu tasol oltaim oltaim. I tru.
How did you do? I imagine it was pretty difficult for you to make much sense out of the prayer. But now I want you to read the prayer again with standard English spelling. Believe it or not, there are only four or five words in the entire prayer that are not derived from English. (Those words are defined below.)
kaikai = food
na = and
save = regularly (pronounced sah-vay)
i = untranslatable (ignore this word)
-im = perhaps from the English word him (ignore this word)
Papa belong me-fellow,
You stop along heaven,
Name belong you i must i stop holy.
Kingdom belong you i must i come.
Me-fellow i must behind-im like belong you along ground
All-same all i save behind-im along heaven.
Now you can give-im me-fellow kaikai enough along this-fellow day.
Na you can loose-im all wrong belong me-fellow,
All-same me-fellow i save loose-im all wrong all another-fellow i make-im along me-fellow.
Na you no can let-im all try-im i come up along me-fellow,
Thats-all you can catch-im back me-fellow along all something no good.
Kingdom na strong na big name,
Him i belong you that’s-all all-time all-time. I true.
Did you understand more this time? Are you surprised at how much Tok Pisin you already know? Even though it was probably not entirely clear, in just a few short minutes you are already well on your way to understanding the Lord’s prayer in another language. But just in case it is still a bit foggy, let me write out the prayer one more time in a literal word-for-word English translation.
Father of us
You are in heaven,
Name of you must be holy.
Kingdom of you must come.
We must follow desire of you on earth
As they regularly follow [it] in heaven.
Now you can give us food enough for this day.
And you can release wrongs of us,
As we regularly release wrongs others make against us.
And you can not let trials come up upon us,
But you can take us back from things [that are] no good
Kingdom and strength and big name,
They belong [to] you alone, [for] all time, [for] all time. [It’s] true.
Did you notice that in just this short prayer I had to translate the word long (along) with six different English words (in, on, for, from, against, upon)? That is the nature of Pidgin languages: they are simplified. And that is one of the greatest shortcomings of Pidgin languages: they don’t have the precision that other languages do. Hearing the Bible in a Pidgin language rarely sounds as sweet and clear as it does in one’s own language. And even if the general point comes across, the depths and riches of God’s word are often lost, just as they were when you struggled through reading through the Lord’s Prayer in Pidgin, even though it was spelled out in English. That is why I am so thankful for your partnership with us to translate the Bible into Enga, so the people of Enga can hear the Word of God clearly and know what they need to do to behind-im it (I mean, ‘follow it’).
