Historical derivation from English: comparison to source language

We showed how final consonant deletion and vowel lengthening are processes employed for attaining more optimal Pijin syllable structure. The examples of suam and baa so derived by constraints on Pijin syllable structure are standard Pijin forms and do not illustrate synchronic dialectal or idiolectal variation, such as that exemplified in Table 1.

Given the amount of variation so characteristic of Solomons Pijin, it is nevertheless often quite difficult or impossible to assess which rules are active phonological processes and which ones represent historical change, which are due to Anglicization or the ongoing influence of the vernaculars. We focused on the historical relationship of Pijin and English. We provide a comparison of the creole and its lexifier and sketch the rules historically deriving Pijin lexemes from English lexemes.