Abstract
This chapter discusses the distribution and development of serial verbs in Melanesian pidgin, with emphasis on language contact between mainly Oceanic languages and English in the late 19th and 20th centuries. The different varieties of Melanesian pidgin — Tok Pisin in Papua New Guinea, Pijin in Solomon Islands, and Bislama in Vanuatu — represent a predominantly English-lexifier contact language in which significant elements of the structure have been attributed to transfer from predominantly Oceanic substrate grammatical patterns. The chapter examines verb serialization in the pidgin of Melanesia, as well as sources of serial verbs in Melanesian pidgin, and grammaticalization of serial verbs in Melanesian pidgin.
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