Trivia

[Geoge Morren]

Is pikinini not an old American English term for 'black child' (still in
common usage when I was a kid) that might have been extant in colonial times
and thus emminently 'Imperial.' Check a historical (English) dictionary.

George E. B. Morren, Jr.
Professor of Anthropology & Ecology
Department of Human Ecology
Cook College, Rutgers University
55 Dudley Road
New Brunswick, N.J.  08901-8520
732/932-9153 x315 Office
732/932-6667 Fax
morren at ocean.rutgers.edu

----- Original Message -----
From: "Malcolm Ross" <Malcolm.Ross at anu.edu.au>
To: "Multiple recipients of list" <MIHALIC at anu.edu.au>
Sent: Thursday, November 09, 2000 12:21 AM
Subject: Re: Trivia


> John Burton wrote:
>
> >
> >I sent a quick 'Hands off pikinini!' note (he said don't worry,
'pikinini'
> >is safe). But where does it comes from? In the monumental Wurm &
Muhlhausler
> >eds. 'Handbook of Tok Pisin', it isn't at all clear that the supposed
> >Portuguese origin has any basis. Tru, o gatno? (Sorry, backwards pidgin
> >there).
>
>
> The question raise on p 210 of 'Handbook of Tok Pisin' is how the
> word pikinini arrived in Tok Pisin. Muhlhausler suggests it came from
> a variety of English. He doesn't discuss its origin further back. The
> most probable etymology still seems to be Portuguese pequeninho
> (diminuitive of pequenho 'small' -- my Portuguese spellings may be
> wrong). From there, like save 'know', it sems to have entered the
> lexicon of shipboard jargon(s) and eventually Tok Pisin, perhaps via
> some kind of English.
>
> Malcolm Ross