To ask what has happened to BBC reporting? Mariah Carey

[Skye109]

Please can someone explain this report to me??
https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/articles/cqxjq7x17qzo

Yes, agreed, also because the BBC is so 'queen's English', it tickles me to see how familiar words are used it a very different way, which sometimes changes the nuance a bit which can be funny. I remember i was once reading a news report in an Indian publication but written in english about some terrible crime that had been committed by "some rascals" which made me laugh, despite the awful context, because it sounded like some toddlers had been marauding round - clearly accepted use in India as it was a credible publication, I was laughing about what it made me think of rather than the language used.

But this is AIBU, @MarieDeGournay , not FWR

I hadn't realised 'Pidgin' was now a distinct language as such, rather than a general term for forms of communication with words borrowed from other languages so I'm intrigued by this. Is this particular Pidgin now technically a creole? Aren't there other pidgins elsewhere eg some of the Pacific islands?

And people talking about Rastamouse and Patrick from Eastenders, even though that's Jamaican patois- a different dialect, nationality and accent. So ignorant.

I mentioned Patrick and I quite clearly said I knew he wasn't African, I believe he's Trinidadian. His accent just popped into my head as I was reading it, hence I added 🤦‍♀️ as I realise that's me being stupid.

Is this an official BBC thing? If so, it's ridiculous.

Why? Do you think their other foreign language pages are ridiculous?

Pidgin isn't a written language. I don't believe anyone can read pidgin that can't read proper English.

Understand (the then) Prince Charles gave a speech in pidgin in Lagos.

Totally gonna set mine to pidgin 😂

Seems it is now - though perhaps it's a bit questionable whether it should be the BBC who should be developing a standardized written form.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WestAfricannPidginEnglish

Worth every penny. I'm going to read all my news in this language from now on.

The BBC is English and it popped up on the OP's UK version of the site.

Of course it is odd for it to suddenly appear on the OP's laptop.

However if posters were in Portugal and a Portuguese version of the site came up, it wouldn't be funny .

I didn't realise it was an official language. My mind is blown from learning it is an official language. I always thought the phrase was pigeon English and it meant people who had a very small amount of English - usually just a few words said together without any grammar etc

I'd LOVE to see the video of this :)

This has given me such a giggle.

Di oldest living man for di world say im no get any "special secrets" to tell pipo about im long life as e celebrate im 112 birthday.
John Tinniswood, wey dem born for Liverpool on 26 August 1912, tell Guinness World Records say im "no get any idea" why im don live for so long.

Thank you OP, I never knew this existed. What a find, accidental or not.

This is brilliant OP! I can't believe 75 million people speak a language that I've never heard of.

My mum speaks her own special version of Pidgin English when talking to non-native English speakers 🙄

Not a whole speech...but still funny

Me don change dem settings. Any good? 🤣

Aah I don’t know. It’s quite funny but not because of “oh those Africans talk funny”.

I think it’s because foreign languages are usually wildly different and not really discernible to non-speakers.

In this case it was published on a BBC site and accidentally assumed to be English. The fact that OP didn’t notice is absolutely hilarious.

Pidgin English is fascinating because of the similarities with English. It’s fascinating to see the differences in sentence structure and some of the words. I think when you take a language that has some very similar sounds and words to English, it’s not racist to find it entertaining or humorous seeing how different it is in parts. And as far as I’ve seen on this thread, there are lots of posters who are seeing it for the first time and finding it rather lovely!

Welsh speakers often joke about how amusing some of the Welsh words are in English. This isn’t a thing that’s exclusive to Pidgin English.

I don’t think people are mocking it, or looking down on it. Not at all.

I’ve heard it spoken but never seen it written - I love language so I’m riveted by it.

Also, it has a much gentler tone/sound/structure than the very stiff upper lip of the usual BBC tone so it’s humorous to see something which is usually so formal in a completely different way.

My DD once read a Japanese graphic novel. She was only 9. She read it the western way without realising that it needed to be read from what we would consider to be the back cover. She didn’t even realise, just thought it was a weird story 😂😂🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ That was also hilarious. But again, I’m not laughing at the Japanese, just my dippy daughter.

I can remember me and my brother laughing at some German words as they were very literal. I seem to recall pillow translating as “kiss the head” or similar. Language IS funny and that’s ok. As long as no one is insinuating that another language is inferior, and they’re not being derisory, I think it’s fine.

I think it’s an AI generated response!

At least I hope no-one actually writes like that.

I find this hilarity pretty offensive towards the way some black people speak. Not nice at all. Am quite shocked really - it's a genuine type of language, not something designed to make people laugh.

Yes exactly pidgin are a type of language (developed to enable communication between peoples who speak two different languages) and there are many pidgin languages (and not all are half english). The BBC is using 'Pidgin' to refer to a west African pidgin - which seems to be a combination of at least two different creolized pidgin languages- Nigerian being one. Papua New Guinea also has a creolized pidgin language (one of their 3 official languages).

I can remember me and my brother laughing at some German words as they were very literal. I seem to recall pillow translating as “kiss the head” or similar.

There are some very funny literal ones in German. But "Kopfkissen" (pillow) is not one of them - it translates as "head cushion".

But these are my faves:

Feuerzeug / Cigarette lighter = fire thing
Flugzeug / Aeroplane = flight thing
Handschuhe / Gloves = hand shoes
Büstenhalter / Bra = bust holder

I'm a black woman and think some posters need to give over with the "I'm offended" card. Just too serious and nitpicky with everything unnecessarily. I don't see anything offensive in this thread's humour as many are now learning about something new - which we don't all know, as much as some of us like to think we do - in a fun and light-hearted spirit. Some of the posts are funny, yet not in a 'making fun of the language' way. I've never checked out BBC Pigdin but some posts have made me want to go read the news in Pidgin too. Most posters are obviously wanting to learn it now.

If it seems like a 'Look how these African/Black people talk haha' to you, then it may just be something you have to work through from within and not project as others' intention.

Pidgin is one of my languages by the way and I still find news read (on podcasts or youtube) in Pidgin humorous because it's not something I'm used to. I also laugh when some people I know try to speak Pidgin. We laugh about their 'Pidgin'. I'm obviously not laughing at the language, it's just one of those things you laugh about with no ill intent and it puts you in a good mood. Let's fight actual racism when it happens, not grabbing at straws to feel offended.