The pidgin–creole continuum

The pidgin–creole continuum describes how languages evolve in multilingual societies. A pidgin is a simplified language that develops for specific practical purposes between groups without a common language. When children grow up speaking a pidgin as their native tongue, it becomes a creole—a fully developed, stable language with its own grammar and vocabulary. Along this continuum, languages range from basic pidgin forms used for limited functions to fully creole languages, with many variations or in-between forms that blend features of both. This process illustrates how language can naturally develop and diversify in multicultural settings.