Bislama, n.
(ˈbɪsləmɑː)
Also Pislama.
[a. Bislama pidgin Bislama, Bichelamar (see Beach-la-mar n.), alteration of Pg. bicho do mar bêche-de-mer n.]
A form of Melanesian pidgin used as a lingua franca and contact language in Vanuatu; New Hebrides pidgin. (Since 1980, the national language of Vanuatu.)
| 1971 Gud Nyus bilong Jisus Krais (Bible Soc. in N.Z.) facing p. 1, The four Gospels in New Hebrides Bislama. 1974 Times 6 Mar. 13/8 A speaker..welcomed the Queen..to the New Hebrides on behalf of the chiefs of the islands. And the Queen—another ‘chief’—replied through her ‘speaker’..who did an admirable job in English, French and the local lingua franca, Bislama. 1977 S. A. Wurm in A. Valdman Pidgin & Creole Linguistics v. 334 Bichelamar (or Pislama), the pidgin language of the New Hebrides. 1979 Guardian 18 July 6/7 New Hebrideans..talk a pidgin dialect called Bislama (from ‘bêche de mer’). 1980 English World-Wide I. 7 Not only in the obvious cases of Bislama or Lallans can a contribution be doubly valuable, for content and form. 1984 Ibid. V. 107 The common history of Tok Pisin, Solomon Pijin and Bislama is first traced through jargonized varieties, plantation pidgins, and the spread of pidgins in the various recruiting areas. |