Creole
From KneeQuickie
A creole is language derived from a pidgin which has gained native speakers and thus changed to accommodate the needs of a fully functional language. Though generally more regular than typical languages, creoles are usually no less capable of expressing complex ideas.
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Characteristics
Generally speaking, creoles tend toward simple phonology with fewer phonological distinctions than their parent languages and a tendency toward CV syllable structure. They are usually isolating, with only rudimentary morphology, and a great emphasis on syntax. SVO word order predominates due to the need to distinguish subject and object without case endings and without them occurring adjacent to each other.
Creole continuum
Creoles often exist on a continuum with the more normative variety of language spoken by the colonial élite. Linguists call the normative variety the acrolect and the most creolized variety the basolect, with mesolects as intermediate varieties.
Famous creoles
Well-known creoles include Tok Pisin, spoken in Papua New Guinea (derived from English) and Haitian Creole from Haiti (derived from French).
Additionally, some have considered English a creole created by Norman influence on a Germanic substratum. Proponents of this hypothesis point to the radically simplified morphology of English and its highly Latinized vocabulary, which set it apart from its relatives. This idea has not met with much acceptance, however, and linguists generally argue that the time frame of the Norman invasion and irregularities of English morphology rule out creolization.
Concreoles
At present, few conlangers have experimented with creoles in their work.
