Re: What language is this (Thin Red Line)

From: Jacques Guy (jguy_at_alphalink.com.au)
Date: 02/19/05 

Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2005 14:35:07 +1000

Harlan Messinger wrote:
>
 
> Now that Jacques has replied, I look forward to further developments in
> the is-it-Bislama-or-is-it-Solomons-Pijin debate.

You cannot tell from this short sentence.

The tell-tale difference is the word for "this":

Bislama: haos ya "this house"
Solom. : disfela haos

Another is -fela as in disfela "this", bigfela "big one",
mifela (we, excl.). That is Solomons Pidgin. Bislama has
-vala instead, thus "mivala" not "mifela". You also often
-pela for -fela in the Solomons, e.g. mipela. You don't hear
-pala for -vala in Vanuatu. Another common tell-tale word
is "this" (pronoun). Disfela in the Solomons (like the
ajdective), but hemya in Vanuatu.

So there is nothing in "God Yu tekem laef blong mi" that
enables you to say which it is.