Basque–Icelandic pidgin
Basque-based pidgin spoken in Iceland in the 17th century / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Basque–Icelandic pidgin (Basque: Euskoislandiera, Islandiera-euskara pidgina; Icelandic: Basknesk-íslenskt blendingsmál) was a Basque-based pidgin spoken in Iceland during the 17th century. It consisted of Basque, Germanic, and Romance words.
![]() | This article should specify the language of its non-English content, using {{lang}}, {{transliteration}} for transliterated languages, and {{IPA}} for phonetic transcriptions, with an appropriate ISO 639 code. Wikipedia's multilingual support templates may also be used. (March 2021) |
Basque–Icelandic pidgin | |
---|---|
Region | Iceland, Atlantic |
Era | 17th century |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | None (mis ) |
Glottolog | icel1248 Icelandic–Basque Pidginbasq1251 Basque Nautical Pidgin |
![]() Westfjords, the Icelandic region that produced the manuscript containing the Basque–Icelandic pidgin |
Basque whale hunters who sailed to the Icelandic Westfjords used the pidgin as a means of rudimentary communication with locals.[1] It might have developed in Westfjords, where manuscripts were written in the language, but since it had influences from many other European languages, it is more likely that it was created elsewhere and brought to Iceland by Basque sailors.[2] Basque entries are mixed with words from Dutch, English, French, German and Spanish. The Basque–Icelandic pidgin is therefore not a mixture of Basque and Icelandic, but between Basque and other languages. It was named from the fact that it was written in Iceland and translated into Icelandic.[3]
Only a few manuscripts have been found containing Basque–Icelandic glossary, and knowledge of the pidgin is limited.