The Forgotten History of Trade Languages
ENDNOTES
Modern society considers the age of encounter to be the doorway to trade and globalization that brought wealth and cultural exchanges. However, within this discussion, many forget the foundation which made the aforementioned developments possible: communication. Although deeply imbedded by inequality and power dynamics, Europeans, Africans and indigenous peoples all faced the challenge of communication with one another. Whether it was to understand trade methods or negotiations, each group had to discover a way to communicate their desires. This task is imminently difficult considering cultural and linguistic differences. Throughout the Atlantic world, sign, and body language as well as interpreters helped bridge the gaps until eventually creoles and pidgins were formed to help overcome the linguistic barrier. On the African continent, interpreters and gestures were essential, although fraught with challenges. One of the Photo by Lara Jameson, Pexels. first European groups to adopt the use of interpreters was the Portuguese. This involved the creation of a methodology to find and train translators. After its creation, it was adopted by other European powers and laid the foundation for West African exploration and trade.1 Slave ships were a necessary area of employment for these interpreters. For example, a 1550 expedition took enslaved Africans to England to learn English before attending a voyage.2 In some cases, slaves on board with the ability to translate were given freedom. However, in the case that the interpreters escaped, remaining crew had to resort to gestures, which were not always successful. According to Gomez Pirez, upon his arrival on the Guinea Coast in 1456, he attempted to show the locals his desire for peace through the presentation of a cake, mirror, and a sheet of paper with a cross. However, these symbols meant nothing to the indigenous Guineans and as a response, they broke the cake, smashed the mirror and tore the paper.3 This was a result of cultural differences. Just because one symbol had meaning in one place did not mean it was significant in another. Although hand gestures and body language were necessary in emergency situations, it was translators that made the early stages of communication simpler. As time went on, communication became easier through creole peoples. A creole is defined as “any person of European (mostly French or Spanish) or African descent born in the West Indies or parts of French or Spanish America (and thus naturalized in those regions rather than in the parents’ home country).”4 Creoles were able to understand African and European cultures, and also languages. Consequently, many served as intermediaries and provided insight into commercial practices and diplomatic etiquette which benefited African merchants and European sea captains.5 The intercultural skills of Creoles contributed to the formation of pidgins and creoles. Portuguese played a large role in the development of these creole languages as it contributed to the development of pidgin babble which allowed for widespread communication. This is reflected in the languages of Bini and Kongo which were spoken by the first African slaves in Sao Tome. For example, Cape Verdean Creole maintained African influence in syntax and morphology as the Portuguese verbal conjugation shifted towards the African style conjugation.6 This created a language that was neither Portuguese nor African but could be understood
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