Tây Bồi Pidgin French
| Tây Bồi | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Vietnam |
| Extinct | by 1980 |
|
French Pidgin
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | tayb1240 |
Tây Bồi (Vietnamese: tiếng Tây bồi), or Vietnamese Pidgin French, was a pidgin spoken by non-French-educated Vietnamese, typically those who worked as servants in French households or milieux during the colonial era. Literally, it means "French (Tây) [of- or spoken by] male servants (Bồi)". During the French colonization period, the majority of household servants for the French were male. The term is used by Vietnamese themselves to indicate that the spoken French language is poor, incorrect, and ungrammatical.
Tây Bồi may be related to "Français Tirailleur" - a pidgin language spoken by West African soldiers in the French colonial army approximately 1850-1960. This has not been investigated to a sufficient degree and therefore cannot be confirmed.
"Bồi" is the Vietnamese phonetization of the English word "boy", which referred to male household servants.
The French government/colonizers or protectors opened French public schools [from pre-kindergarten through the Baccalaureat II] to take care of their compatriots/expatriates' children's education. The staff was all French. Vietnamese children were admitted as well if they could pass the entrance examination tailored to their age and grade level. The Vietnamese elite class spoke French, and those with French Baccalaureat diplomas could attend French universities in France and in its colonies. Today, in Vietnam, standard (Picard) French is taught in some schools and colleges as a second language in addition to English.
Tây Bồi is remarkably close to the stereotypical "broken" French spoken by foreign characters, such as in comics.
(Bickerton 1995: 163) [1]
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