Columbé
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| Columbé | |
|---|---|
| Columban Creole, Columban Poccasin Pidgin, Columban Bemé | |
| kriyal, kriyel | |
| Pronunciation | [kɾijal] [kɾijɛl] |
| Created by | Jukethatbox |
| Date | 2025 |
| Setting | Adventures in the Poccasins |
| Native to | Saint Columban[a][b] |
| Ethnicity | Columban people |
| Native speakers | 25,500 (2025) |
Poccasin English
| |
Columbé[c][d] is the dialect of Bemé spoken by the Columban people of the island of Saint Columban,[a][b] a British-administrated island in the Malorabin Islands of the Poccasin Archipelago. It is widely spoken as a first language on Columban, and is the official vernacular language of the island, with around 25,500 native speakers; approximately 98.8% of the population of Columban.
Classification
Although most linguists agree today that Columbé is a dialect of Bemé, this status has been the subject of much controversy; early Columbé linguists often argued that Columbé was a distinct English creole that developed from British colonialism, in a similar way as most creole languages(including standard Bemé). However, studies of mutual intelligibility with Bemé in the 70s and 80s showed that Bemé and Columbé speakers were able to almost completely understand each other, with a mutual intelligibility percentage of around 97%. Although this didn't conclusively prove a dialectal relation(languages such as Swedish and Norwegian also have high mutual intelligibility but are still considered distinct languages), it did catalyse later theories of dialectal relationships, which began to emerge around 1989 as the first theories of Bemé's origin and spread began to emerge.
The first theory that asserted Columbé as a dialect of Bemé was published in 1993, in a paper that analysed Bemé as a dialect continuum in the framework of tak and kriyal varieties; Columbé was included as a kriyal variety. Although the assertion of Columbé as a kriyal variety is considered invalid today(Columbé is generally considered to not contain a creole continuum unlike standard Bemé), it did bring the dialect theory into the mainstream, which by the turn of the century finally dominated the general linguistic consensus. Thus, linguistically, Columbé is considered non-continuum dialect of Bemé.
However, this consensus is not as represented in Columban administration and culture; both Bemé and Columbé speakers, despite understanding each other, still mostly consider both dialects distinct languages.
History
There are two main theories on how Columbé developed as a dialect of Bemé so far from the centre of development of Bemé in Cassim Po; the migration and divergence theory(MDT) and the independent development and convergence theory(IDC). The IDC theory states that Columbé originally developed as a separate creole language, then over time converged through contact with Bemé into a dialect of Bemé. This theory is generally disregarded as unlikely in the general consensus, with the MDT theory considered more likely and also supported by archaeological evidence.
Bemé migration
Notes
- ^ a b Columbé: Kulumban; Bemé: Senkolumbang; French: Saint-Colomban; Spanish: San Columbano, Portuguese: São Columbano
- ^ a b In full: Saint George, Saint Paul, Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Columban of Luxeuil; French: Saint Georges, Saint Paul, Saint François d'Assise et Saint Colomban de Luxeuil; Spanish: San Jorge, San Pablo, San Francisco de Asís y San Columbano de Luxeuil; Portuguese: São Jorge, São Paulo, São Francisco de Assis e São Columbano de Luxeuil
- ^ Known by many other names, including Columban Creole, Columban Bemé, Columban Pidgin, Columban Poccasin Pidgin, Columban Poccasin Creole and Columbanese. All these names may also be referred to in the same way but as "Saint Columban..." etc.
- ^ Pronounced [kɾijal] or [kɾijɛl].