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A pidgin is a new language which develops in situations where speakers of different languanges need to communicate but don't share a common language.

Defining Creole By John H. McWhorter
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Pp. 444. paper
ISBN 0195166698

The vocabulary of a pidgin comes mainly from one particular language (called the "lexifier"). The early "pre-pidgin" is quite restricted in use and variable in structure. But the later "stable pidgin" develops its own grammatical rules which are quite different from those of the lexifier. Once a stable pidgin has emerged, it is generally learned as a second language and used for communication among people who speak different languages. Examples are Nigerian Pidgin and Bislama (spoken in Vanuatu).

When children start learning a pidgin as their first language and it becomes the mother tongue of a community, it is called a creole. Like a pidgin, a creole is a distinct language which has taken most of its vocabulary from another language, the lexifier, but has its own unique grammatical rules. Unlike a pidgin, however, a creole is not restricted in use, and is like any other language in its full range of functions. Examples are Gullah, Jamaican Creole and Hawaii Creole English. Note that the words "pidgin" and "creole" are technical terms used by linguists, and not necessarily by speakers of the language. For example, speakers of Jamaican Creole call their language "patwa" (from patois) and speakers of Hawai'i Creole English call theirs "Pidgin."

Note that the words "pidgin" and "creole" are technical terms used by linguists, and not necessarily by speakers of the language. For example, speakers of Jamaican Creole call their language "patwa" (from patois) and speakers of Hawai'i Creole English call theirs "Pidgin."

A PIDGIN is a version of a language which is stripped of virtually everything except what is necessary to basic communication, meaning no, or all but no morphology, a relatively small lexicon, a preference for juxtaposition over subordination, etc.

Creoles are distinguished synchronically by, though being full languages, retaining signs of their pidgin ancestry, such as virtual absence of both inflection and tone, and highly transparent derivational processes. Creole is a latter-day descendant of something that began as a pidgin.

An Intertwined Language, where FULL, rather than REDUCED, subsystems of two or more languages come together in various combinations. Some intertwined languages are quite "set".Others are more fluid and vary more with the individual. Less focused varieties of this type include Isicamtho (Afrikaans/Zulu) and even the Spanglish thriving in the United States.

John McWhorter

John McWhorter is a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

UK-based Naija rapper ChiiDO
dropping knowledge about Naija and Pidgin English

Celebrities like Bill Cosby who has a PH.D. in education is considered an expert.  Mr. Cosby is not a Linguist. He is not an expert on language, dialect speakers or ebonics. He doesn't respect dialect speakers or recognize Ebonics as a language.
Reporters who haven't bothered to find out who the experts are, interview a celebrity like Bill and quote him on this topic consequently the public stays misinformed and the national media interested in the notorious cult of celebrity, not the research of academic linguistic experts, is at fault and perpetuates linguistic myths promoting a Culture of Ignorance.