A Corpus-based Study of Tok Pisin with particular reference to Word Formation

Abstract: The aim of this study is to compare Tok Pisin with English and, in doing so, try to determine whether it is a developing language, moving forwards in its own right, or whether it is a language in the process of disappearing. This possibility was discussed in 1985 by Don Laycock in the article "The Future of Tok Pisin", where he predicts that the language will decline in popularity and use and that "... in perhaps 50 years time, Tok Pisin will most likely be being studied by scholars among a small community of old men."