Subject: summary of responses to query on tok masta ( ft of new guinea )

almost two months ago i posted the following query to the list : > i am posting this for a fellow student who is not on the list . > she seeks references of sources of the so-called " tok masta " , the foreigner > talk of europeans on new guinea ( probably , i guess , involved in the genesis > of , but still to be kept apart from , tok pisin ) . > > she would be especially interested in where to get actual examples of tok > masta . so far her main source - not containing examples - is an article by > peter muelhaeusler ( 1981 ) " foreigner talk : tok masta in new guinea " in > ' international journal of sociology of language - 28 " , pp . 93-113 . we did get some responses to the query , but eventually my friend had to postpone the project to a not-too - near future . it seems then , that there won't be any further information to add to what we have got here , but i guess what we have here might be of interest to others : - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - august cluver < cluve @ alpha . unisa . ac . za > writes : > our departmental database on the sociology of language ( 750 > pages ) shows up only the article by muehlhaesler that you > have if we search under " tok masta " . he has published > widely on tok pisin and probably refers to this variety in his > other publications . > > the phenomenon that your friend is analysing occurs also in > kiswahili ( if i remember correctly ) and the following source > may provide some comparative material : > * > vitale , a . j . 1980 " kisetla : linguistic and sociolinguistic > aspects of a pidgin swahili of kenya . " in : anthropological > linguistics 22 , 2 : 47-65 . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > from david ganelin < ganelin @ netcom . com > we got : > ronald wardhaugh has a few references to tok pisin and tok masta in his > _ an introduction to sociolinguistics _ ( second edition ) , blackwell , > oxford , england and cambridge , massachusetts ( 1992 ) . also , he refers to > an article by e . wolfers ( " a report on neo - melanesian " ) in d . h . hymes > ( ed . ) _ pidginization and creolization of languages _ , cambridge university > press ( 1971 ) . hope this helps . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - b . robert helm < bhelm @ cs . uoregon . edu > writes : > there was some discussion of tok masta in : > > s . a . wurm , p . muehlhaeusler . _ handbook of tok pisin ( new guinea > pidgin ) _ . canberra , a . c . t . , australia : dept . of linguistics , > research school of pacific studies , australian national university , > 1985 . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - jan tent < tent _ j @ usp . ac . fj > suggested that : > you might get some help from prof . john lynch who used to be the > professor of linguistics at upng . he 's not on the linguist list , so send > him your original e-mail to this address : > > lynch @ vanuatu @ usp . ac . fj > > tell him i gave you his e-mail address . > > you might also try jeff siegel at : > > jsiegel @ gara . une . oz . au > > hope these guys will be able to help you , if not they certainly will be > able to put you onto someone who will . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - elisabeth gordon < e . gordon @ csc . canterbury . ac . nz > : > i have a small booklet on pidgin english produced during the last war . on > the front page it says : ' this language is used in conversation with natives , > asiatics , and german white misionaries . ' i ' m not sure if it is what you > want , but if you would like i could photocopy it and send it to you . it was > written to help soldiers during the war . the booklet itself is now very > fragile . i use it in my sociolinguistics classes here to show early > attitudes both to the language and those who spoke it . > e . g . some general advice - ' do n't interfere with village pigs . this would be > nearly as bad as interfering with the women . ' - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - < karlcc _ franklin @ sil . org > : > muelhaeusler , whom your student refers to , and wurm have edited a " handbook > of tok pisin ( new guinea pidgin ) published by pacific linguistics , c-70 , 1985 . > muelhaeusler claims ( p . 236 ) that tok masa is " a fourth variety [ of tp , after > bush , rural and urban ] used by many expatriates . . . " and that it " is the name > given by papua new guineans to the domestic jargon used by the majority of > expatriates in dealing with their indigenous employees or servants " ( 241 ) . > elsewhere ( 286 ) he claims that tok masta " seems to be of quite recent origin " > and was tied to the self-awareness preceding independence . > > i worked in png with sil from 1958 until 1990 and have studied and > worked on pidgin . i think that the term tok masta contrasts with tok boi , the > former referring to the whites and the latter to the pngs , but both used in a > derogatory or condesending sense . baorchardt ( 1926 ) refers to tok - boi as " a > kanaka language " but it was traditionally male , hence the term " boi " , just as > tok masta was mainly " male " , in that expatariate females are " misis " . > > muelhaeusler 's four sociolects of tp do not show up in the folk > classification of the pidgin speakers . for example there is no equivalent of > " rural pidgin " in tp , whereas one can speak of urban pidgin as " su sok " pidgin > or even " taun pidgin " . the generic term " tok pidgin " can refer to almost any > variety . mead ( in asia 31 , 1931 ) also discusses " tok boi " , which i see somewhat > the opposite of " tok masta " . > > m discusses mixed varieties of tp , which tm certainly was ( or is ) , bau t > this includes mixing tp with the vernacular , as is commonly done now . this is > called " hap toktok " . > > m says that tm was for a long time called " tok vaitman " by pngs ( 467 , he > says until the mid 1920 - s ) but the spelling suggests tok siaman ( german > influence ) . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - paul gracie < keo @ pixi . com > ( keo sananikone ) sent : > i did a literature review on foreigner talk two years ago > ( for a chapter in my dissertation on ft in malaysia ) and my impression is > that the muelhaeusler article you mention is a ' one of a kind ' . there may > be resources at anu which could be used for further work on a historical > register of ft in png , but if it is like historical pidgin english sources > here in hawai ' i , your friend would have to go to canberra and spend time > digging for it . i was very interested in the tok masta article too but > almost all work with ft in linguistics defines the foreigner role as > immigrant student ( in the u . s . , canada , and australia ) or immigrant worker > ' auslandischer arbeiter ' ( ? ) ( in northern europe ) . > > if your friend is determined to pursue tok masta , she > might consider writing to suzanne romaine ( merton college , university of > oxford , oxford ox1 4jd , england ) or peter m . ( anu ? ) directly . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - thanks again to everybody who responded , i hope this can be of some use to other people interested in that matter jakob ladefoged ( till app . 25 / 7 : < b940119 . @ alf . let . uva . nl > ) university of amsterdam the netherlands
