Dictionary

Bislama en · PROPN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈbisləmaː/ (General-American)
• /ˈbɪʃləmɑː/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Borrowed from Bislama Bislama, from French bêche-de-mer (“sea cucumber”), referring to sea cucumbers (trepang) that were harvested and dried alongside sandalwood gathering in the mid-19th century. The pidgin that developed among local labourers, traders, and English-speaking overseers became known by the name of this trade item. The term evolved from referring to the commodity to the trade language itself.

Meanings

1. A creole language spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu, derived from Indo-European (mainly from English) and Oceanic languages.

Forms

Descendants

Bislama

Relateds

Wiktionary’s coverage of Bislama terms · pidgin

Translations (25)

pt bislamá (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · th ภาษาบิสลามา (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · ru бислама (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · fr bichelamar (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · el Μπισλάμα (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · fi bislama (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · ga Bioslaimis (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · cmn 比斯拉馬語 /比斯拉马语 (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · es bislama (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · tl Bislama (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · ja ビスラマ語 (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · chr ᏈᏍᎳᎹ (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · bi Bislama (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · it bislama (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · bi Bislaman (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · ka ბისლამა (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · nl Bislama (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · tr Bislama (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · bcl Bislama (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · pt bislama (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · de Bislama (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · fo bislama (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · hy բիսլամա (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · ms bahasa Bislama (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu) · uk біслама (a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu)