Pitcairn Languages
The Pitcairn language, also known as Pitkern and Pitcairnese, is a creole language based on an 18th century dialect of English and Tahitian. It is a primary language of Pitcairn and Norfolk Islands.
Pitcairn Languages
Following the Mutiny on the Bounty, the British mutineers stopped at Tahiti and took eighteen Polynesians, mostly women, to remote Pitcairn Island and settled there. Initially, the Tahitians spoke little English, and the Bounty crewmen knew even less Tahitian. Isolated from the rest of the world, but needing to communicate with each other, they formed a unique new language that blended a simplified English with Tahitian words and speech patterns. The Pitcairn language was influenced by the diverse English dialects and accents of the crew. Geographically, the mutineers were drawn from as far as the West Indies, with one mutineer being described as speaking a forerunner of a Caribbean patois. One was a Scot from the Isle of Lewis. At least one, the leader Fletcher Christian, was a well-educated man, which at the time made a major difference in speech. Both Geordie and West Country dialects have obvious links to some local phrases and words, such as whettles, meaning food, from victuals.
   
Pitcairn LanguagesMany expressions which are not commonly used in the modern English, that is spoken in most areas of the world, carry on in Pitcairn. These expressions include words from British maritime culture in the age of sailing ships. The influence of Seventh-day Adventist Church missionaries and the King James Version of the Bible are also notable. In the mid-19th century, the people of Pitcairn resettled on Norfolk Island; later some moved back. Most speakers of the language today are the descendants of those who stayed. In an article printed by the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser on 17th July 1819, Jenny (wife of mutineer Isaac Martin) says “on the island the Tahitian language was discouraged while the English language was promoted”. The article continues by saying that “this woman Jenny (also known as Teehuteatuaonoa) however, can speak neither English nor Tahitian but a jumble of both”.

There is virtually no Tahitian language today and the strong pronunciation differences and words from other sources makes the Pitcairn language difficult for any visitor to understand. Pitcairners, when communicating with visitors converse in a perfectly understandable English. A local idiom, particularly in place names, which are part of the islands’ history, was developed so that a conversation may include references to John Catch a Cow; Where Tom Off and Up in a Ti. Sadly the Pitcairn language is struggling to survive although there is a determined effort in the Pitcairn school curriculum to learn this unique tongue.

A good example follows that most know from the ANZAC commemorations. The ode “For The Fallen” by Laurence Binyon has been translated into the Pitcairn language by Meralda Warren:
“Dem nawa gwen groe ole semes ucklan laf gwen groe ole, Age nor gwen futto dem ulla hem years dreag daun, Un when har sun se gorn daun un een a morning, Wi gwen always sink orf dem”. (They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them-or the years condemn, At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them).
Pitcairn Languages FDC
Pitcairn Languages
Please Note: All prices are in New Zealand Dollars
Sheetlet with 8 stamps
$9.40
First Day Cover with stamp set
$10.90
Technical Details
Designer:
 Denise Durkin, Wellington, New Zealand
Pitcairn Stamps
proudly brought
to you by:
Bounty Post
Printer: Southern Colour Print, Dunedin, New Zealand
Process: Offset Litho
Stamp size: 30.00mm x 24.00mm horizontal
Sheetlet Size: 180.00mm x 96.00mm horizontal
Format: One sheetlet containing eight stamps in a block adjoined, surrounded by 14 other perforated images
Perforation Gauge: 14.00 x 14.167
Denominations: $0.20c x 2; $1.00 x 3 and $2.00 x 3
Paper: 103gsm Tullis Russell Yellow/Green phosphor stamp paper
Period of Sale:
 7 December 2016 for a period of 2 years
Acknowledgement: The Pitcairn Islands Philatelic Bureau wishes to thank Meralda Warren (Pitcairn island) for her valuable help in providing images and text for this stamp issue.