When groups of people who speak different languages come together, they sometimes inadvertently create a new one, combining bits of each into something everyone can use to communicate easily.

Of the original 250-plus languages and over 750 dialects spoken by First Nations peoples before 1788, only 12 are being learned by children today. However, widely spoken contact languages – creoles ...

These linguistic mash-ups are at high risk of extinction. The race to save them is a matter of time, with more at stake than words. When groups of people who speak different languages come together, ...

International partners: Laura Downing (University of Gothenburg), several members of the Department of African Languages, University of South Africa (Tshwane/Pretoria). Compared to other official ...