Yokohama Creole: Difference between revisions

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Despite its name, Yokohama Creole does not have its origins in [[w:Yokohama Pidgin English|Yokohama Pidgin English]] (YPE), a [[w:Pidgin|pidgin]] or pre-pidgin language of the 19th century, but instead developed independently in the 20th century during the [[w:Occupation of Japan|American occupation of Japan]]. During this occupation, many American soldiers of different races were stationed in Yokohama and Okinawa, two important bases to the Americans, and many eventually settled there and started families with the local Japanese; by 1960, this influx of Americans into Yokohama had so drastically changed the demographics of the city that a new culture and ethnicity reflecting this ethnic mixture, the Yokohama Creoles, emerged, with their own English-based creole language along with it. Although this initial creole language was said to be similar to [[w:Bamboo English|Bamboo English]], a further influx of low-income Japanese workers especially in the suburban areas of the city eventually led the language to become much more distinct from English or Japanese. The 1970 Treaty of San Francisco, which formally delineated the borders of the Yokohama International Territory, also further cemented the Yokohama Creole identity by making it harder for mainland Japanese to replace this new group through migration.

==Usage, sociolinguistic variation & official status==

[[File:Yokohama Japan street map.svg|thumb|A map of Yokohama and the surrounding International Territory. Areas in the north and west of the Territory, closer to the border with Japan, are generally considered ''nipi'' or ''pani'' areas while affluent, urban areas in the center of the city are generally ''rikani'' areas.]]

Yokohama Creole is natively spoken throughout the city of [[w:Yokohama|Yokohama]]. Generally, Yokohama Creole speakers can be split into two primary groups; more Japan-adjacent speakers, called ''pani'' or ''nipi'', and more English-adjacent speakers, or ''rikani'' or ''eegoman''. ''Rikani'' are generally considered the 'original' Yokohama Creoles, as they are usually the direct descendants of Japanese-American couples who first settled post-war Yokohama during American occupation. However, ''rikani'' can also simply refer to American expatriates living in Yokohama, and thus not necessarily ethnically Yokohama Creole. ''Nipi'' or ''pani'' arrived later, and form the much more geographically spread underclass of Yokohama society; ''nipi'' are generally classified as Japanese immigrants, or descendants thereof, who moved to Yokohama to find work. They primarily inhabit the northern and western suburban areas of the city, and generally have a lower socio-economic status than ''rikani''s as most high-paying jobs in the centre require high mastery in English and not Creole.

The ''nipi''-''rikani'' divide is generally considered the primary socioeconomic and, to an extent, cultural divide of the International Territory, akin to the [[w:North–South divide in England|North–South divide]] in England. However, within ''rikani'' areas themselves, there also exists a further socioeconomic divide between ''rikani'' of more White American descent, called ''shirohada'' or ''hakhada'', and those of African-American, Asian American or other black or brown or simply more Japanese descent called ''kurohada'' or ''kokuhada'', where those of ''kurohada'' descent find themselves at more of a disadvantage socioeconomically than their typically lighter-skinned counterparts. This disparity has been primarily attributed to remnants of US military segregation, as well as a short period of intense [[w:Redlining|redlining]] that occurred under the rule of Governor-General Hayden McPanties between the years of 1981-1984, which has also been named as a primary contributor to the ''nipi''-''rikani'' divide.

===Sociolinguistic divide===

Although Yokohama Creole is heavily influenced by Japanese by all accounts, ''nipi'' dialects are generally much more influenced by Japanese than ''rikani'' dialects. Thus, more words in ''nipi'' Creole are of Japanese etymology, and hence may be unintelligible to, say, a ''rikani'' speaker with low knowledge of Japanese (though this is fairly rare). Some Japanese-derived words that are more common in ''nipi'' dialects than ''rikani'' dialects are:

* ''croomah'', ''crooma'', ''kruuma'', ''crewma'' or ''crewmer'' /kruuma/ "car or other four-wheeled vehicle", derived from {{mn|ja|車}} ''kuruma'' "car"

** by extension, ''croomais'', ''kruumais'' or ''crewmais'' /kruumais/ "wheelchair" is from {{mn|ja|車椅子}} ''kurumaisu''; ''rikani'' use the calqued ''carseat'' or ''kyarsiit'' /carsiit/, with the word for the seat of a car being ''kyar fo siit'' or ''car fo seat'' /car fo siit/.

* ''eekman'' or ''iikman'' /iikman/, from {{mn|ja|イケ面}} ''ikemen'' "handsome, good-looking", but generally just a synonym of "cool" only for people, typically men though it can be gender neutral. The feminine equivalent, derived from a reanalysis as /iik/ + /man/, is ''eekuman'' or ''eekoom'' /iikuman, iikuum/.

* ''baiki'' /baiki/, from {{l|ja|自動販売機}} ''jidōhanbaiki'' "vending machine", meaning a cold drink, but can be reduplicated (''baiki baiki!'') to become "Cheers!". ''Rikani'' tend to say ''camper!'' or ''campah!'' instead, which is a bastardisation of {{mn|ja|乾杯}} ''kanpai''.

* ''joombah'' or ''jumba'' /dʒumba/, derived from {{l|ja|順番}} ''junban'' "lining up in order", is the ''nipi'' name for the game [[w:Domino (card game)#Japan|Sevens]] as it is called in ''rikani'' communities.

** Similarly, [[w:President (card game)|President]] is referred to as ''sawtawk'', ''sawtaw'' or ''sootok'' among ''nipi'' and ''governor-general'' or ''govjen'' among ''rikani'', both referring to the Governor-General, the highest authority in the Yokohama International Territory.

==Orthography==

Unlike [[Cheenah]], Yokohama Creole does not have a history of consistent orthography and is practically written however the speaker would like. Typically, this means that speakers who know English, such as those living near the coast, tend to gravitate towards an etymological English spelling, whereas more inland speakers tend to have greater variability in spelling or may even use [[w:Hiragana|hiragana]] or [[w:Katakana|katakana]] in some cases.

[[File:Pinats.png|thumb|right|alt=The daily ''Peanuts'' comic for March 9, 2026, translated into Yokohama Creole in pure "''Peanuts'' spelling".|The daily ''Peanuts'' comic for March 9, 2026, translated into Yokohama Creole in pure "''Peanuts'' spelling"]]

[[File:Pinats.png|thumb|right|400px|alt=The daily ''Peanuts'' comic for March 9, 2026, translated into Yokohama Creole in pure "''Peanuts'' spelling".|The daily ''Peanuts'' comic for March 9, 2026, translated into Yokohama Creole in pure "''Peanuts'' spelling"]]

However, some people have put forward proposals for a standard Yokohama Creole orthography. One such solution, often called "''[[w:Peanuts (comic)|Peanuts]]'' spelling", "Snoopy spelling", "Charlie Brown spelling" or the "''Peanuts'' orthography" due to its use originating in an Internet user's translations of the American comic strip ''Peanuts'', is a phonemic orthography based on or at least inspired by the [[w:Cassidy/JLU orthography|Cassidy/JLU orthography]] used to write [[w:Jamaican Patois|Jamaican Patois]]. This orthography is probably the most commonly found regular orthographic scheme used, though ''pure'' Peanuts spelling is rare and typically only occurs in the eponymous translated Peanuts comics (''Pinats'') or among speakers who are familiar with the Internet. However, other variations of the underlying Peanuts spelling system are common throughout.

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| w || l~r || j ||

|}

/r/ is usually alveolar approximant /ɹ/, though, similarly to Puerto Rican Spanish, coda /r/ becomes lateral /l/ before a consonant, so "port" becomes /polt/, from which /polti/, an endonym, derives.

/r/ is usually alveolar approximant /ɹ/, though, similarly to [[w:Puerto Rican Spanish|Puerto Rican Spanish]], coda /r/ becomes lateral /l/ before a consonant, so "port" becomes /polt/, from which /polti/, an endonym, derives.

/v/ is also very variable, often merging with /b/ in many speakers (especially older speakers with Japanese as their first language) but also being pronounced as a steady bilabilal fricative /β/. True labiodental /v/ is only common among the most monolingual Creole communities.

Yokohama Creole incorporates [[w:Th-stopping|th-stopping]], where dental fricatives /θ ð/ become stops /t d/, so words like "day" and "they" both become /dei/ > /dee/. This is unlike most other Japanese variations of English, which usually incorporate th-alveolarisation where /θ ð/ instead become alveolar /s z/. The reason for this disparity is debated, though some have noted that th-stopping is common among other English-based creole languages such as [[w:Nigerian Pidgin|Nigerian Pidgin]] or [[w:Jamaican Patois|Jamaican Patois]].

==Grammar==

Yokohama Creole does not have any [[w:Article (grammar)|articles]], nor generally any indication for [[w:Grammatical number|grammatical number]], as in Japanese. Instead, much of Yokohama Creole is analytical, with particles derived from Japanese indicating relationships between things in a sentence.

@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 Despite its name, Yokohama Creole does not have its origins in [[w:Yokohama Pidgin English|Yokohama Pidgin English]] (YPE), a [[w:Pidgin|pidgin]] or pre-pidgin language of the 19th century, but instead developed independently in the 20th century during the [[w:Occupation of Japan|American occupation of Japan]]. During this occupation, many American soldiers of different races were stationed in Yokohama and Okinawa, two important bases to the Americans, and many eventually settled there and started families with the local Japanese; by 1960, this influx of Americans into Yokohama had so drastically changed the demographics of the city that a new culture and ethnicity reflecting this ethnic mixture, the Yokohama Creoles, emerged, with their own English-based creole language along with it. Although this initial creole language was said to be similar to [[w:Bamboo English|Bamboo English]], a further influx of low-income Japanese workers especially in the suburban areas of the city eventually led the language to become much more distinct from English or Japanese. The 1970 Treaty of San Francisco, which formally delineated the borders of the Yokohama International Territory, also further cemented the Yokohama Creole identity by making it harder for mainland Japanese to replace this new group through migration.
+==Usage, sociolinguistic variation & official status==
+[[File:Yokohama Japan street map.svg|thumb|A map of Yokohama and the surrounding International Territory. Areas in the north and west of the Territory, closer to the border with Japan, are generally considered ''nipi'' or ''pani'' areas while affluent, urban areas in the center of the city are generally ''rikani'' areas.]]
+Yokohama Creole is natively spoken throughout the city of [[w:Yokohama|Yokohama]]. Generally, Yokohama Creole speakers can be split into two primary groups; more Japan-adjacent speakers, called ''pani'' or ''nipi'', and more English-adjacent speakers, or ''rikani'' or ''eegoman''. ''Rikani'' are generally considered the 'original' Yokohama Creoles, as they are usually the direct descendants of Japanese-American couples who first settled post-war Yokohama during American occupation. However, ''rikani'' can also simply refer to American expatriates living in Yokohama, and thus not necessarily ethnically Yokohama Creole. ''Nipi'' or ''pani'' arrived later, and form the much more geographically spread underclass of Yokohama society; ''nipi'' are generally classified as Japanese immigrants, or descendants thereof, who moved to Yokohama to find work. They primarily inhabit the northern and western suburban areas of the city, and generally have a lower socio-economic status than ''rikani''s as most high-paying jobs in the centre require high mastery in English and not Creole.
+The ''nipi''-''rikani'' divide is generally considered the primary socioeconomic and, to an extent, cultural divide of the International Territory, akin to the [[w:North–South divide in England|North–South divide]] in England. However, within ''rikani'' areas themselves, there also exists a further socioeconomic divide between ''rikani'' of more White American descent, called ''shirohada'' or ''hakhada'', and those of African-American, Asian American or other black or brown or simply more Japanese descent called ''kurohada'' or ''kokuhada'', where those of ''kurohada'' descent find themselves at more of a disadvantage socioeconomically than their typically lighter-skinned counterparts. This disparity has been primarily attributed to remnants of US military segregation, as well as a short period of intense [[w:Redlining|redlining]] that occurred under the rule of Governor-General Hayden McPanties between the years of 1981-1984, which has also been named as a primary contributor to the ''nipi''-''rikani'' divide.
+===Sociolinguistic divide===
+Although Yokohama Creole is heavily influenced by Japanese by all accounts, ''nipi'' dialects are generally much more influenced by Japanese than ''rikani'' dialects. Thus, more words in ''nipi'' Creole are of Japanese etymology, and hence may be unintelligible to, say, a ''rikani'' speaker with low knowledge of Japanese (though this is fairly rare). Some Japanese-derived words that are more common in ''nipi'' dialects than ''rikani'' dialects are:
+* ''croomah'', ''crooma'', ''kruuma'', ''crewma'' or ''crewmer'' /kruuma/ "car or other four-wheeled vehicle", derived from {{mn|ja|車}} ''kuruma'' "car"
+** by extension, ''croomais'', ''kruumais'' or ''crewmais'' /kruumais/ "wheelchair" is from {{mn|ja|車椅子}} ''kurumaisu''; ''rikani'' use the calqued ''carseat'' or ''kyarsiit'' /carsiit/, with the word for the seat of a car being ''kyar fo siit'' or ''car fo seat'' /car fo siit/.
+* ''eekman'' or ''iikman'' /iikman/, from {{mn|ja|イケ面}} ''ikemen'' "handsome, good-looking", but generally just a synonym of "cool" only for people, typically men though it can be gender neutral. The feminine equivalent, derived from a reanalysis as /iik/ + /man/, is ''eekuman'' or ''eekoom'' /iikuman, iikuum/.
+* ''baiki'' /baiki/, from {{l|ja|自動販売機}} ''jidōhanbaiki'' "vending machine", meaning a cold drink, but can be reduplicated (''baiki baiki!'') to become "Cheers!". ''Rikani'' tend to say ''camper!'' or ''campah!'' instead, which is a bastardisation of {{mn|ja|乾杯}} ''kanpai''.
+* ''joombah'' or ''jumba'' /dʒumba/, derived from {{l|ja|順番}} ''junban'' "lining up in order", is the ''nipi'' name for the game [[w:Domino (card game)#Japan|Sevens]] as it is called in ''rikani'' communities.
+** Similarly, [[w:President (card game)|President]] is referred to as ''sawtawk'', ''sawtaw'' or ''sootok'' among ''nipi'' and ''governor-general'' or ''govjen'' among ''rikani'', both referring to the Governor-General, the highest authority in the Yokohama International Territory.
 ==Orthography==
 Unlike [[Cheenah]], Yokohama Creole does not have a history of consistent orthography and is practically written however the speaker would like. Typically, this means that speakers who know English, such as those living near the coast, tend to gravitate towards an etymological English spelling, whereas more inland speakers tend to have greater variability in spelling or may even use [[w:Hiragana|hiragana]] or [[w:Katakana|katakana]] in some cases.
-[[File:Pinats.png|thumb|right|alt=The daily ''Peanuts'' comic for March 9, 2026, translated into Yokohama Creole in pure "''Peanuts'' spelling".|The daily ''Peanuts'' comic for March 9, 2026, translated into Yokohama Creole in pure "''Peanuts'' spelling"]]
+[[File:Pinats.png|thumb|right|400px|alt=The daily ''Peanuts'' comic for March 9, 2026, translated into Yokohama Creole in pure "''Peanuts'' spelling".|The daily ''Peanuts'' comic for March 9, 2026, translated into Yokohama Creole in pure "''Peanuts'' spelling"]]
 However, some people have put forward proposals for a standard Yokohama Creole orthography. One such solution, often called "''[[w:Peanuts (comic)|Peanuts]]'' spelling", "Snoopy spelling", "Charlie Brown spelling" or the "''Peanuts'' orthography" due to its use originating in an Internet user's translations of the American comic strip ''Peanuts'', is a phonemic orthography based on or at least inspired by the [[w:Cassidy/JLU orthography|Cassidy/JLU orthography]] used to write [[w:Jamaican Patois|Jamaican Patois]]. This orthography is probably the most commonly found regular orthographic scheme used, though ''pure'' Peanuts spelling is rare and typically only occurs in the eponymous translated Peanuts comics (''Pinats'') or among speakers who are familiar with the Internet. However, other variations of the underlying Peanuts spelling system are common throughout.
 [[File:Liltin.jpg|thumb|left|200px|An internet meme about [[w:List of Azumanga Daioh characters#Ayumu "Osaka" Kasuga|Osaka]] written in Revised Peanuts spelling]]
@@ Line 68: / Line 82: @@
 | w || l~r || j ||
 |}
-/r/ is usually alveolar approximant /ɹ/, though, similarly to Puerto Rican Spanish, coda /r/ becomes lateral /l/ before a consonant, so "port" becomes /polt/, from which /polti/, an endonym, derives.
+/r/ is usually alveolar approximant /ɹ/, though, similarly to [[w:Puerto Rican Spanish|Puerto Rican Spanish]], coda /r/ becomes lateral /l/ before a consonant, so "port" becomes /polt/, from which /polti/, an endonym, derives.
 /v/ is also very variable, often merging with /b/ in many speakers (especially older speakers with Japanese as their first language) but also being pronounced as a steady bilabilal fricative /β/. True labiodental /v/ is only common among the most monolingual Creole communities.
 Yokohama Creole incorporates [[w:Th-stopping|th-stopping]], where dental fricatives /θ ð/ become stops /t d/, so words like "day" and "they" both become /dei/ > /dee/. This is unlike most other Japanese variations of English, which usually incorporate th-alveolarisation where /θ ð/ instead become alveolar /s z/. The reason for this disparity is debated, though some have noted that th-stopping is common among other English-based creole languages such as [[w:Nigerian Pidgin|Nigerian Pidgin]] or [[w:Jamaican Patois|Jamaican Patois]].
 ==Grammar==
 Yokohama Creole does not have any [[w:Article (grammar)|articles]], nor generally any indication for [[w:Grammatical number|grammatical number]], as in Japanese. Instead, much of Yokohama Creole is analytical, with particles derived from Japanese indicating relationships between things in a sentence.