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In 1789, when the HMS Bounty arrived at Tahiti and set to work collecting the breadfruit plantings they were planning to take to the West Indies, they were working shoulder-to-shoulder with the Tahitian people. For six months, these British seamen, most of whom had never been in the South Pacific, were living among the people of the Island, and had to find ways to communicate with those around them.

As with extended contacts between unrealated cultures worldwide, a "pidgin" or "patois" soon developed. No doubt some of the veteran seamen and the older Tahitians who had been around when earlier British voyagers had visited their Island already had a working vocabulary. Using a combination of Tahitian and English words, arranged in a simple word order, and no doubt accompanied by a great deal of gesturing, the groups managed to make themselves understood, and that understanding also extended to their personal relationships.

Apparently the seamen were quite taken with their exotic language, and several accounts mention that they often spoke the language among themselves even after the ship had left Tahiti. Bligh was noted to have derided this, thinking it an unnecessary breech of good order. And as a veteran of South Pacific voyaging, he was less enthralled with the "exotic" people that so many of his "less experienced" crew found so exciting.

After the mutiny, the followers of Christian and Young returned to Tahiti to encourage the women, with whom they had earlier formed relationships, to join them in the quest for a safe place to settle, The resulting group was composed of about 50% English and 50% Tahitian, and the "pidgin" became the primary means of communication.

After the landing on Pitcairn, this "pidgin" developed into the Pitkern Language spoken today. While the primary language of Pitcairn is English, Pitkern is commonly used in informal conversation among the Pitcairners.

In the 1950's, a book, The Pitcairnese Language, was written by Ross & Moverly, that included much about the language, including the derivation of many of the place names on the Island. That portion of the book was actually compiled by the school children on the Island at the time.

Let's take a look at the language itself...

Pitcairn Word List
Pitcairn Phrase Book
Pitcairn Place Names


For more information on Pitkern and Norfolk

Introduction to the Language" (On the HMS Bounty Site)
Pitcairn-Norfolk language revival (ABC Perth Website) Includes Real Player audio.