Tracing the heritage of Pidgin English in mainland China

The most widely accepted origin of the word ‘Pidgin’ is that it is a Chinese pronunciation of the English word business (etymonline.com). Pidgin English in mainland China has another popular localised nickname, i.e. yangjingbang 洋泾浜 English, a trade jargon term often used in Shanghai. However, this popular Pidgin English has been played down in linguistic research in mainland China because of the assumption of colonial connotations (Jin, 2011). Although it did not thrive or even survive in mainland China, Pidgin English has influenced to no small degree both contemporary culture and language in Shanghai, as well as other Chinese varieties.