To learn any language, the grammar of that particular language happens to be the key element, and it is almost impossible to know the slight differences that exist between many words without knowing certain rules of the grammar. Pigeon and Pidgin are two such words of English grammar that sound almost similar but still carry a lot of differences in their meaning. And when learning English as a second language, it becomes really important to mark these existing differences between these two words.
Pigeon vs Pidgin
The main difference between Pigeon and Pidgin is that the former represents a species of birds that is found almost all over the world in so many varieties, but on the other hand, the latter denotes a form of language that takes birth when people belonging to different cultures meet and they don’t find any common language for communication between them, so they develop a distinct language of their own after mixing certain languages.
Pigeon is basically a variety of birds that can be found almost all across the world very easily. It basically denotes a particular species of birds that are widely domesticated in almost all countries, and they can be seen flying free in the sky as well on many occasions. This term in itself carries along with many other words such as the domesticated and the wild pigeon, but still, it represents one particular species.
Pidgin is a term that is used under the purview of English grammar, and most of the people that use English grammar are unaware of this particular term. This term is used when a particular situation is referred to in which some people belonging to certain distinct linguistic groups meet one another, and they don’t find any common language between them to communicate, so as a result, they develop a particular language or dialect of their own.
Comparison Table Between Pigeon and Pidgin
| Parameters of Comparison | Pigeon | Pidgin |
| Meaning | The term refers to a species of birds that is domesticated all across the world. | The term refers to a form of certain mixed languages. |
| Denotes | It denotes the bird’s kingdom in the biosphere. | It denotes the linguistic feature of any culture. |
| Represents | The birds | The language |
| Comes into existence after | Pigeons come into existence when does reproduction in male and female pigeons take place. | Pidgin comes into existence after certain languages are mixed and a new language arises. |
| Vowels | The term contains three vowels. | The term contains two vowels. |
What is Pigeon?
Belonging to the family Columbidae of Animalia kingdom, the pigeon basically represents a particular species of bird that is domesticated all across the world. More than 5000 species of this particular term exist in different areas of the planet earth.
But a pigeon is never considered just a simple bird because we have always been used as messengers during the ugliest times of humanity. In the past, people used to tie their messages with a pigeon and then send them to the recipient so it can be said safely that the pigeons were the earlier WhatsApp of those people.
Pigeons are also a very crucial part of the food chain of the atmosphere. They not only help in reducing the unwanted population of certain insects but also become an eventual food to the predators. In conclusion is it can be said that a pigeon is a very important bird that has ever existed on the planet earth.
What is Pidgin?
The term pidgin is used to represent a very specific situation that arises between certain linguistic groups. In a situation where two or more groups meet one another and do not find any common language between them in order to communicate, they eventually develop a dialect of their own. This particular dialect or language is represented by the term pidgin.
Most of the time, this particular dialect arises when those groups accompany each other that are either related in terms of trade or business but differ in terms of their language. In order to communicate with one another, it becomes a crucial need for them to have a language that is common for all of them. So, as a result, they form a new language in which they take words from different languages.
This particular language is never considered a whole language in itself, but it still gains some recognition by some language enthusiasts after a large number of people start following it. In other words, this language can be considered as a second language for many people who don’t find common ground for communication with some other people.
Main Differences Between Pigeon and Pidgin
- Pigeon is a term used for a species of birds, while on the other hand, Pidgin is a term that represents a new language that arises after mixing certain languages.
- Pigeon contains 3 vowels in it, while on the other hand, Pidgin contains 2 vowels in it.
- Pigeon comes into existence when the reproduction between males and females of its species takes place, while on the other hand, Pidgin comes into existence after mixing certain languages.
- Pigeon denotes the Kingdom of birds in the atmosphere, while on the other hand, Pidgin denotes the linguistic feature of any culture.
- Pigeon and Pidgin both sound similar to one another still represent two distinct features as the former is basically a word while the latter is just a dialect in English grammar.
Conclusion
Pigeons and pidgins are two such terms that can be easily differentiated from one another as they represent two completely different things, but the problem arises when these two are pronounced in a similar sentence or at the same time because they carry an exact similar pronunciation.
In grammatical terms, these two words will fall under the purview of the word homophone, which basically means those words that carry similar pronunciation and still can be differentiated from one another in terms of their meaning. While the first word represents a particular species of birds, the second represents a dialect or language that falls under the purview of English grammar. In order to ease the confusion between these two, it is very crucial to know the differences that lie between these words.
References
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17449850701219876
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=di7684-HkEkC&oi=fnd&pg=PA87&dq=pigeon+and+pidgin&ots=7P6VytgpWP&sig=EmmRj9XAD3JOChl-YPpwaLieZH0