Labrador Inuit Pidgin French, also called Belle Isle Pidgin or Inuit French Jargon, was a French-lexified pidgin spoken between Breton and Basquefishermen and the Inuit of Labrador from the late 17th century until about 1760.[1]
History
The first traces of Labrador Inuit Pidgin French (LIPF) first appear in 1694, though it is first fully attested in the 1740s by a French Canadian entrepreneur named Jean-Louis Fomel. He said the pidgin was used by the Inuit and made up of a mix of French, Spanish, and possibly Breton. The last attestations were recorded in the 1760s, though the pidgin almost certainly survived past this date.[2]
Lexicon
The lexicon of LIPF was mostly French based but contained influence from Spanish, English, Dutch, Basque, and Breton.[2]
