The Polyfunctionality and Origins of makee in Chinese Pidgin English

Words expressing ‘make’ are semantically and functionally versatile in many languages. Focusing on the word makee , derived from English make , in Chinese Pidgin English, a contact language originated in 18th-century Canton, China, this paper examines its origins and functions. Primarily a lexical verb, makee is polyfunctional in that it also occurs in the complex form [ makee X] which indicates causation, imperative, and verbalization. Functioning as a main verb and a causative verb, makee largely mirrors the corresponding words in the source languages of the pidgin, namely English and Cantonese. However, makee as an imperative marker and a verbalizer are innovative features. In imperative sentences, makee in combination with another verb indicate commands. As a verbalizer, makee gives a verbal interpretation to the whole construction. These two new features of makee are not attributable to existing models in the source languages.