skul

skul

Pacific Pidgin English: *skul.

Bislama: skul; Pijin: skul TSC: skul.

It might be thought that all these languages have separately acquired skul from English at some date after their separation, but since the first activity in the mid-Pacific for missionaries of all denominations was to start schools, a PPE origin can be attributed.

See first Mihalic entry. See second Mihalic entry.

Noun forms

school
haus skul a schoolhouse, a school building, a school
skulboi a schoolboy, a pupil, a disciple
winim skul to graduate, to finish school

a lesson, an instruction, advice
givim gutpela skul (i) to give good advice, to instruct well (ii) to teach a good lesson (to punish)
mekim skul to instruct, to teach school, to conduct classes
yu kisim we dispela skul? where ever did you get that advice?

Noun combination forms

skul fi school fees
baim skul fi to pay school fees

skul anka a post-primary vocational school: Mühlhäusler (1979: 387), has ‘base school (standard 7 and 8)’; on Lihir Island, skul anka referred to a mission-run vocational school with a Grade 6 intake that taught practical skills such as baking, cooking and housework (girls) and manual skills (boys).

skul tok corrective advice, typically on a particular issue
em bai givim skul tok long ol he’ll put them straight on this matter

Intransitive verb forms

to instruct, to teach
skul long ol to instruct them, to teach them

to go to school, to learn
nau mi skul long rait now I am learning to write, now I am being taught how to write
olgeta de mipela i skul we go to school daily
ol meri no ken skul, ol man tasol mas skul girls shouldn’t go to school, school is only for boys (27 year-old Watut man, 1995)

Transitive verb forms

to teach someone
mi ken skulim yu I can teach you
skulim ol sumatim long rit to teach pupils how to read

to teach someone a lesson (to punish in a retaliatory way)
mi bai skulim em! I’ll teach him a lesson!