ddw, "pidgin" is a technical term that refers to a blend language, a stage in the adaptation of two or more languages meeting in an area. The concept is similar to that of a trade language.

Thus the term "English" doesn't necessarily have to go with "pidgin". When the name of an "established" language is added to "pidgin", it's looking at the pidgin through the ears of speakers of one of the contributing (usually dominant contributing) languages. You might just as well hear "pidgin French", "pidgin Dutch", etc.

After a pidgin has been around for some time, and gets more or less standardized, it may become what's called "a creole", which is much closer to what would generally be referred to as "a language".

I'm grossly oversimplifying here, of course. Any linguistics majors who read this, feel free to correct any errors in what I've said. It should be pretty close to a proper description, though.

Dave Oesterreich