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In terms of encounters, what characterises the Pacific is the multiplicity and variety of its indigenous languages, perhaps the highest language density in the world. Prior to European contact, the vehicles of communication between communities which did not share the same mother tongue were many and varied, ranging from sign language, a tradition of multilingualism in Oceanic languages, foreigner talk, or simplified language registers, including pidgin varieties of indigenous languages. Pacific Islanders of different language backgrounds came together for purposes of forming alliances or for trade and exchange, or later, in the context of settlement or colonisation.
When the first encounters took place between Europeans and Oceanic populations, as far back as the sixteenth century, it was during voyages of discovery, quickly followed by trade and commerce, evangelisation and ultimately colonisation. After initial encounters, some of the indigenous Pacific Islander groups interacted with their visitors on their home ground, as with suppliers of sandalwood, beche-de-mer and salt pork, while many others had their encounters with Europeans in a maritime environment, far from home, as crewmen on ships around the Pacific or as plantation labourers overseas. These encounters between speakers of different languages resulted in the development of a number of Pacific pidgins and creoles whose lexicon is principally derived from English, as well as simplified registers of indigenous languages.