The aim of this course is to give students an understanding of the emergence of new languages, such as contact languages, pidgins and creoles. We introduce the most relevant theoretical approaches to the various phenomena surrounding language contact, from the perspective that it constitutes the norm rather than the exception in the languages of the world. We also reflect on the structural and social forces that drive speakers to adopt changes and construct new grammars through a number of case studies from across Asia and around the world.