English-based creole languages

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An English-based creole language, or English creole for short, is a creole language that was significantly influenced by the English language. Most English creoles were formed in English colonies, following the great expansion of British naval military power and trade in the 17th and 18th centuries.

[edit] Notable examples

Antiguan Creole: spoken in Antigua and Barbuda

Australian Kriol: Also known as Roper River Creole, has become the major non-English language among Aboriginal Australians with over 10,000 first language speakers.

Bahamian Dialect: an English-based creole, widely spoken in the Bahamas

Belizean Kriol is spoken in Belize.Closely related to Miskito Coastal Creole, Jamaican Creole, Rio Abajo Creole, Colón Creole, and San Andrés and Providencia Creole.

Bislama: Bislama (older Bêche-la-mar) is an English-based creole, and is the national language of Vanuatu.

Cameroonian Pidgin English: Cameroonian Pidgin English, or Cameroonian Creole, is a linguistic entity of Cameroon. It is also known as Kamtok. Two varieties are Limbe-Krio and Grafi. Cameroonian Pidgin English is an English-based creole language. About 5% of Cameroonians are native speakers of the language.

Englog (popularly known as Konyo English): is a creole spoken in the Philippines. It is English infused with Tagalog, and to some extent, Spanish words and phrases. Unlike its parent tongue, Taglish, it has its own structure and lexicon and because of this it is often considered as a bastardized version of English by some purists. The creole was originally spoken by Filipino mestizo teenagers who intend to Filipinize themselves. However, due to massive media attention, it gradually became part of the mainstream culture.

Gullah: Gullah is an English-based creole spoken in the Sea Islands and the adjacent coastal regions of South Carolina, Georgia and northern Florida.

Guyanese Creole: Spoken throughout Guyana and similar to Jamaican Creole (see below), but with a different accent and some word substitutions; probably due to the greater Indian (Indo-Guyanese not Amerindian) influence. The language varies across the regions within the country.

Hawaiian Creole English: Hawaiian Pidgin began as a pidgin used in the early European colonization of the Hawaiian Islands. English served as the superstrate language, with Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Portuguese, and Hawaiian elements incorporated. Children started using it as a lingua franca, and by the 1920s it had creolized and become a minor language of Hawaii, as it still is today.

Jamaican Creole: Not to be confused with Jamaican English, which is a dialect of English. Jamaican Creole is an English-based creole language spoken in Jamaica. It represents a history of contact among many different types of speakers drawn from many ethnic, linguistic, and social background. Naturally understandable to speakers of creoles in Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama and Costa Rica. Reported to be extremely close to Belize Creole, the English Creole of the Bahamas, close to Guyana, Grenada, Virgin Islands and Saint Vincent creoles, as well as being very close to Sierra Leone Krio. Jamaica Creole is the dominant language in Jamaica and gaining in prestige.

Krio: Spoken in Sierra Leone.

Kreyol: is spoken in Liberia, and has English and French as superstrate languages, with several Bantu languages as substrate languages.

Mekatelyu: spoken in coastal Costa Rica after introduction from Jamaica.

Mískito Creole English: Mískito Coastal Creole is a language spoken in Nicaragua based on English. It is nearly identical Belizean Creole (Kriol), and similar to all Central Americaan Creoles. The number of speakers of Mískito Coastal Creole is below 200,000[1]. Mískito Coastal Creole does not have the status of an official language. Spoken in the coastal areas.

Nigerian Pidgin English: While rudimentally spoken all over Nigeria, English is the accepted language of transaction and communication. The Nigerian Pidgin English dates back to the colonial era, where locals were hired to work with the British colonials and ended up developing it to the Creole language it is today. See also Nigerian Pidgin.

Pitkern, Norfuk: Spoken exclusively by the inhabitants of the Pitcairn Islands and Pitcairnese migrants in Norfolk Island, an 18th century dialect of English is spoken with the Tahitian language to form the Creole language known as Pitkern, or Norfuk in Norfolk Island.

Saint Kitts Creole: Spoken in Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Singlish: Singlish is a creole based on British English. It originated in Singapore, and spread to parts of Malaysia (known locally as Manglish). It is a mixture of mainly Malay, Mandarin, Hokkien (a Chinese dialect), Tamil (a south Indian Dravidian language), and British English.

Sranan Tongo: in Suriname.

Tok Pisin: is spoken throughout Papua New Guinea. English is the superstrate language, with various Papuan languages providing grammatical and lexical input.