Creoles
Introduction
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Occasionally, when people speaking different languages settle permanently in proximity to each other and intermix, a pidgin can replace their original languages and become the first language of later generations. Such languages are called creoles. The difference between pidgins and creoles is that people grow up speaking creoles, whereas everybody has to learn pidgin as a second language. The term creole comes from the French creole, from Spanish criollo "person native to a locality," from Portuguese crioulo, diminutive of cria "person (especially a servant) raised in one's house," from the verb criar "to raise or bring up." The term was coined in the 16th century and applied to people born in the colonies, to distinguish them from European-born immigrants. In the Portuguese-speaking world, the term meant specifically people of mixed European and non-European ancestry. When applied to language, the word originally meant the speech of Creole people. Most creole languages arose in the colonies. As a result, most are based on English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish, the languages of the superpowers of the time. However, there are also numerous creoles based on other languages such as Arabic, Hindi, and Malay. Over time, creoles develop expanded vocabularies and more complex grammar, features that were not present in the pidgins from which they evolved. Most creole speakers control a number of levels and can shift up and down. At the highest level, creoles can merge with the standard variety of the language on which they were based. For instance, there is indication that Jamaican Creole has merged with Standard Jamaican English, and that Hawai'ian Creole at its highest level has merged with Hawai'ian English. Creole people were held in low esteem by European colonizers and their languages were regarded as rudimentary, unrefined, and even primitive. Lacking political power, creole languages languished for many centuries without recognition. However, as a result of political and social changes, creole languages have been experiencing a revival since the middle of the 20th century. Many of them have been standardized, and are now being taught in local schools and universities, and studied as foreign languages. They are also being increasingly used in education, in print, and in the media. A number of creoles have the status of official languages:
Below is an annotated and linked list of the major creole languages of the world.
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English-based |
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| Eastern | ||
Most English creoles were formed in the British colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries. They are spoken on the islands of the Caribbean Sea, in Africa, and on the islands of the Pacific Ocean. The largest ones are listed below. |
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| Bahamas Creole |
225,000 | Bahamas |
| 250,000 | Sea Islands and the adjacent coastal regions of South Carolina, Georgia and northern Florida. | |
| 125,000 | Antigua and Barbuda, also spoken in Anguilla, Dominica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, United Kingdom | |
| 259,000 | Barbados | |
| 36,000 | Tobago and Trinidad | |
| 120,000 first language and 300,000 second language speakers | Suriname | |
| 26,000 | Suriname | |
| 95,051 | Belize, U.S. | |
| 3,181,171 | Jamaica | |
| African | ||
| 473,000 1st language speakers and possibly 4 million 2nd language speakers | Sierra Leone | |
| no estimates available | Nigeria | |
| over 2 million 2nd language users, growing number of 1st language speakers | Cameroon | |
| Pacific | ||
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| 6,200 1st language and 128,000 2nd language speakers | Vanuatu | |
| 600,000-700,000 | U.S. | |
| 10,000 | Australia | |
| 23,400 | Torres Strait, Australia | |
| 121,000 1st and 4 million 2nd language speakers | Papua New Guinea | |
French-based |
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French creoles are spoken today mainly in the Caribbean, in the U.S., and on several islands in the Indian Ocean. |
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| Caribbean | ||
| 25,000 | Brazil | |
| 848,000 | Guadeloupe, Martinique | |
| 50,000 | French Guiana | |
| 7,389,066 | Haiti, U.S. | |
| 60,000-80,000 | U.S. | |
| Indian Ocean | ||
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| Morisyen Creole | 604,000 | Mauritius |
| 600,000 | Réunion | |
| 72,7000 | Seychelles | |
| Portuguese-based |
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Originally spoken over a wider area, Portuguese-based creoles are presently spoken by over a million people in São Tomé e Principe, Cape Verde Islands, and Guinea-Bissau. Elsewhere in the world, they are almost extinct. |
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| 70,000 | São Tomé e Principe | |
| 926,078 | Cape Verde Islands | |
| 392,350 1st and over 600,000 2nd language speakers | Guinea-Bissau | |
Spanish-based |
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| 292,630 | Philippines | |
MixeMixed Portuguese- and Spanish-based |
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| 319,000 1st and 20,000 2nd language speakers | Netherland Antilles | |
Afrikaans-based |
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| tens of thousands of 1st language users, hundreds of thousands of 2nd language users | South Africa | |
Arabic-based |
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| 14,739 | Uganda, Kenya | |
| 20,000 1st and 44,000 2nd language users | Sudan | |
Assamese-based |
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| 500,000 | India | |
Hindi-based |
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| 10,000-31,000 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | |
Indonesian-based |
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| 20,000 | Indonesia (Java and Bali) | |
Kongo-based |
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| 4.2 million | Democratic Republic of Congo | |
| 1,156,800 | Congo | |
Malay-based |
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Malay-basec creoles developed as a result of inter-island trading and interaction when people speaking different languages and backgrounds came together. They were influenced by Dutch (as a result of 3 centuries of colonization), Portuguese, as well as by local languages. |
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| 245,000 | Indonesia | |
| 2.7 million | Indonesia | |
| 200,000 | West Timor | |
| 50,000 | Sri Lanka | |
| Tetun-based | ||
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| 50,000 | East Timor | |
Ngbandi-based |
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| 404,000 1st language and 1,6 million 2nd language speakers | Central African Republic | |
Swahili-based |
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| 46,000 | Kenya, Tanzania | |
Structure
Sound System
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Sound system and grammar |
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Sound system and grammar |
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Since vocabulary is restricted, each word in a creole language usually has a greater range of meanings than in the language from which it was borrowed, e.g., in Tok Pisin, stap "stop" means “be located, to remain, to continue." Some concepts are expressed by phrases rather than by single words, e.g., skru bilong arm means "elbow" (literally "screw (joint) of the arm"). Non-English meanings of words often reflect native social structure, as when papa in Tok Pisin means “uncle,” since a boy's maternal uncle rather than his biological father (papa tru) is primarily responsible for his upbringing in Papua New Guinea. Speakers of English are taken aback certain shifts of meaning, as when ars "bottom" is extended to mean “foundation, basis," e.g., ars bilong diwai “base of a tree.” Compare numerals 1-10 in these five English-based creoles. What are the differences/similarities among them?
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Writing
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Writing These orthographies often embodied the inconsistencies of English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish spelling and failed to accurately represent the sound systems of the creole languages. Today, many of the creole languages use revised orthographies that are phonemically based. A phonemic orthography is a writing system in which there is a one-to-one relationship between written symbols and phonemes in the spoken form of the language. Take a look at Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in five English-based creole languages.
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Resources |
Resources for the study of pidgin and creole languages Click on the name of the language to learn more about it on this website |
Copyright 2007 © National Virtual Translation Center