English-based creole languages
An English-based creole language (often shortened to English creole) is a creole language for which English was the lexifier, meaning that at the time of its formation the vocabulary of English served as the basis for the majority of the creole's lexicon.[1] Most English creoles were formed in British colonies, following the great expansion of British naval military power and trade in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The main categories of English-based creoles are Atlantic (the Americas and Africa) and Pacific (Asia and Oceania).
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Over 76.5 million people estimated globally speak some form of English-based creole. Malaysia, Nigeria, Ghana, Jamaica, and Singapore have the largest concentrations of creole speakers.
Origin
It is disputed to what extent the various English-based creoles of the world share a common origin. The monogenesis hypothesis[2][3] posits that a single language, commonly called proto–Pidgin English, spoken along the West African coast in the early sixteenth century, was ancestral to most or all of the Atlantic creoles (the English creoles of both West Africa and the Americas).
Table of creole languages
| Name | Country | Number of speakers[4] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Atlantic | |||
Western Caribbean | |||
| Bahamian Creole |  Bahamas |
309,000 (2014) | |
| Turks and Caicos Creole English |  Turks and Caicos |
10,700 (1995) | |
| Jamaican Patois |  Jamaica |
2,670,000 (2001)~3,035,000 | |
| Belizean Creole |  Belize |
L1 Users: 170,000 (2014) | L2 Users: 300,000 (2014) |
| Miskito Coast Creole |  Nicaragua |
18,400 | Dialect: Rama Cay Creole |
| Limonese Creole |  Costa Rica |
55,100 (1986) | |
| Bocas del Toro Creole |  Panama |
268,000 (2000) | |
| San Andrés–Providencia Creole |  Colombia |
33,000 (1995) | |
Eastern Caribbean | |||
| Virgin Islands Creole |  US Virgin Islands
|
52,300 (1980)~76,500 | |
| Anguillan Creole |  Anguilla |
11,500 (2001) | |
| Antiguan Creole |  Antigua and Barbuda |
67,000 (2001)~147,520 | |
| Saint Kitts Creole |  Saint Kitts and Nevis |
39,000 (1998) | |
| Montserrat Creole |  Montserrat |
3,820 (2011) | |
| Vincentian Creole |  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
138,000 (1989) | |
| Grenadian Creole |  Grenada |
89,200 (2001) | |
| Tobagonian Creole |  Trinidad and Tobago |
300,000 (2011) | |
| Trinidadian Creole | Trinidad and Tobago |
1,000,000 (2011) | |
| Bajan Creole |  Barbados |
256,000 (1999) | |
| Guyanese Creole |  Guyana |
650,000~682,000 | |
| Sranan Tongo |  Suriname |
L1 users: 67,300 (2013)~410,700 | L2 users: 300,000 |
| Saramaccan | Suriname |
14,100 (2013)~17,100 | |
| Ndyuka | Suriname |
21,700 (2013)~39,700. | Dialects: Aluku, Paramaccan |
| Kwinti | Suriname |
200 (2005) | |
United States | |||
| Gullah (Afro-Seminole Creole) |  United States |
350 (2010) | Ethnic population: 250,000 |
Africa | |||
| Krio |  Sierra Leone |
692,000~716,110 | L2 users: 4,000,000 (1987) |
| Kreyol |  Liberia |
1,500,000 (L2; 1984) | |
| Ghanaian Pidgin |  Ghana |
5,000,000 (2011) | L2 users: 2,000 (1990) |
| Nigerian Pidgin |  Nigeria |
30,000,000 (2005) | |
| Cameroonian Pidgin |  Cameroon |
2,000,000 (L2; 1989) | |
| Equatorial Guinean Pidgin |  Equatorial Guinea |
6,000 (2011) | L2 users: 70,000 (2011) |
Pacific | |||
| Hawaiian Creole |  Hawaii |
600,000 (2012) | 100,000 on the US mainland. L2 users: 400,000 |
| Ngatikese Creole |  Micronesia |
700 | |
| Tok Pisin |  Papua New Guinea |
122,000 (2004) | L2 users: 9,000,000 (likely as of 2020) |
| Pijin |  Solomon Islands |
24,400 (1999) | L2 users: 307,000 (1999) |
| Bislama |  Vanuatu |
10,000 (2011) | L2 users: 200,000 |
| Pitcairn-Norfolk |  Pitcairn
|
430 (2011)~532 | Almost no L2 users |
| Australian Kriol | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia |
4,200 (2006) | L2 users: 10,000 (1991) |
| Torres Strait Creole | Australia |
6,040 (2006) | |
| Singlish |  Singapore |
2,000,000–3,000,000 | |
| Manglish |  Malaysia |
25,000,000–30,000,000 | |
| Fijian Creole |  Fiji |
25–50 | |
| Tongan Creole |  Tonga |
>25 | |
Marginal
- Jamaican Maroon Spirit Possession Language
- Iyaric ("Rastafarian")
- Bonin English, sometimes considered a mixed language
External links
References
- Velupillai, Viveka (2015). Pidgins, Creoles and Mixed Languages. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 519. ISBN 978 90 272 5272 2.
- Hancock, I. F. (1969). "A provisional comparison of the English-based Atlantic creoles". African Language Review. 8: 7–72.
- Gilman, Charles (1978). "A Comparison of Jamaican Creole and Cameroon Pidgin English". English Studies. 59: 57–65. doi:10.1080/00138387808597871.
- Simons, Gary F; Fennig, Charles D, eds. (2017). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (20th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International.
Further reading
- Holm, John A., ed. (1983). Central American English. Heidelberg: Julius Groos Verlag. ISBN 3-87276-295-8.
- Holm, John A. (1989). "English-based varieties". Pidgins and Creoles. Volume 2, Reference Survey. Cambridge University Press. pp. 405–551. ISBN 978-0-521-35940-5.
- Holm, John A. (2000). An Introduction to Pidgins and Creoles. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-58581-1.
- The Lesser-Known Varieties of English: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. 2010. ISBN 978-1-139-48741-2.
- Arends, Jacques; Muysken, Pieter; Smith, Norval (1995). Pidgins and Creoles: An Introduction. John Benjamins Publishing. ISBN 90-272-5236-X.
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