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Sranan (also Sranan Tongo "Surinamean tongue", Taki-Taki, Surinaams, Surinamese, Suriname Creole English) is a creole language spoken as a native language by approximately 120,000 people in Suriname. * Sranan was previously referred to as the less politically correct taki-taki, nengre or negerengels (Dutch, "negro-English").
Since this language is shared between the English-, Dutch-, Javanese- and Hindustani-speaking communities, many Surinamese speak it as a second language.
Origins
The Sranan Tongo words for 'to know' and 'small children' are sabi and pikin which, according to the monogenetic theory of pidgin formation (contested by many if not most linguists in this area of research), identifies it as a derivation of Lingua franca, also known as Sabir.
Sranan Tongo's lexicon is a fusion of Dutch, English, Portuguese and Central and West African languages.
Features
Sranan Tongo's grammar matches traditional creole patterns: it has no inflections or declensions, a simple vocabulary (in the thousands of words), and is relatively easy to learn.
Further reading
- Jan Voorhoeve and Ursy M. Lichtveld: Creole Drum. An Anthology of Creole Literature in Suriname. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1975.
- C.F.A. Bruijning and J. Voorhoeve (editors): Encyclopedie van Suriname. Amsterdam and Brussel: Uitgeverij Elsevier, 1977, pp. 573-574.
- Eithne B. Carlin and Jacques Arends (editors): Atlas of the Languages of Suriname. Leiden: KITLV Press, 2002.
- Michael Ietswaart and Vinije Haabo: Sranantongo. Surinaams voor reizigers en thuisblijvers. Amsterdam: Mets & Schilt, 2002.
See also
External link
Languages of Suriname | English pidgin and creole languages
Sranan Tongo | Sranan tongo | Sranan Tongo | Sranan Tongo | Sranan | Surinaams | Sranantongo
"Sranan Tongo"