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Guyanese Creole language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Guyanese Creole | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Guyana | |
| Total speakers: | — | |
| Language family: | Creole language English Creole Atlantic Eastern Southern Guyanese Creole |
|
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | none | |
| ISO 639-2: | — | |
| ISO 639-3: | gyn
|
|
Guyanese Creole (Creolese by its speakers; also called Guyanese Creole English or simply Guyanese) is a creole language spoken by more than seven hundred thousand people in Guyana.
Guyanese Creole is based on, and strongly influenced by the English language. It is similar to other West Indian dialects, but distinctly different from Jamaican and Trinidadian Creole. It is related to Paramaccan and Aluku.
There are many sub-dialects in Guyanese creole based on the race of the speakers and their geographical location within Guyana. For example, along the Rupununi River where the population is largely Amerindian, a distinct form of Guyanese Creole exists.
As in any language, words and phrases are elastic and can be made up, change and evolve within a very short time period. They can also be used within a very small group, until picked up by a larger community.
Different Ethnic groups of the country are also known to alter or include words from their own backgrounds. For example, the East Indian communities words may be similar to words from Indian languages with the same meaning.
A socially stratified creole speech continuum also exists between Guyanese Creole and English. A phrase like I told him may be pronounced in various parts of the continuum:
| Utterance | Represents the speech of |
|---|---|
| [ai tɔuld hɪm] | acrolect varieties of middle-class speakers |
| [ai toːld hɪm] | |
| [ai toːl ɪm] | |
| [ai tɛl ɪm] | mesolect varieties of lower-middle and urban class speakers |
| [a tɛl ɪm] | |
| [ai tɛl ɪ] | |
| [a tɛl i] | |
| [mi tɛl i] | rural working class |
| [mi tɛl am] | basilect speech of illiterate rural laborers. |
English taught in the schools of Guyana is based on British English.
Guyanese people speak English/Guyanese Creole while learning the English system of writing and reading in schools. It is a slightly different system of communication from the standard forms.
It is common in Guyanese Creole to repeat adjectives for emphasis (as if saying, very or extremely). For example, "Dis wata de cold cold" translates into "This water is very cold". "Come now now" translates into "come immediately"
- Girl - Gyal
- Boy - Bai (pronounced bye)
- I am on the phone - Meh deh pon de fone
- Who is she? - Ah who she?
- What is that? - Dah ah wha? / Ah wah ah Dah?
- I don't know - Meh nah know
- What do you want? - Wuh yuh want
- What is happening? (An every day greeting similar to What's up?) -Wappenin?
- How are you / What are you doing?- Wa ya do?
- We are going to cook - Abee a guh cook
- Don't come back- Nah mek meh see yuh back hay
- what's wrong with you. - wha raang wih yuh?
- Do you understand what I am saying? - Yah hear wah meh seh?