Black English
Encyclopedia
Black English is a term used for both dialects of English and English-based pidgins and creoles, and whose meaning depends considerably upon the context, and particularly the part of the world.
Africa
- Aku (dialect) (Gambia)
- Cameroon EnglishCameroon EnglishCameroon English is a dialect of English spoken in Cameroon.It is a post-colonial variety of English which has been in use in the territory for a long period, and over the years has developed characteristic features, particularly in lexis though also in phonology and grammar...
- Cameroonian Pidgin EnglishCameroonian Pidgin EnglishCameroonian Pidgin English, or Cameroonian Creole, is a language variety of Cameroon. It is also known as Kamtok . Five varieties are currently recognised:...
- Chilapalapa (Zambia, Zimbabwe)
- EngshEngshEngsh is a language patois that originated in Nairobi Kenya in the 80's. While Sheng developed in the poorer parts of Nairobi, Engsh evolved among the youth of the richer, more affluent neighbourhoods. Engsh is English based, but mixes Swahili, and other ethnic languages such as Kikuyu and Luo...
(Kenya) - Krio languageKrio languageSierra Leone Krio is the lingua franca and the de facto national language spoken throughout the West African nation of Sierra Leone. Krio is spoken by 97% of Sierra Leone's population and unites the different ethnic groups in the country, especially in their trade and social interaction with each...
(Sierra Leone) - Liberian EnglishLiberian EnglishLiberian English is a term used to refer to the varieties of English spoken in the African country of Liberia. There are four such varieties:* Standard Liberian English or Liberian Settler English;* Kru Pidgin English;...
- Liberian Kreyol languageLiberian Kreyol languageKreyol is an English-based creole language spoken in Liberia. It is spoken by 1,500,000 people as a second language . It is historically and linguistically related to Merico, another creole spoken in Liberia, but is grammatically distinct from it...
- Malawian EnglishMalawian EnglishMalawian English is the English language as spoken in Malawi. English and Chichewa are the country's two official languages.English was introduced into Malawi towards the end of the 19th century, due to the influence of British explorers, missionaries, the arrival of the African Lakes Corporation,...
- Nigerian PidginNigerian PidginNigerian Pidgin is an English-based pidgin and a creole language spoken as a lingua franca across Nigeria. The language is commonly referred to as "Pidgin" or "Brokin". It is often not considered a creole language since most speakers are not native speakers, although many children do learn it early...
- South African EnglishSouth African EnglishThe term South African English is applied to the first-language dialects of English spoken by South Africans, with the L1 English variety spoken by Zimbabweans, Zambians and Namibians, being recognised as offshoots.There is some social and regional variation within South African English...
- Ugandan EnglishUgandan EnglishUgandan English,, the dialect of English spoken in Uganda, like those spoken elsewhere, has developed a strong local flavour. Though standard British English is widely considered to be the correct form of the language in Uganda, most Ugandans who speak English have had little contact with native...
- West African Pidgin EnglishWest African Pidgin EnglishWest African Pidgin English, also called Guinea Coast Creole English, was the lingua franca, or language of commerce, spoken along the West African coast during the period of the Atlantic slave trade...
North America
- African American Vernacular EnglishAfrican American Vernacular EnglishAfrican American Vernacular English —also called African American English; less precisely Black English, Black Vernacular, Black English Vernacular , or Black Vernacular English —is an African American variety of American English...
(primarily US) - Bermudian EnglishBermudian EnglishBermudian English is a regional accent of English found in Bermuda, a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic. "Standard English is used in professional settings and in writing, while vernacular Bermudian English is spoken on more casual occasions"...
- Gullah languageGullah languageGullah is a creole language spoken by the Gullah people , an African American population living on the Sea Islands and the coastal region of the U.S...
Caribbean
- Caribbean EnglishCaribbean EnglishCaribbean English is a broad term for the dialects of the English language spoken in the Caribbean, most countries on the Caribbean coast of Central America, and Guyana. Caribbean English is influenced by the English-based Creole varieties spoken in the region, but they are not the same. In the...
- Anguillan CreoleAnguillan CreoleAnguillan Creole is a dialect of Leeward Caribbean Creole English spoken in Anguilla, an island and British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. Although classified as a dialect of Leeward Caribbean Creole English spoken in Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Montserrat, it is also similar to the...
- Antiguan CreoleAntiguan CreoleLeeward Caribbean Creole English, also known by the names of the various islands on which it is spoken is an English-based creole language spoken in the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean, namely the countries of Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat and Saint Kitts and Nevis.There are subtle differences...
- Bahamian EnglishBahamian EnglishBahamian English is a dialect of English spoken in the Bahamas and by Bahamian diasporas. It should not be confused with Bahamian Creole, which is an English-based creole language.-Pronunciation:...
- Bajan Creole also called Barbadian
- Cayman CreoleCayman CreoleCayman Creole is an English-based creole language spoken on Cayman Islands in the Caribbean. The number of speakers of Cayman Creole is below 100,000. Cayman Creole does not have the status of an official language.-See also:*Bajan Creole*Bermudian English...
- Grenadian CreoleGrenadian CreoleGrenadian Creole, is a term that may refer to either Grenadian Creole English or Grenadian Creole French.Grenadian Creole English, is a Creole language spoken in Grenada...
- Jamaican EnglishJamaican EnglishJamaican English or Jamaican Standard English is a dialect of English spoken in Jamaica. It melds parts of both American English and British English dialects, along with many aspects of Irish intonation...
- Jamaican Patois
- Montserrat CreoleMontserrat CreoleMontserrat Creole is a dialect of Leeward Caribbean Creole English spoken in Montserrat.The number of speakers of Montserrat Creole is below 10,000. Montserrat Creole does not have the status of an official language.-See also:*Bajan Creole...
- Saint Martin Creole
- Saint Kitts CreoleSaint Kitts CreoleSaint Kitts Creole is a dialect of Leeward Caribbean Creole English spoken in Saint Kitts and Nevis by around 40,000 people. Saint Kitts Creole does not have the status of an official language....
- Tobagonian Creole
- Trinidadian EnglishTrinidadian EnglishTrinidadian English or Trinidad and Tobago Standard English is a dialect of English used in Trinidad and Tobago. TE co-exists with both non-standard varieties of English as well as other dialects, namely Trinidadian Creole in Trinidad and Tobagonian Creole in Tobago...
- Trinidadian Creole
- Turks and Caicos Islands Creole
- Vincentian CreoleVincentian CreoleVincentian Creole is an English-lexified creole language spoken in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The number of speakers of Vincentian Creole is about 100 000. Vincentian Creole does not have the status of an official language.-See also:*Antiguan Creole...
- Virgin Islands CreoleVirgin Islands CreoleVirgin Islands Creole, or Virgin Islands Creole English, is an English-based creole spoken in the Virgin Islands and the nearby SSS islands of Saba, Sint Eustatius and Saint Martin, where it has been known as Netherlands Antilles Creole English....
Central America
- Belizean Kriol languageBelizean Kriol languageBelizean Creole English, known as Kriol by its speakers, is an English-based creole language most closely related to Miskito Coastal Creole, Limón Coastal Creole, Colón Creole, San Andrés and Providencia Creole, Guyanese Creole, Jamaican Patois and English creoles of the Caribbean show similarity...
- Colón CreoleColón CreoleColón Creole is a language spoken in Panama. Colón Creole is similar to varieties such as Limón Coastal Creole, Mískito Coastal Creole, and Belizean Creole . The number of speakers of Colón Creole is below 300,000 . Colón Creole does not have the status of an official language.-See also:*Bajan...
(Panama) - Limónese Creole (Costa Rica)
- Miskito Coastal CreoleMiskito Coastal CreoleMískito Coast Creole or Nicaragua Creole English is a language spoken in Nicaragua based on English. Its approximately 30,000 speakers are found along the Mosquito Coast of the Caribbean Sea. The language is nearly identical to Belizean Creole , and similar to all Central American Creoles...
(Nicaragua) - Rama Cay CreoleRama Cay CreoleRama Cay Creole is a Creole language spoken by some 8-900 people on the island of Rama Cay in eastern Nicaragua. It is based on Miskito Coast Creole with additional elements of the Chibchan language Rama and purportedly some elements of English spoken with a German accent...
(Nicaragua) - Rio Abajo CreoleRio Abajo CreoleRio Abajo Creole is a linguistic variety spoken in Rio Abajo in Panama City, the capital of Panama. Rio Abajo Creole is no language of its own, but similar to varieties such as Limón Coastal Creole. The number of speakers of Rio Abajo Creole is below 100,000. Rio Abajo Creole does not have the...
(Panama)
South America
- Guyanese Creole
- Ndyuka (language) (Suriname)
- San Andrés-Providencia CreoleSan Andrés-Providencia CreoleSan Andrés–Providencia Creole is a Creole language spoken in the San Andrés and Providencia Department of Colombia by the natives , very similar to the Miskito Coastal Creole spoken in Bluefields, the Corn Islands and the Mosquito Coast of Nicaragua...
(Colombia) - Sranan TongoSranan TongoSranan is a creole language spoken as a lingua franca by approximately 300,000 people in Suriname...
(Suriname)
Australia
- Australian Aboriginal EnglishAustralian Aboriginal EnglishAustralian Aboriginal English is the name given to a dialect of Australian English used by a large section of the Indigenous Australian population. It is made up of a number of varieties which developed differently in different parts of Australia...
- Australian Kriol languageAustralian Kriol languageKriol is an Australian creole language that developed initially in the region of Sydney and Newcastle in New South Wales in the early days of White colonisation, and then moved west and north with White and Black stockmen and others...
- Light WarlpiriLight WarlpiriLight Warlpiri is a mixed language of Australia, with indigenous Warlpiri, Kriol~Australian Aboriginal English , and Standard Australian English as its source languages...
- Queensland Kanaka EnglishQueensland Kanaka EnglishQueensland Kanaka English, Queensland Canefields English or Queensland Plantation Pidgin English is an English-based pidgin language that was spoken by Melanesian labourers in Queensland, Australia from the late 1860s....
- Torres Strait CreoleTorres Strait CreoleTorres Strait Creole is an English-based creole language spoken on several Torres Strait Islands , Northern Cape York and South-Western Coastal Papua...
Elsewhere
- Bislama (Vanuatu)
- Nauruan Pidgin English
- Pijin languagePijin languagePijin is also referred to as Kanaka and is a language spoken in the Solomon Islands. It is closely related to Tok Pisin of Papua New Guinea; Bislama of Vanuatu; and Torres Strait Creole of the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia and is written in the Latin alphabet.As of 1999 there were 306,984...
(Solomon Islands) - Tok PisinTok PisinTok Pisin is a creole spoken throughout Papua New Guinea. It is an official language of Papua New Guinea and the most widely used language in that country...
(New Guinea)
See also
- List of dialects of the English language
- List of English-based pidgins
- English-based creole languagesEnglish-based creole languagesAn English-based creole language is a creole language that was significantly influenced by the English language...