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English-based creole languages



 
 
An English-based creole language (often shortened to English creole) is a creole language
Creole language

A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable language that originates seemingly as a nativization pidgin. This understanding of creole genesis culminated in Robert A....
 that was significantly influenced by the English language
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
. Most English creoles were formed in English colonies, following the great expansion of British naval military power and trade in the 17th and 18th centuries.








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An English-based creole language (often shortened to English creole) is a creole language
Creole language

A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable language that originates seemingly as a nativization pidgin. This understanding of creole genesis culminated in Robert A....
 that was significantly influenced by the English language
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
. Most English creoles were formed in English colonies, following the great expansion of British naval military power and trade in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Notable examples

  • Atlantic
    • Western
      • Jamaican Patois: Not to be confused with Jamaican English
        Jamaican English

        Jamaican English or Jamaican Standard English is a dialect of English language spoken in Jamaica. It melds parts of both American English and British English dialects....
        , which is a dialect of English. It is sometimes called Jamaican Creole and is an English-based creole language spoken in Jamaica. It represents a history of contact among many different types of speakers drawn from many ethnic, linguistic, and social background. Jamaican Patois is the dominant language in Jamaica and gaining in prestige. Jamaican Creole was introduced to Central America with the migration of plantation workers and is related to dialects very similar to each other including Bocas del Toro Creole
        Bocas del Toro Creole

        Bocas del Toro Creole is a linguistic variety spoken in Bocas del Toro province of Panama. Bocas del Toro Creole is no language of its own, but similar to varieties such as Lim?n Coastal Creole....
         in Panama
        Panama

        Panama, officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America and, in turn, North America. Situated on an isthmus connecting North and South America, some categorize it as a transcontinental nation....
         and Limónese Creole and Colón Creole
        Colón Creole

        Col?n Creole is a language spoken in Panama. Col?n Creole is similar to varieties such as Lim?n Coastal Creole, Miskito Coastal Creole, and Belizean Kriol language....
         spoken in coastal Costa Rica
        Costa Rica

        Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the east and south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
        , which Ethnologue considers as dialects of Jamaican Patois. .
      • Belizean Kriol
        Belizean Kriol language

        Belizean Kriol, or simply known as Kriol by its speakers, is an English-based creole languages most closely related to Miskito Coastal Creole, but also Lim?n Coastal Creole, Col?n Creole, and San Andr?s and Providencia Creole....
        : Most live in Belize City, but nearly everyone else in Belize is either a first- or second-language speaker of Kriol. It is the lingua franca
        Lingua franca

        A lingua franca is a language systematically used to communicate between persons not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both persons' mother tongues....
         in much of the country. Also spoken in USA. Reported to be very close to Mískito Coast, and Islander (San Andrés) creoles. Historically an extension of Mískito Coast Creole. Dahufra was a creole used in the 16th to 18th centuries. Jamaican Patois is different in orthography and grammar. Timber; agriculturalists; fishermen; industrial workers; construction industry; commerce; government, teachers.
      • Miskito Coastal Creole
        Miskito Coastal Creole

        M?skito Coast Creole or Nicaragua Creole English is a language spoken in Nicaragua based on English language. Its approximately 30,000 speakers are found along the Mosquito Coast of the Caribbean Sea....
         in Nicaragua
        Nicaragua

        Nicaragua officially the Republic of Nicaragua , is a representative democracy republic. It is the largest state in Central America with an area of 130,000 km2, about the size of the state of New York....
      • San Andrés-Providencia Creole
        San Andrés-Providencia Creole

        San Andr?s-Providencia Creole is a Creole language spoken in the San Andr?s and Providencia Departments of Colombia of Colombia by the natives , very similar to the Miskito Coastal Creole spoken in Bluefields, the Corn Islands and the Mosquitos Coast of Nicaragua....
         in Colombia
        Colombia

        Colombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a country in north-western South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the north west by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean....
    • Eastern
      • Northern
        • Afro-Seminole Creole
          Afro-Seminole Creole

          Afro-Seminole Creole is an English language-based creole language spoken by Black Seminoles in scattered communities in Oklahoma, Texas, and Northern Mexico....
        • Bahamian Creole
          Bahamian Creole

          Bahamian is spoken by approximately 400,000 people in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.Variations exist between the creole spoken on various islands, villages or communities on islands....
          : an English-based creole, widely spoken in the Bahamas
        • Turks-Caicos Creole
          Turks-Caicos Creole

          Turks and Caicos Islands Creole is an English-based creole languages spoken in the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the West Indies southeast of the Bahamas....
           is an English-based creole, widely spoken throughout in the Turks and Caicos Islands
          Turks and Caicos Islands

          The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the West Indies, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre....
          , with each island having a different variation.
        • Gullah
          Gullah language

          The Gullah language is a creole language spoken by the Gullah , an African American population living on the Sea Islands and the coastal region of the U.S....
          : Gullah is an English-based creole spoken in the Sea Islands
          Sea Islands

          The Sea Islands are a chain of tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the United States. They number over 100, and are located between the mouths of the Santee River and St....
           and the adjacent coastal regions of South Carolina
          South Carolina

          South Carolina is a U.S. state in the Southern United States of the United States. It borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north....
          , Georgia
          Georgia (U.S. state)

          Georgia is a U.S. state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against United Kingdom rule in the American Revolution....
           and northern Florida
          Florida

          Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
          .
      • Southern
        • Anguillan Creole
          Anguillan Creole

          Anguillan Creole is a Creole language spoken on Anguilla island in the Caribbean. It is similar to varieties of Virgin Islands Creole. The number of speakers of Anguillan Creole is below 10,000....
        • Antiguan Creole
          Antiguan Creole

          Antiguan Creole is a Creole language spoken in Antigua and Barbuda.There are subtle differences in Antiguan Creole's usage by different speakers, and Antiguans often use it in combination with Standard English....
          : spoken in Antigua and Barbuda
          Antigua and Barbuda

          Antigua and Barbuda is an island nation located on the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. As its name suggests, it consists of two major islands Antigua and Barbuda as well as a number of smaller islets....
        • Bajan
          Bajan

          Bajan or Barbadian Dialect, is an English-based creole languages spoken by persons on the West Indian island of Barbados. Bajan uses a mixture of West African languages idioms and expressions along with British English to produce a unique Barbadian/West Indian vocabulary and speech pattern....
        • Grenadian Creole
          Grenadian Creole

          Grenadian Creole, or Grenadian Creole English, is a Creole language spoken in Grenada. It is a member of the Southern branch of English-based Eastern Atlantic Creoles, along with Antiguan Creole , Bajan , Guyanese Creole , Tobagonian Creole English, Trinidadian Creole English , Vincentian Creole , and Virgin Islands Creole ....
        • Guyanese Creole: Spoken throughout Guyana
          Guyana

          Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and previously known as British Guiana, is the only state of the Commonwealth of Nations on mainland South America....
           and similar to Jamaican Patois (see below), but with a different accent and some word substitutions; probably due to the greater Indo-Guyanese influence. The language varies across the regions within the country.
        • Montserrat Creole
          Montserrat Creole

          Montserrat Creole is a Creole language 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....
        • Saint Kitts Creole
          Saint Kitts Creole

          Saint Kitts Creole is a Creole language spoken in Saint Kitts and Nevis by under 100,000 people. Saint Kitts Creole does not have the status of an official language....
          : Spoken in Saint Kitts and Nevis
          Saint Kitts and Nevis

          The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis , located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island nation in the West Indies. It is the smallest nation in the Americas, in both List of countries by area and List of countries by population....
          .
        • Saint Martin Creole
          Saint Martin Creole

          Saint Martin Creole is an English-based creole languages spoken on Saint Martin, an island in the Caribbean. Although Saint Martin is politically half-France and half-Kingdom of the Netherlands, English language is the predominant language among the native population, especially on the Sint Maarten....
          : Spoken in Saint Martin
          Saint Martin

          Saint Martin is a tropical island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately 300 km east of Puerto Rico. The 87 km? island is divided roughly in half between France and the Netherlands Antilles ; it is the smallest inhabited List of divided islands....
          .
        • Tobagonian Creole English
          Tobagonian Creole English

          Tobagonian Creole English is a Creole language#English Creoles which is the general spoken language in Tobago. It is distinct from Trinidadian Creole English and closer to other Lesser Antilles English creoles....
          : Spoken in Tobago
          Tobago

          Tobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean Sea, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada....
          .
        • Trinidadian Creole English
          Trinidadian Creole English

          Trinidadian Creole English is a Creole language#English Creoles which is the general spoken language in Trinidad and Tobago. It is distinct from Tobagonian Creole English and from other Lesser Antilles English creoles....
          : Spoken in Trinidad
          Trinidad

          Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and islands of Trinidad and Tobago which make up the country of Trinidad and Tobago....
          .
        • Virgin Islands Creole
          Virgin Islands Creole

          Virgin Islands Creole is an English-based creole languages spoken in the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean.Virgin Islands Creole is not to be confused with Negerhollands, a Dutch language-based creole that was once spoken in the Danish West Indies, now known as the U.S....
          : Spoken in the Virgin Islands
          Virgin Islands

          The Virgin Islands are an archipelago, part of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea. The Leeward Islands are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles, where the Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean....
          .
          Note: Ethnologue considers Anguillan Creole
          Anguillan Creole

          Anguillan Creole is a Creole language spoken on Anguilla island in the Caribbean. It is similar to varieties of Virgin Islands Creole. The number of speakers of Anguillan Creole is below 10,000....
          , Antiguan Creole
          Antiguan Creole

          Antiguan Creole is a Creole language spoken in Antigua and Barbuda.There are subtle differences in Antiguan Creole's usage by different speakers, and Antiguans often use it in combination with Standard English....
          , Montserrat Creole
          Montserrat Creole

          Montserrat Creole is a Creole language 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....
          , Saint Kitts Creole
          Saint Kitts Creole

          Saint Kitts Creole is a Creole language spoken in Saint Kitts and Nevis by under 100,000 people. Saint Kitts Creole does not have the status of an official language....
           and Saint Martin Creole
          Saint Martin Creole

          Saint Martin Creole is an English-based creole languages spoken on Saint Martin, an island in the Caribbean. Although Saint Martin is politically half-France and half-Kingdom of the Netherlands, English language is the predominant language among the native population, especially on the Sint Maarten....
           as dialects of the .
    • Krio
      • Aku
        Aku

        Aku can refer to:*The word for "me" or "I" in the Malay language*The name of a god of the moon, meaning "moon", in Babylonian mythology*An ethnic group in Gambia consisting of descendants of former slaves...
      • Cameroonian Pidgin English
        Cameroonian Pidgin English

        Cameroonian Pidgin English, or Cameroonian Creole, is a linguistic entity of Cameroon. It is also known as Kamtok . Five varieties are currently recognised:...
        , Kamtok, or Cameroonian Creole: is a linguistic entity of Cameroon
        Cameroon

        The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary state of central and western Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south....
        . It is also known as Kamtok. Two varieties are Limbe-Krio and Grafi. Cameroonian Pidgin English is an English-based creole language. About 5% of Cameroonians are native speakers of the language.
      • Kreyol
        Liberian Kreyol language

        Kreyol is a Creole language spoken in Liberia And Sierra Leone.It has been developed in Liberia by the freed English language African American slaves who grew up several years in the United States....
        : is spoken in Liberia
        Liberia

        Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, C?te d'Ivoire, and the Atlantic Ocean....
        , and has English
        English language

        English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
         and French as superstrate languages, with several West African languages as substrate.
      • Krio: Spoken in Sierra Leone
        Sierra Leone

        Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea in the northeast, Liberia in the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest....
        .
      • Nigerian Pidgin
        Nigerian Pidgin

        Nigerian Pidgin is an English language-based pidgin or creole language spoken as a kind of lingua franca across Nigeria that is referred to simply as "Pidgin", "Broken English" or "Brokan"....
        : While rudimentally spoken all over Nigeria, English is the accepted language of transaction and communication. The Nigerian Pidgin dates back to the colonial era, where locals were hired to work with the British colonials and ended up developing it to the Creole language it is today.
    • Suriname
      • Jamaican Maroon Spirit Possession Language
        Jamaican Maroon Spirit Possession Language

        Jamaican Maroon Spirit Possession Language, or simply Maroon Spirit Language, is a ritual language used by Jamaican Maroons while spiritual possession by the spirits of ancestors during Kromanti ceremony or when addressing those who are possessed....
      • Ndyuka
        Ndyuka

        Ndyuk? , also called Aukan, Ndyuk? tongo, Aukaans, or Okanisi, is a creole language of Suriname. Most of the 25 to 30 thousand speakers live in the interior of the country, which is a part of the country covered with tropical rainforests....
      • Sranan Tongo
        Sranan Tongo

        Sranan is a creole language spoken as a lingua franca by approximately 400,000 people in Suriname. It is the mother tongue of the Creole peopless....
        : in Suriname.
  • Pacific
    • Australian Kriol
      Australian Kriol language

      Kriol is an Australian creole language that developed out of the contact between European settlers and the Indigenous Australians people in the northern regions of Australia, presently spoken by about 30,000 people....
      : Also known as Roper River Creole, has become the major non-English language among Aboriginal Australians with over 10,000 first language speakers.
    • Related English-based creoles Bislama, spoken in Vanuatu
      Vanuatu

      Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, north-east of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and south of the Solomon Islands, near New Zealand....
      ; Pijin
      Pijin language

      Pijin is also referred to as Kanakas 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....
      , in the Solomon Islands
      Solomon Islands

      For the group of islands rather than the nation, see Solomon Islands .The Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands....
      ; Torres Strait Creole
      Torres Strait Creole

      Torres Strait Creole is an English-based creole language spoken on several Torres Strait Islands , Northern Cape York and South-Western Coastal Papua....
      , spoken by Torres Straits Islanders. Tok Pisin, spoken throughout Papua New Guinea
      Papua New Guinea

      Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands ....
      , has English as its superstrate language and various Papuan languages providing grammatical and lexical input.
    • Hawaiian Creole English
      Hawaiian Pidgin

      Hawaii Pidgin English, Hawaii Creole English, HCE, or simply Pidgin, is a creole language based in part on English language used by most "local" residents of Hawaii....
      : Hawaiian Pidgin began as a pidgin used in the early European colonization of the Hawaiian Islands
      Hawaii

      File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia....
      . English served as the superstrate language, with Chinese
      Chinese language

      Chinese or the Sinitic language is a language family consisting of language mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan languages of languages....
      , Japanese
      Japanese language

      IPA: [n?iho?go] is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is related to the Ryukyuan languages....
      , Filipino
      Filipino language

      The Filipino language is the national language and an official language of the Philippines as designated in the 1987 Philippine Constitution. It is an Austronesian language that is the de facto standard language of Tagalog language....
      , Portuguese
      Portuguese language

      Portuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and Portugal. It is derived from the Latin language spoken by the Romanization Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago....
      , and Hawaiian
      Hawaiian language

      The Hawaiian language is an Austronesian languages that takes its name from Hawaii , the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed....
       elements incorporated. Children started using it as a lingua franca
      Lingua franca

      A lingua franca is a language systematically used to communicate between persons not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both persons' mother tongues....
      , and by the 1920s it had creolized and become a language of Hawaii, as it still is today.
    • Not a creole but a pair of dialects that developed out of a Cant
      Cant (language)

      Cant is an example of an argot or cryptolect, a characteristic or secret language used only by members of a group, often used to conceal the meaning from those outside the group....
      , Pitkern and Norfuk
      Norfuk language

      Norfuk is the language spoken on Norfolk Island by the local residents. It is a blend of English language of the 1700s and Tahitian language originally introduced by settlers from the Pitcairn Islands who spoke Pitkern....
      , spoken by the inhabitants of the Pitcairn Islands
      Pitcairn Islands

      The Pitcairn Islands , officially named the Pitcairn, Henderson Island , Ducie Island and Oeno Island Islands, are a group of four volcano islands in the southern Pacific Ocean....
       and Pitcairnese migrants in Norfolk Island
      Norfolk Island

      Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. It and two neighbouring islands form one of Australia's external Territory ....
      , formed from an 18th century dialect of English
      English language

      English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
       with 5% of its vocabulary taken from the Tahiti
      Tahiti

      O Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward Islands group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean....
      an language to form the Mixed language
      Mixed language

      A mixed language is a language that arises through the fusion of two source languages, normally in situations of thorough bilingualism, so that it is not possible to classify the resulting language as belonging to either of the language families that were its source....
       known as Pitkern, or Norfuk in Norfolk Island.
  • Saramaccan
    • Saramaccaans, or Saamáka
      Saramaccan language

      Saramaccan is a creole language spoken by about 24,000 people near the Saramacca River and upper Suriname Rivers in Suriname , and 2,000 in French Guiana....
  • South-east Asia
    • Coño English
      Englog

      Englog, sometimes Enggalog, is an informal sociolect in the Philippines. The term is a portmanteau of the words ?English language? and ?Tagalog language?....
      : a Mixed language in the Philippines based on American English
      American English

      PhonologyIn many ways, compared to English language in England, North American English is conservative in its phonology. Some distinctive accents can be found on the East Coast of the United States , partly because these areas were in contact with England, and imitated prestigious varieties of English English at a time when those varieties we...
      , and is used among Filipinos of partial or whole European ancestry. It is primarily English as it is spoken in the United States with a few insertions of Spanish
      Spanish language

      Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
       and Tagalog
      Tagalog language

      Tagalog is one of the major languages used in the Philippines. It is a basis for the Filipino language, which is the principal language of the national television and radio, though broadsheet newspapers are almost completely in English....
      , and in some cases, with Hokkien Chinese
      Min Nan

      The Southern Min language, or Min Nan, refers to a family of Chinese dialects which are spoken in southern Fujian and neighboring areas, and by descendants of overseas Chinese in diaspora....
      . Initially classified as codeswitching, Cono English has achieved acceptance among Eurasians and Amerasians in the Philippines as an everyday form of communication.