English-based creole languages
Creole language derived from the English language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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).
Over 76.5 million people globally are estimated to speak an English-based creole. Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ghana and Jamaica 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 | Spoken in | Number of speakers[4] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Atlantic | |||
Western Caribbean | |||
| Bahamian Creole |  Bahamas |
328,000 (2018) | |
| Turks and Caicos Creole English |  Turks and Caicos |
34,400 (2019) | |
| Bay Islands English |  Honduras |
22,500 (2001) | |
| Jamaican Patois |  Jamaica |
3,043,280 (2001) | |
| Belizean Creole |  Belize |
170,000 (2014) | |
| Miskito Coast Creole |  Nicaragua |
18,400 (2009) | Dialect: Rama Cay Creole |
| Limonese Creole |  Costa Rica |
55,100 (2013) | Dialect of Jamaican Patois |
| Bocas del Toro Creole |  Panama |
268,000 (2000) | |
| San Andrés–Providencia Creole |  Colombia |
12,000 (1981) | |
Eastern Caribbean | |||
| Virgin Islands Creole | 89,700 (2019) | ||
| Anguillan Creole |  Anguilla |
11,500 (2001) | Dialect of Antiguan and Barbudan Creole |
| Barbudan Creole |  Antigua and Barbuda |
1,400 (2011) | |
| North Antiguan Creole | 48,000 (2011) | ||
| South Antiguan Creole | 6,800 (2011) | ||
| Saint Kitts Creole |  Saint Kitts and Nevis |
51,000 (2015) | |
| Montserrat Creole |  Montserrat |
5,130 (2020) | |
| Kokoy |  Dominica |
unknown, growing[11] | |
| Vincentian Creole |  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
108,000 (2016) | |
| Grenadian Creole |  Grenada |
107,000 (2020) | |
| Tobagonian Creole |  Trinidad and Tobago |
300,000 (2011) | |
| Trinidadian Creole | 1,000,000 (2011) | ||
| Bajan Dialect |  Barbados |
257,000 (2018) | |
| Guyanese Creole |  Guyana |
715,200 (2021) | |
| Sranan Tongo |  Suriname |
669,600 (2016–2018) | Including 150,000 L2 users |
| Saramaccan | 34,500 (2018) | ||
| Ndyuka | 67,800 (2018) | Dialects: Aluku, Paramaccan | |
| Kwinti | 250 (2018) | ||
Southern-Caribbean | |||
| Venezuelan English Creole |  Venezuela |
unknown, likely endangered (2018) | |
| San Nicolaas English |  Aruba |
15,000 (estimation) (2020) | Spoken in San Nicolaas, Aruba |
North America | |||
| Gullah |  United States |
300 (2023) | Ethnic population: 250,000 |
| Afro-Seminole Creole | 200 (1990)[12][13][a] | Dialect of the Gullah language | |
West Africa | |||
| Krio / Sierra Leonean Criole |  Sierra Leone |
7,800,000 (2021)[15] | Including 6,900,000 L2 speakers |
| Kreyol/Kolokwa |  Liberia |
5,113,000 (2015/2021)[16] | Including 5,000,000 L2 speakers |
| Kru English / Ghanaian Pidgin |  Ghana |
5,002,000 (2011/2013)[17][18] | Including 5,000,000 L2 speakers |
| Naijá / Nigerian Pidgin |  Nigeria |
120,650,000 (2020)[19] | Including 116,000,000 L2 users |
| Wes Cos / Kamtok / Cameroonian Pidgin |  Cameroon |
12,000,000 (2017)[20] | |
| Pichinglis / Equatorial Guinean Pidgin |  Equatorial Guinea |
76,000 (2011)[21] | Including 70,000 L2 users |
Pacific | |||
| Hawaiian Pidgin[b] |  Hawaii, United States |
600,000 (2015) | Including 400,000 L2 users[27] |
| Ngatikese Creole |  Micronesia |
700 (1983) | |
| Tok Pisin |  Papua New Guinea |
4,125,740 | Including 4,000,000 L2 users (2001) |
| Pijin |  Solomon Islands |
564,000 (2012–2019) | 530,000 L2 users (1999) |
| Bislama |  Vanuatu |
12,570 (2011) | |
| Pitcairn-Norfolk | 1,786 | Almost no L2 users. Has been classified as an Atlantic Creole based on internal structure.[28] | |
| Australian Kriol |  Australia |
17,160 (1991/2021)[29][30] | Including 10,000 L2 users |
| Torres Strait Creole | 6,170 (2016) | ||
| Bonin English |  Bonin Islands, Japan |
Possibly 1,000–2000 (2004)[citation needed] | |
Marginal
- Bonin English, sometimes considered a mixed language
- Iyaric ("Rastafarian")
- Jamaican Maroon Spirit Possession Language
Other
Not strictly creoles, but sometimes called thus:
See also
Notes
- Although Hawaii is part of the United States, Hawaiian Pidgin is mostly considered as a Pacific creole language rather than Atlantic, this is further mentioned in John Holm's "An Introduction to Pidgins and Creoles". Therefore, it does not have to follow its political boundaries on being a U.S. state.[22]