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, Malaysia, Nigeria, Ghana, Jamaica, Suriname and Singapore 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).
List of languages
Atlantic
| Name | Country | Number of speakers[4] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Western Caribbean | |||
| Bahamian Creole |  Bahamas | 330,000 (2018) | |
| Turks and Caicos Creole English |  Turks and Caicos | 34,000 (2019) | |
| Jamaican Patois |  Jamaica | 3,000,000 (2001) | |
| Belizean Creole |  Belize | 170,000 (2014) | |
| Miskito Coast Creole |  Nicaragua | 18,000 (2009) | Dialect: Rama Cay Creole |
| Limonese Creole |  Costa Rica | 55,000 (2013) | Dialect of Jamaican Patois |
| Bocas del Toro Creole |  Panama | 270,000 (2000) | Dialect of Jamaican Patois |
| San Andrés–Providencia Creole |  Colombia | 12,000 (1981) | |
Eastern Caribbean | |||
| Virgin Islands Creole | 90,000 (2019) | ||
| Anguillan Creole |  Anguilla | 12,000 (2001) | Dialect of Leeward Caribbean English Creole |
| Antiguan Creole |  Antigua and Barbuda | 83,000 (2019) | Dialect of Leeward Caribbean English Creole |
| Saint Kitts Creole |  Saint Kitts and Nevis | 51,000 (2015) | Dialect of Leeward Caribbean English Creole |
| Montserrat Creole |  Montserrat | 5,100 (2020) | Dialect of Leeward Caribbean English Creole |
| Vincentian Creole |  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 110,000 (2016) | |
| Grenadian Creole |  Grenada | 110,000 (2020) | |
| Tobagonian Creole |  Trinidad and Tobago | 300,000 (2011) | |
| Trinidadian Creole | Trinidad and Tobago | 1,000,000 (2011) | |
| Bajan Creole |  Barbados | 260,000 (2018) | |
| Guyanese Creole |  Guyana | 720,000 (2021) | |
| Sranan Tongo |  Suriname | 670,000 (2016–2018) | Including 150,000 L2 users |
| Saramaccan | Suriname | 35,000 (2018) | |
| Ndyuka | Suriname | 68,000 (2018) | Dialects: Aluku, Paramaccan |
| Kwinti | Suriname | 250 (2018) | |
North America | |||
| Gullah |  United States | 390 (2015) | Ethnic population: 250,000 |
| Afro-Seminole Creole | 200 (1990)[10][11][a] | Dialect of the Gullah language | |
West Africa | |||
| Krio |  Sierra Leone | 8,200,000 (2019) | Including 7,400,000 L2 speakers |
| Kreyol |  Liberia | 5,100,000 (2015) | Including 5,000,000 L2 speakers |
| Ghanaian Pidgin |  Ghana | 5,000,000 (2011) | |
| Nigerian Pidgin |  Nigeria | 120,000,000 | Including 120,000,000 L2 users |
| Cameroonian Pidgin |  Cameroon | 12,000,000 (2017) | |
| Equatorial Guinean Pidgin |  Equatorial Guinea | 200,000 (2020) | Including 190,000 L2 users (2020) |
Pacific
| Name | Country | Number of speakers[4] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaiian Pidgin[b] | 600,000 (2015) | Including 400,000 L2 users[14][15][16][17] | |
| Ngatikese Creole |  Micronesia | 700 (1983) | |
| Tok Pisin |  Papua New Guinea | 4,100,000 | Including 4,000,000 L2 users (2001) |
| Pijin |  Solomon Islands | 560,000 (2012–2019) | 530,000 L2 users (1999) |
| Bislama |  Vanuatu | 13,000 (2011) | |
| Pitcairn-Norfolk | 1,800 | Almost no L2 users. Has been classified as an Atlantic creole based on internal structure.[18] | |
| Australian Kriol |  Australia | 17,000 | Including 10,000 L2 users (1991) |
| Torres Strait Creole | Australia | 6,200 (2016) | |
| Bonin English |  Japan | Possibly 1,000–2,000 (2004)[citation needed] | Sometimes considered a mixed language[by whom?] |
| Singlish |  Singapore | 2,100,000[citation needed] | |
| Manglish |  Malaysia | 10,000,000[citation needed] |
Marginal
- Iyaric ("Rastafarian")
- Jamaican Maroon Spirit Possession Language
Other
Not strictly creoles, but sometimes called thus:
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
- Holm, John A., ed. (1983). Central American English. Heidelberg: Julius Groos Verlag. ISBN 3-87276-295-8.
- Holm, John A. (1989). "English-based varieties". Pidgins and Creoles. Vol. 2, Reference Survey. Cambridge University Press. pp. 405–551. ISBN 978-0-521-35940-5.
- Holm, John A. (2000). An Introduction to Pidgins and Creoles. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-58581-1.
- Schreier, Daniel; Trudgill, Peter; Schneider, Edgar W.; Williams, Jeffrey P., eds. (2010). The Lesser-Known Varieties of English: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-48741-2.
- Arends, Jacques; Muysken, Pieter; Smith, Norval (1995). Pidgins and Creoles: An Introduction. John Benjamins Publishing. ISBN 90-272-5236-X.