Krio language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Krio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Sierra Leone | |
| Region: | West Africa | |
| Total speakers: | ca. 4 million; ca. 500,000 native speakers | |
| Language family: | English-based creole | |
| Official status | ||
| Official language of: | n/a | |
| Regulated by: | no official regulation | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | none | |
| ISO 639-2: | kri | |
| ISO 639-3: | kri | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA chart for English for an English-based pronunciation key. | ||
- See also the Keriu language and Krio Dayak language of Indonesia.
Krio is a creole language native to the Krios, a community of about 100,000 descendants of freed slaves living in Sierra Leone's capital city of Freetown. It is also spoken as a lingua franca, or second language, by about 4 million Sierra Leoneans of other ethnic groups, and by thousands of Krio descendants living in other parts of West Africa.
The vocabulary of Krio is derived primarily from English, while its sound system, grammar and sentence structure are heavily influenced by African languages, particularly the Yoruba language of Nigeria. Krio's standard greeting kushe, for instance, is derived from the Yoruba greeting è kú işé ("greetings on your work").
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[edit] Language origins
The early roots of Krio are believed to go back to the Atlantic slave trade era in the 17th and 18th centuries when an English-based pidgin language (West African Pidgin English, also called Guinea Coast Creole English) arose to facilitate the coastal trade between Europeans and Africans. This early pidgin later became the lingua franca of regional trade among West Africans themselves and spread up the river systems to the African interior. After the founding of Freetown, this preexisting pidgin was heavily influenced by the speech of the various groups of freed slaves landed in Sierra Leone between 1787 and about 1855. The pidgin gradually evolved to become the native language of the Krios, descendants of the freed slaves, and thus became a creole language. Krio has been called "a mixture of mixtures."
[edit] Language usage
[edit] Krio usage in Sierra Leone
Most creoles live in Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone, and their community accounts for only about 2% of Sierra Leone's total population. However, because of their cultural influence in Sierra Leone — especially during the period of colonial rule — their language is used as the lingua franca among all the tribes in Sierra Leone. Many Mendes, Temnes, and Limbas grow up in the interior of the country speaking both their native languages and Krio. Krio is also the lingua franca in Sierra Leone's major cities, and many Sierra Leoneans of mixed heritage who grow up in the cities -- and who are not ethnic Krios -- also grow up speaking Krio as their native language.
[edit] Krio speakers abroad
The Krio people acted as traders and missionaries in other parts of West Africa during the 19th century, and as a result there are also Krio-speaking communities in The Gambia, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea.
[edit] Language revival
During the period of colonial rule, Sierra Leoneans were discouraged from speaking Krio; but after Independence from Great Britain in 1961, writers and educators began promoting its use. In the 1960s, Thomas Decker translated some of Shakespeare's plays into Krio, and composed original poetry in the language. In the 1980s the New Testament was translated into Krio.
While English is Sierra Leone's official language, the Ministry of Education began using Krio as the medium of instruction in some primary schools in Freetown in the 1990s. Radio stations now broadcast a wide variety of programs in Krio. Sierra Leonean politicians also routinely give public speeches in the language.
The New York City Public School system recently recognized the Krio language as a "home language" allowing children to be recognized as speaking Krio rather than other African languages.
[edit] Classification
Krio is an English-based creole similar in many respects to Nigerian Pidgin English and Cameroonian Pidgin English, but it has its own distinctive character. It is also similar to English-based creole languages spoken in the Americas, especially the Gullah language, Jamaican Creole, and Belizean Creole.
[edit] Phonology and orthography
Krio uses the Latin Alphabet as used in English but without Qq and Xx and with three letters from the African reference alphabet, Ɛɛ (Open E), Ŋŋ (Eng), and ɔ (Open O). Three tones can be distinguished in Krio and are sometimes marked with grave (à), acute (á), and circumflex (â) accents over the vowels for low, high, and falling tones respectively but these accents are not employed in normal usage.
The complete alphabet with digraphs is:
| Krio letter or digraph | Example word | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| A,a | wata | water |
| Aw, aw | naw | now |
| Ay, ay | nayn | nine |
| B, b | bɔku | plenty |
| Ch, ch | cham | chew |
| D, d | dia | expensive |
| E, e | let | late |
| ɔ, ɔ | ɔp | help |
| F, f | fɔs | first |
| G, g | gɛt | goat |
| Gb, gb | gbana | difficult |
| H, h | wahala | argument |
| I, i | titi | girl |
| J, j | jomp | jump |
| K, k | kɔntri | country |
| Kp, kp | kpatakpata | completely |
| L, l | lib | live |
| M, m | muf | move |
| N, n | nak | knock |
| Ny, ny | nyu | new |
| Ŋ, ŋ | siŋ | sing |
| O, o | wok | work |
| Ɔ, ɔ | bɔn | born |
| Ɔy, ɔy | ɔyl | oil |
| P, p | padi | friend |
| R, r | ren | rain |
| S, s | saf | soft |
| Sh, sh | shap | sharp |
| T, t | tif | steal |
| U, u | uman | woman |
| V, v | vot | vote |
| W, w | wes | buttocks |
| Y, y | yala | yellow |
| Z, z | ziro | zero |
| Zh, zh | plɛzhɔ | pleasure |
[edit] Language samples
Below is a sample of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Krio:
| Krio | English |
|---|---|
| Atikul Wan
Ɛvribɔdi bɔn fri ɛn gɛt in yon rayt, nɔn wan nɔ pas in kɔmpin. Wi ɔl ebul fɔ tink ɛn fɛnɔt wetin rayt ɛn rɔŋ pantap dat wi fɔ sabi aw fɔ liv lɛk wan big famili. |
Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. |
Below are some sample sentences of Krio:
- Kushe. - "Hello."
- Kushe-o. - "Hello."
- Wetin na yu nem? - "What is your name?"
- A nem Jemz. - "My name is James."
- Usai yu kɔmɔt? - "Where do you come from?"
- A kɔmɔt Estinz. - "I come from Hastings."
- Us wok yu de du? - "What work do you do?"
- Mi na ticha. - "I am a teacher."
- Na us skul yu de tich? - "What school do you teach at?"
- A de tich na Prins ɔv Welz. - "I teach at Prince of Wales."
- A gladi fɔ mit yu. - "I am happy to meet you."
- Misєf gladi fɔ mit yu. - "I myself am happy to meet you."
- OK, a de go nau. - "OK, I am going now."
- Ɔrayt, wi go si bak. - "Alright, we will see again."
[edit] Krio in films
Krio is used early in the 2006 film Blood Diamond between Danny Archer (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) and a character named Commander Zero.
