Maio Crioulo language

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maio
Spoken in:	on Maio Island Cape Verde
Total speakers:	around 8,000
Language family:	Portuguese Creole
Language codes
ISO 639-1:	none
ISO 639-2:	`cpp`
ISO 639-3:	`kea` — Kabuverdianu
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA chart for English for an English-based pronunciation key.

The Maio Crioulo (crioulo de Maio in Portuguese) is the variant of Capeverdean creole spoken in the Maio Island of Cape Verde. It belongs to the Sotavento (Kriolu) branch of the phylum. It numbers the entire island population which includes a small part which also speaks Portuguese.

[edit] Rankings

It is the eight and one of the least spoken Capeverdean Creole and is after Brava and ahead of Boa Vista.

[edit] Vocabulary

Approximately 90 to 95% of the vocabulary originates from the Portuguese language, about 5 to 10% are from various African languages, notably Bantu and Kwa substrates. The structure is the easiest is rarely the same as the Brava and São Vicente Creoles. The comparison is very difficult especially in speaking, its phonetics are half difficult to link with Portuguese. The words are less than 20% the same as Portuguese but around 20% in pronunciation, the structure is about 30 to 40% Africanized and the remainder being of Portuguese origin .