Annobonese language
The Annobonese language, known to its speakers as Fá d'Ambô or Fa d'Ambu, is spoken by 2,500 in the Annobon and Bioko Islands off the coast of Equatorial Guinea, mostly by people of mixed African, Spanish, and Portuguese descent.
Annobonese is a Portuguese Creole. It is called Falar de Ano Bom or annobonense in Portuguese, and annobonés in Spanish.
Origins
The language was spoken originally by the descendants of marriages between Portuguese men and African women slaves imported from other places, especially from São Tomé and Angola, and therefore descends from a mixture of Portuguese and Forro.
Features
Annobonese is analogous to Forro. In fact, it must be derived from Forro as it shares the same structure (82% of its lexicon). After Annobon passed to Spain, the language gained some words of Spanish origin (10% of its lexicon), although it is difficult to be sure, given the similarity between Spanish and Portuguese. Today, the Spanish language is the official language of the island. Portuguese is used as liturgical language. Portuguese is being restored as an official language in Equatorial Guinea.
References
- ^ Ethnologue
- ^ Holm, John A. (1989). Pidgins and Creoles: Reference Survey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. p. 277. ISBN 9780521359405.
External links
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| Indigenous |
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| Pidgin/Creole |
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| Upper Guinea Creoles |
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| Gulf of Guinea Creoles |
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| Indo-Portuguese Creoles |
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| Malayo-Portuguese Creoles |
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| Sino-Portuguese Creoles |
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| American Portuguese Creoles |
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| Creoles with strong Portuguese lexical influence |
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