Sranan Tongo
Template:Short description {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check |unknown=Template:Main other |preview=Page using Template:Infobox language with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| acceptance | agency | aiatsis | aiatsis2 | aiatsis3 | aiatsis4 | aiatsis5 | aiatsis6 | aiatsisname | aiatsisname2 | aiatsisname3 | aiatsisname4 | aiatsisname5 | aiatsisname6 | altname | ancestor | ancestor2 | ancestor3 | ancestor4 | ancestor5 | ancestor6 | ancestor7 | ancestor8 | ancestor9 | ancestor10 | ancestor11 | ancestor12 | ancestor13 | ancestor14 | ancestor15 | boxsize | coordinates | coords | created | creator | date | dateprefix | development_body | dia1 | dia2 | dia3 | dia4 | dia5 | dia6 | dia7 | dia8 | dia9 | dia10 | dia11 | dia12 | dia13 | dia14 | dia15 | dia16 | dia17 | dia18 | dia19 | dia20 | dia21 | dia22 | dia23 | dia24 | dia25 | dia26 | dia27 | dia28 | dia29 | dia30 | dia31 | dia32 | dia33 | dia34 | dia35 | dia36 | dia37 | dia38 | dia39 | dia40 | dialect_label | dialects | ELP | ELP2 | ELP3 | ELP4 | ELP5 | ELP6 | ELPname | ELPname2 | ELPname3 | ELPname4 | ELPname5 | ELPname6 | era | ethnicity | extinct | fam1 | fam2 | fam3 | fam4 | fam5 | fam6 | fam7 | fam8 | fam9 | fam10 | fam11 | fam12 | fam13 | fam14 | fam15 | family | familycolor | fontcolor | glotto | glotto2 | glotto3 | glotto4 | glotto5 | glottoname | glottoname2 | glottoname3 | glottoname4 | glottoname5 | glottopedia | glottorefname | glottorefname2 | glottorefname3 | glottorefname4 | glottorefname5 | guthrie | ietf | image | imagealt | imagecaption | imagescale | iso1 | iso1comment | iso2 | iso2b | iso2comment | iso2t | iso3 | iso3comment | iso6 | isoexception | lc1 | lc2 | lc3 | lc4 | lc5 | lc6 | lc7 | lc8 | lc9 | lc10 | lc11 | lc12 | lc13 | lc14 | lc15 | lc16 | lc17 | lc18 | lc19 | lc20 | lc21 | lc22 | lc23 | lc24 | lc25 | lc26 | lc27 | lc28 | lc29 | lc30 | lc31 | lc32 | lc33 | lc34 | lc35 | lc36 | lc37 | lc38 | lc39 | lc40 | ld1 | ld2 | ld3 | ld4 | ld5 | ld6 | ld7 | ld8 | ld9 | ld10 | ld11 | ld12 | ld13 | ld14 | ld15 | ld16 | ld17 | ld18 | ld19 | ld20 | ld21 | ld22 | ld23 | ld24 | ld25 | ld26 | ld27 | ld28 | ld29 | ld30 | ld31 | ld32 | ld33 | ld34 | ld35 | ld36 | ld37 | ld38 | ld39 | ld40 | linglist | linglist2 | linglist3 | linglist4 | linglist5 | linglist6 | lingname | lingname2 | lingname3 | lingname4 | lingname5 | lingname6 | lingua | lingua2 | lingua3 | lingua4 | lingua5 | lingua6 | lingua7 | lingua8 | lingua9 | lingua10 | linguaname | linguaname2 | linguaname3 | linguaname4 | linguaname5 | linguaname6 | linguaname7 | linguaname8 | linguaname9 | linguaname10 | listclass | liststyle | map | map2 | mapalt | mapalt2 | mapcaption | mapcaption2 | mapscale | minority | module | name | nation | nativename | notice | notice2 | official | posteriori | pronunciation | protoname | pushpin_image | pushpin_label | pushpin_label_position | pushpin_map | pushpin_map_alt | pushpin_map_caption | pushpin_mapsize | qid | ref | refname | region | revived | revived-cat | revived-category | script | setting | sign | signers | speakers | speakers_label | speakers2 | stand1 | stand2 | stand3 | stand4 | stand5 | stand6 | standards | state | states }}<templatestyles src="Template:Infobox/styles-images.css" /> Sranan Tongo (Sranantongo, "Surinamese tongue", Sranan, Surinamese Creole) is an English-based creole language from Suriname, in South America, where it is the first or second language for 519,600 Surinamese people (approximately 80% of the population). It is also spoken in the Netherlands and across the Surinamese diaspora.<ref name=e25/><ref name="Britannica 2009">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Braun 2009">Template:Cite book</ref> It is considered both an unofficial national language and a lingua franca.<ref name="Britannica 2009" />
Sranan Tongo developed among enslaved Africans from Central and West Africa, especially along the Caribbean coastline, after contact with English planters and indentured workers from 1651–67. Its use expanded to the Dutch colonists who took over the territory in 1667 and decided to maintain the local language as a lingua franca.<ref name="Braun 2009" /><ref name="Britannica 2009" /> Because the number of English colonists was massively reduced following the arrival of the Dutch, later additions to the language and the presence of African influences have made it distinct from other Afro-Caribbean creoles based on English.<ref name="sherriah" />
History
Sranan Tongo likely developed from an English-based pidgin, when English colonists in what was then part of the English colony of Guiana imported enslaved Africans for the plantations. The enslaved Africans, who were often from various tribes, did not have an African language in common and developed a pidgin to communicate. After the Dutch takeover in 1667, following the Treaty of Westminster (1674) (in exchange for ceding the North American eastern seaboard colony of New Netherland to the English), a substantial overlay of words was adopted from the Dutch language, making it a secondary lexifier.<ref name="Braun 2009" /><ref name="Sebba 2000" /><ref name="Muysken 2015" />Template:Rp There were also additions from Spanish and Portuguese—some of these dating from earlier Portuguese occupation of the colony, which preceded the arrival of the British.<ref name="sherriah">Template:Cite book</ref>
The first enslaved Africans probably spoke Gbe languages or Kikongo as their native tongues, and were bilingual for some time. In the early 18th century (1720), large numbers of Akan people (65%) from the region then called the Gold Coast were also transported to plantations in Suriname. The addition of the Akan language into early Sranan Tongo, which had already undergone a process of creolization at that time, further altered the language, causing relexification and giving the creole its own distinct form of Africanisms.<ref name="Braun 2009" /><ref name="Sebba 2000">Sebba, Mark. (2000) "Orthography and ideology: issues in Sranan spelling." Linguistics, Vol. 38 (Issue 5), pp. 925-948. https://doi.org/10.1515/ling.2000.016</ref><ref name="Muysken 2015">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp As other ethnic groups, such as East Indians, Chinese and Javanese, were brought to Suriname as indentured workers, Sranan Tongo became a lingua franca.<ref name="Britannica 2009" />
Indigenous peoples in Suriname also intermarried with enslaved Africans, adding a significant amount of their cultural influence to Sranan and Afro-Surinamese culture.<ref name="Migge 2003">Template:Cite book</ref>
Characteristics
Despite having a significant number of English-language words in its lexicon, the lack of contact with English speakers from the 17th century means Sranan Tongo is rarely mutually intelligible with modern English and is distinct from most other English-based creoles.<ref name="Muysken 2015" />Template:Rp The African language influences of Sranan Tongo are Gbe (Fon, Ewe, Aja, Gun, Gen (Mina), Xwelak), KiKongo, and Akan (Twi and Fante). The African influence on Sranan can be found in its grammar, morphology and phonology. Next to its idioms and idiophones in addition to its culinary, botanical, zoological, anatomical, artifactual, musical and Winti lexicon.<ref name="Braun 2009" /><ref name="Smith 2006">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="van Andel 2014">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Muysken 2015" /> The influence of the Cariban language, Carib and Arawak can be found in Sranan's botanical, zoological, musical, culinary and Winti lexicon.<ref name="Migge 2003" />
Remnants of Sranan's Portuguese-based period can still be traced in its lexical items of Portuguese origin and the Ancestral tradition of Odos. Odos Afro-Surinamese people proverbs, folklore and stories, passed down generationally during slavery through oral tradition in Sranan. These stories are still a part of Afro-Surinamese culture and identity, with many that can be traced back to specific regions in Central and West Africa where they originated.<ref name="Arends 2017">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Arnold 1994">Template:Cite book</ref>
Phonology and orthography
Until the middle of the 20th century, most written texts in Sranan, seen at the time as a low-prestige language,Template:Efn used a spelling that was not standardized but based on Dutch orthography. In view of the considerable differences between the phonologies of Sranan and Dutch, this was not a satisfactory situation.<ref name="Sebba 2000" />
With the emergence of a movement striving for the emancipation of Sranan as a respectable language, the need for a phonology-based orthography was felt. A more suitable orthography developed as an informal consensus from the publications of linguists studying Sranan and related creoles. For everyday use, the Dutch-based spelling remained common, while some literary authors adopted (variants of) the linguistic spelling. To end this situation, the Surinamese government commissioned a committee of linguists and writers to define a standard spelling, which was adopted and came into force in 1986.<ref>Resolutie van 15 juli 1986 No. 4501, inzake vaststelling officiële spelling voor het Sranantongo.</ref><ref name="Brigham 2020" /> This standard essentially followed the linguistic consensus. As the language is not taught in schools, while Dutch is, many speakers are not clearly aware of the principles on which this spelling is based and continue to use a Dutch-like, variant spelling.<ref name="Sebba 2000" />
Modern use
Although the formal Dutch-based educational system repressed the use of Sranan Tongo, in the past pejoratively dismissed as Template:Lang (literally meaning Template:Gloss or Template:Gloss) and Template:Lang (literally meaning Template:Gloss),<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> it gradually became more accepted by the establishment and wider society to speak it.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Britannica 2009" /> During the 1980s, this language was popularized by publicly known speakers, including chairman Dési Bouterse, who often delivered national speeches in Sranan Tongo.<ref name="Romero 2008">Template:Cite news</ref>
Sranan Tongo remains widely used in Suriname and in Dutch urban areas populated by immigrants from Suriname. They especially use it in casual conversation, often freely mixing it with Dutch. Written code-switching between Sranan Tongo and Dutch is also common in computer-mediated communication.<ref name="Radke 2017">Template:Cite journal</ref> People often greet each other in Sranan Tongo by saying, for example, Template:Lang (Template:Gloss), instead of the more formal Dutch Template:Lang (Template:Gloss).Template:Citation needed
In 2021, Sranan Tongo appeared for the first time in the Eurovision Song Contest in Jeangu Macrooy's song, "Birth of a New Age".<ref name="Eurovision 2021">Template:Cite web</ref>
Literature
As a written language, Sranan Tongo has existed since the late 18th century. The first publication in Sranan Tongo was in 1783 by Hendrik Schouten who wrote a part Dutch, part Sranan Tongo poem, called Template:Lang (Template:Gloss).<ref name="Brigham 2020">Template:Cite web.</ref> The first important book was published in 1864 by Johannes King, and relates to his travels to Drietabbetje for the Moravian Church.<ref name="caribisch">Template:Cite web</ref>
Early writers often used their own spelling system.<ref name="spiegel">Template:Cite web</ref> An official orthography was adopted by the government of Suriname on July 15, 1986, in Resolution 4501. A few writers have used Sranan in their work, most notably the poet Henri Frans de Ziel ("Trefossa"), who also wrote God zij met ons Suriname, Suriname's national anthem, whose second verse is sung in Sranan Tongo.<ref name="anthem">Template:Cite news</ref>
Other notable writers in Sranan Tongo are Eugène Drenthe, André Pakosie, Celestine Raalte, Michaël Slory, and Bea Vianen.
Example
Following are the Lord's Prayer in standard and Dutch-based spelling, followed by an English translation. Template:Verse translation
Translation
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours, now and for ever.
Amen.
See also
Notes
References
Sources
- Iwan Desiré Menke: Een grammatica van het Surinaams (Sranantongo), Munstergeleen : Menke, 1986, 1992 (Dutch book on grammar of Sranan Tongo)
- Jan Voorhoeve and Ursy M. Lichtveld: Creole Drum. An Anthology of Creole Literature in Suriname. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1975.
- C.F.A. Bruijning and J. Voorhoeve (editors): Encyclopedie van Suriname. Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Elsevier, 1977, pp. 573–574.
- Eithne B. Carlin and Jacques Arends (editors): Atlas of the Languages of Suriname. Leiden: KITLV Press, 2002.
- Michaël Ietswaart and Vinije Haabo: Sranantongo. Surinaams voor reizigers en thuisblijvers. Amsterdam: Mets & Schilt (several editions since 1999)
- J.C.M. Blanker and J. Dubbeldam: "Prisma Woordenboek Sranantongo". Utrecht: Uitgeverij Het Spectrum B.V., 2005, Template:ISBN, www.prismawoordenboeken.nl - A Sranantongo to Dutch and Dutch to Sranantongo dictionary.
- Henri J.M. Stephen: Sranan odo : adyersitori - spreekwoorden en gezegden uit Suriname. Amsterdam, Stephen, 2003, Template:ISBN (collection of proverbs and expressions)
- Michiel van Kempen and Gerard Sonnemans: Een geschiedenis van de Surinaamse literatuur. Breda : De Geus, 2003, Template:ISBN (Dutch history of Surinam literature)
External links
Template:InterWiki Template:Wiktionary Template:Wikivoyage Template:Wiktionary category
- Dictionaries
- SIL International “Sranan wortubuku, Sranan-Nederlands interaktief woordenboek” (Sranan-Dutch interactive dictionary)
- Sranan Tongo Swadesh list of basic vocabulary words (from Wiktionary's Swadesh list appendix)
- Webster's Sranan-English Online Dictionary
- SIL International “Sranan Tongo – English Dictionary” (PDF format)
- Grammar
- Resources and more
- Begin to learn
- The New Testament in Sranan for iTunes