View source for Forro Creole

{{Short description|Portuguese-based creole of São Tomé and Príncipe}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Forro Creole
| nativename       = {{lang|cri|forro}}, {{lang|cri|santomense}}
| states           = [[São Tomé and Príncipe]]
| speakers         = {{sigfig|69900|2}}
| date             = 1999
| ref              = e18
| familycolor      = Creole
| fam1             = [[Portuguese-based creole|Portuguese Creole]]
| fam2             = Lower Guinea
| iso3             = cri
| glotto           = saot1239
| glottorefname    = Saotomense
| lingua           = 51-AAC-aca
| map              = Location São Tomé and Príncipe AU Africa.svg
| mapcaption       = Location of São Tomé and Príncipe
| altname          = Sãotomense
}}

'''Forro Creole''' ({{lang|cri|forro}}) or '''Sãotomense''' ({{lang|cri|santomense}}) is a [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]-based [[creole language]] spoken in [[São Tomé and Príncipe]].<ref>{{cite web | author=Steve and Trina Graham |date=10 August 2004 |title=West Africa Lusolexed Creoles Word List File Documentation | url=https://www.sil.org/silesr/2004/silesr2004-012.htm#ST1 | publisher=[[SIL International]] | access-date=August 2, 2012}}</ref>

It should not be confused with [[São Tomean Portuguese]], the non-creolised form of Portuguese spoken in São Tomé and Príncipe by the majority of São Toméans.

== History ==

São Tomé is an island of the Gulf of Guinea, discovered by the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] in the 15th century. It was uninhabited at the time, but Portuguese settlers used the island as a center of the [[slavery|slave]] trade, and there was a need for slaves on the island. It has been theorised that since both parties needed to communicate, a [[pidgin]] was formed. The [[substrate languages]] were from the [[Bantu language|Bantu]] and [[Kwa language|Kwa]] groups. It is believed that this pidgin then became fixed ([[creole language|creolized]]) as it became the [[mother language]] of children born from Portuguese men and African women slaves. Mixed marriages were then encouraged by the [[Portuguese crown|Portuguese Crown]], for the sake of settlement.

Later, because of [[Netherlands|Dutch]] and [[France|French]] pressure to gain the island, many Portuguese settlers left. Children of Portuguese and black women were, eventually, not considered African or slaves; some were considered full right [[Portugal|Portuguese]] citizens. Those mixed-race people that did not have the status of Portuguese citizens, those with darker skin, often gained a "forro" designation, because their Portuguese fathers did not want to enslave their children. The São Tomean Creole is mostly known as "Forro", the language of the freed slaves or Crioulo Santomense, not to be confused with [[São Tomean Portuguese]] (a variety and dialect of Portuguese in São Tomé and Príncipe). Portuguese is the main language for children until their early 20s, when they relearn Forro Creole. The rich São Tomean culture also preserves a unique mixture of Portuguese and African cultures. European Portuguese is mostly spoken in formal situations, in the media, business, education, judicial system and legislature, while Forro and Sao Tomean Portuguese are preferred for informal situations as a [[vernacular language]] in day-to-day life and daily activities, and [[code switching]] even occurs between Forro, standard European Portuguese, and São Tomean Portuguese in informal speech.

== Classification and related languages ==

Forro is a [[creole language]] with a majority of its lexicon coming from [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], the [[superstrate]] language. The [[Substrate (linguistics)|substrate]] languages were from the [[Bantu language|Bantu]] and [[Kwa language|Kwa]] groups. It is similar to two other creoles spoken in the country ([[Principense language|Principense Creole]] and [[Angolar language|Angolar Creole]]) as well as to the creole found in the island of Annobón, Equatorial Guinea ([[Annobonese language|Annobonese Creole]]).

== Geographic distribution ==

Forro Creole is spoken mainly in [[São Tomé Island]] (most of it); there are some speakers in [[Principe Island]].

Due to their great similarity and historical derivation, Principe Island's [[Principense|Principense Creole]] and [[Equatorial Guinea]]'s [[Annobonese language|Annobonese Creole]] may be regarded as dialects of Forro Creole. Forro's lexical similarity is 77% with Principense Creole, 62% with Fa d’Ambu Creole and 70% with Angolar Creole.

== Vocabulary ==

Although the São Tomean Creole had (and still has) a restricted contact with Portuguese (seen as a prestigious language), it did preserve a larger number of the substrate languages' elements, more than the creoles of Cape Verde. Roughly 93% of São Tomean Creole lexicon is from Portuguese and 7% of African origin. Most Forro Creole speakers also speak non-creolised Portuguese.

Although 95% of São Tomeans speak [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] and it is the country's national language, Forro Creole is traditionally said to be spoken by 85% of the inhabitants of [[São Tomé Island]], or 81.7% of the country's population.<ref>{{cite web | first=Jacques | last=Leclerc | title=São Tomé-et-Príncipe | date=23 November 2011 | url=http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/Sao-Tome-Principe.htm | work=L’aménagement linguistique dans le monde | language=fr | access-date=August 1, 2012 | archive-date=11 September 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120911044839/http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/Sao-Tome-Principe.htm | url-status=dead }}</ref> However, official census figures state that only 36.2%{{citation needed|date=September 2017}} of the population can speak Forro Creole, and the creole is now considered threatened.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

== Writing system ==

Forro was and is largely an oral language; there is no standard [[orthography]].

== Examples ==

:Hello: ''Seja lovadu!'' (proposed: ''sejalovadu''); From [[Portuguese language|Port.]] {{lang|pt|seja louvado}}
:Good Morning: ''Bom dja ô'' (proposed: ''Bondja o''); From Port. {{lang|pt|bom dia}}
:Good Afternoon: ''Bos tadji ô'' (proposed: ''Boxtadji o''); From Port. {{lang|pt|boas tardes}} or {{lang|pt|boa tarde}}
:Good Evening: ''Boj notxi ô'' (proposed: ''Bojnotxi o''); From Port. {{lang|pt|boas noites}} or {{lang|pt|boa noite}}
:What's your name: ''Que nomi bo e?'' (proposed: ''Ke nomi bo e?''); possibly from Port. {{lang|pt|qual é o teu nome?}} or {{lang|pt|como te chamas?}}
:My name's Pedro: ''Nomi mu sa Pedro''; possibly from Port. {{lang|pt|o meu nome é Pedro}}.

Not everything is from Portuguese:
:I live in Neves (São Tomean city): ''Nga-ta Tlaxa.'' (''-ta'' is from {{lang|pt|está}} and ''tlaxa'' is from {{lang|pt|praça}})

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |title=Dicionário livre santome/português = Livlu-nglandji santome/putugêji |last=Araújo |first=Gabriel Antunes de |last2=Hagemeijer |first2=Tjerk |date=2013 |publisher=Hedra |isbn=978-85-7715-322-0 |location=São Paulo |hdl=10451/31028 |hdl-access=free }}
* {{Cite thesis |last=Fontes |first=Carlos |title=Estudo do léxico do são-tomense com dicionário |date=2007 |degree=Master's |publisher=Universidade de Coimbra |url=https://www.uc.pt/creolistics/research/saotome/fontes_2007 }}
* {{Cite thesis |last=Hagemeijer |first=Tjerk |title=Clause Structure in Santome |date=2007 |degree=PhD |publisher=University of Lisbon |hdl=10451/551 |hdl-access=free }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary|Forro}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041210085454/http://www.gddc.pt/direitos-humanos/50anos-decl-univ-dh/FORRO.html Declaraçón Universal di Dirêtu di Hómé] Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Forro
* [https://apics-online.info/surveys/35 APiCS Online - Survey chapter: Santome]

{{Languages of São Tomé and Príncipe}}

{{Portuguese Creoles}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forro Creole}}
[[Category:Languages of São Tomé and Príncipe]]
[[Category:Portuguese-based pidgins and creoles]]
[[Category:Portuguese diaspora in São Tomé and Príncipe]]
[[Category:Portuguese language in Africa]]