Krio (language)
Krio | ||
---|---|---|
Spoken in |
Sierra Leone | |
speaker | 1.265 million native speakers (2015) | |
Linguistic classification |
||
Official status | ||
Recognized minority / regional language in |
Sierra Leone ( national language ) | |
Language codes | ||
ISO 639 -1 |
- |
|
ISO 639 -2 |
cpe |
|
ISO 639-3 |
kri |
Krio is an English- based Creole language common in Sierra Leone .
Krio is the mother tongue for around 18 percent of the population and is spoken by (as of 2015) around 1.265 million people as the main language, although only around 90,000 people belong to the people of the same name . Krio serves as a lingua franca in politics and commerce and is responsible for the majority of the population lingua franca .
There are also some speakers in Gambia , Guinea and Senegal . It is a tonal language , that is, the relative pitch of the syllables is distinctive , i.e. differentiating meanings. There are three tones : rising, falling, and rising-falling.
Language history
The origins of language development are said to be in the slave trade of the 17th and 18th centuries. At that time, the so-called West African pidgin English developed as a commercial language . The language later developed into the lingua franca between the states of West Africa. With the founding of Freetown between 1787 and 1886, the language mixed with that of numerous returning slaves .
grammar
General
There is no grammatical gender in Krio . Nouns are formed in the genitive by the word ending; -im for singular , -dem for plural .
Verbs
Verbs are not conjugated in Krio , but indicate the tense . The past tense is indicated by -bin- and the future by -go-. The absence of both indicates the present tense . The Perfect is -dòn-, the imperfect formed by -DE-. The infinitive is marked by for-. Here is an example of the conjugation of the word go (German: to go).
infinitive | for go |
present | go |
Present (progressive form) | de go |
Perfect | dòn go |
Perfect (progressive form) | dòn de go |
Future tense I. | go go |
Future tense | go de go |
Future tense | go dòn go |
Future tense (progression of the perfect tense) | go dòn de go |
past | am go |
Past (progressive form) | am de go |
Past (perfect) | am dòn go |
Past (progression of the perfect tense) | am dòn de go |
conjunctive | am go go |
Subjunctive (progressive form) | am go de go |
Subjunctive (perfect) | am go dòn go |
Subjunctive (progressive form of the perfect tense) | am go dòn de go |
Interrogative pronouns
The following interrogative pronouns are used:
udat | Who? |
wetin | What? |
ustem | When? |
usay | Where? |
wetin mek | Why? |
In addition, questions in Krio can be formed by intonation .
pronoun
There is no distinction between masculine and feminine .
Krio | English | German |
---|---|---|
a, mi, mi | I, me, my | I, me / me, my |
yu, yu, yu | you, you, your (singular) | you, you / you, your |
i, am, im | he, him, his | he, him / him, his |
she, her, her | you, you / you, you | |
it, it, its | it, him / it, be | |
wi | we, us, our | we, us, our |
una | you, you, your (plural) | you, you, yours |
dhèm | they, them, theirs | you, you / you, you |
orthography
Krio uses the Latin alphabet , but Qq and Xx are unknown. There are also three letters of the African reference alphabet : Ɛɛ (open E), Ŋŋ and Ɔɔ (open O). Three tones are distinguished and theoretically specially marked (in practice this is usually not used): Gravis , acute and circumflex over the vowels for low, high and falling tones.
Letter / diagraph | Example word | English language | German meaning |
---|---|---|---|
A, a | wata | water | water |
Aw, aw | naw (nau) | now | now |
Ay, ay | nayn (nain) | that's him | that's him |
B, b | bɔku (bohku) | many, very much (see French beaucoup ) | many, very many |
Ch, ch | cham | chew | chew |
D, d | dia (dya) | expensive | expensive |
E, e | let (leyt) | late | late |
Ɛ, ɛ | ɛp (ep) | help | Help |
F, f | fɔs (fohs) | first | first |
G, g | got (goat) | goat | goat |
Gb, gb | gbana / tranga (from the Temne ) |
difficult | difficult |
H, h | argyu / argyument (agyu / agyument) | argument | argument |
I, i | titi | girl | girl |
J, j | jomp | jump | leap |
K, k | kɔntri (kohnri) | country | country |
Kp, kp | kpatakpata | completely | total |
L, l | liv | live | Life |
M, m | muv / muf | move | move |
N, n | nak | knock | beat |
Ny, ny | nyu | new | New |
Ŋ, ŋ | siŋ (sing) | sing | to sing |
O, o | wok | work | work |
Ɔ, ɔ | bɔn (bean) | born, give birth, conceive | born, give birth |
Ɔy, ɔy | ɔyl (ohyl) | oil | oil |
P, p | padi | friend | friend |
R, r | ren (reyn) | rain | rain |
S, s | saf | soft | soft |
Sh, sh | shap | sharp | sharp |
T, t | tif | steal | steal |
U, u | uman | woman | woman |
V, v | vot | vote | choose |
W, w | waka | walk | go |
Y, y | yala | yellow | yellow |
Z, z | ziro | zero | zero |
Zh, zh | plɛzhɔ (plehzhoh) | pleasure | You are welcome |
Language examples
- Kushe. - "Hello."
- Kushe-o. - "Hello."
- Aw Di bodi? - "How are you?" (Literally: "How is your body?")
- Wetin na yu nem? - "What is your name?"
- Mi nem Jemz. - "My name is James."
- Usai yu kɔmɔt? - "Where are you from?"
- A kɔmɔt Estinz. - "I'm from Hastings."
- Us wok yu de you? - "What are you working?"
- Mi na ticha. - "I am a teacher."
- Na us skul yu de tich? - "At which school do you teach?"
- I de tich na Prins ɔv Welz. - "I teach at the Prince of Wales ."
- Mi gladi fɔ with yu. - "It's nice to get to know / meet you."
- Misɛf gladi fɔ with yu. - "I am happy with that, too."
- OK, a de go naw. - "Ok, I'm going now."
- Ɔrayt, wi go tok bak. - "All right, we'll talk to you later."
Krio | German |
---|---|
Salons | Sierra Leone |
Kusheh | Hello |
Pady | friend |
Titi | girl |
Bobo | Boy |
Pickin | child |
Wow | Ugly |
Plabah | conflict |
bohku | Many, too many |
Uman | woman |
Leff | stop |
Wetin | What |
Usay | Where |
Wetin Meck | Why |
Ustem | When |
Vex | Annoying |
slide | Expensive |
Wakka | To run |
Cham | Chew |
Motocar | automobile |
Sabi | Knowledge |
fat | Fight |
Wef | woman |
mummy | mother |
father | father |
Granny | grandmother |
Grandpa | grandfather |
tif | Steal |
Jomp | Leap |
Cinematic reception
Krio is used in the wrong form in the Hollywood film Blood Diamond from 2006. It also plays a role in the music video Diamonds from Sierra Leone by the American rapper Kanye West . The 1977 film Jesus of Nazareth by Franco Zeffirelli is probably the only one that was also dubbed in Krio (2007).
See also
Web links
- Voice of Peace Corps (English)
- Krio im Ethnologue (English)
- Krio Language Notes of the Peace Corps (English)
- Stories and proverbs in Krio (English)
- The Krio Corpus Project of the University of Umea in Sweden (English)
- Proverbs in Krio (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sierra Leone 2015 Population and Housing Census national analytical report. Statistics Sierra Leone, October 2017, p. 89ff.
- ^ Fourah Bay College (ed.): Guide to Krio. Freetown 1958.