National Kriol Council
30 Kelly Street
Belize City, Belize
ph: (501) 629-8346
alt: (501) 605-2566; 629-6808
nkcbeliz
The Language Arm of the Council executes a language program which creates literature to assist students in using their mother tongue of Kriol as a base to developing literacy skills in both Kriol and English. This program is supported by the SIL Linguistics group in the United States, which is providing two missionaries to assist with the translation of the Bible into Kriol. Council members also hold writers' workshops to generate storybooks in Kriol. SIL has also worked tirelessly on cataloguing the world's languages. Of the world's 6,906 documented languages to date, 77 are listed as Creole languages. Belize Kriol is one type of Creole language. See the Ethnologue at the following site:
Lewis, P, M. (Ed.). (2011). Ethnologue: Languages of the world. (16th ed.). Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/ (accessed 7/30/2011).
Council members are trained in the translation, using the standard spelling as promoted in the officially accepted dictionary. The language arm also publishes a weekly column in The Reporter newspaper called "Weh Wi Ga Fi Seh"" and which is carried on the website www.belmopancityonline.com
The Kriol Counci. In 2006, through the Bileez Kriol Langwij Projek, completed a one week ethno-musicology workshop with Ethno-musicologist Jo- Ann Richards from Jamaica . Through this workshop 15 songs based on readings from the Bible were composed. They were in Kriol and the Kriol music and other local sounds were used. See the following:http://www.wycliffe.org/
Give/thepowerofyourgift/
worshipintheheartbelize.aspx
A Christmas CD was also completed using passages from the bible to create Christmas songs. In October 2007, the Kriol-English Dictionary was launched, and on March 6, 2013, the New Testament in Belize Kriol was launched. Both were developed, tested, and revised following over fifteen years of committee work and the input of hundreds of Belizeans.
Copyright 2019 National Kriol Council. All rights reserved.
National Kriol Council
30 Kelly Street
Belize City, Belize
ph: (501) 629-8346
alt: (501) 605-2566; 629-6808
nkcbeliz