Langwij Aam

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. (16^th 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.

Feel free to send your Kriol poems, thoughts about current events and short pieces for use in the weekly Kriol column. Noh wori if yu kyaahn spel gud gud wan yet eena Kriol - jos sen it ahn wi wahn fiks ahn op fu yu!

Send submissions to:

sudz142@gmail.com , or mail to National Kriol Council, P.O. Box 2447, Belize City, Belize.