National Kriol Council
30 Kelly Street
Belize City, Belize
ph: (501) 629-8346
alt: (501) 605-2566; 629-6808
nkcbeliz
1. English is the official language. It is the language of prescribed instruction in education . Kriol is a national language, like the Garifuna , Maya, and Spanish languages.
2. There are many varieties of English. The British Council has identified several standards of English worldwide, such as Canadian Standard English, Caribbean Standard English, Australian, New Zealand and South Pacific Standard English; others can be considered to be in the process of becoming standardized, such as “South Asian Standard(izing) English.
An accepted standard of English developed in the Caribbean is CSE: Caribbean Standard English. . It is as much a standard English as is British Standard English or American Standard English. CSE differs from other standard Englishes primarily on the phonological and lexical levels, with no appreciable difference in grammar, particularly in the formal, written mode. For more on this, see CXC's 2010 Communication Studies syllabus.
he most appropriate comparison might be British from the 16th and 17th century because we have more words surviving in the Kriol we speak today
THE SONG OF KRIOL – A Grammar of the Kriol Language of Belize
This publication is a full linguistic grammar, written by Ken Decker, a linguist from SIL International, who worked with the Belize Kriol Project from its beginnings. The book contains a history of the language and the writing system, and discussions about the sounds system, the word system, and the sentence and discourse structures. The book is complete with charts and sample discourse. It is a good resource for teachers and for those who are interested in learning about the Kriol language. Published by theBelize Kriol Project .2005; second edition 2007. Book: 124 pages with illustrations; 8.5x11 in., bound. Local retail price: approx. $35.00 Available from Bible Society Bookstore, Angelus Press, and the National Kriol Council.
SINGLE CONSONANTS
These single consonants look and sound like the English consonants:
b as in baaboon d as in daag f as in feda
g as in goat h as in harikayn j as in jekit
k as in konks l as in lag m as in mengo
• tr = chr as in chree (tree, three), chros (trust)
A Mini-Contrastive Analysis
of Belize Kriol Grammar and English Grammar
For more on the grammar of Kriol, refer to:
Decker, Ken. The Song of Kriol: a Grammar of the Kriol Language of Belize.Belize Kriol Project. 2006.
BK: Ih laik eet kaan. BK: Ah wuda mi gaan, bot Ah neva gat nof moni
Eng: He/she likes to eat corn. Eng: I would have gone, but I didn't have enough
money.
(Note: The Kriol verb does not mark singularity/plurality.)
Past Tense The Primary Equative Verb “to be”
Future Tense “Da” has several other functions.
BK: Ah wahn eet mi rais ahn beenz. such as the prepositions which in English are:
Eng: I will eat my rice and beans. “to” and “at” and the demonstrative
(Note: “Wahn also functions as the indefinite adjective which in English is “that.”
article, which in |English is “a.” Examples:
BK: Ah gwayn (gwain) da tong. Eng: I am going to the doctor.
Eng: I’m going to town. BK: Ah deh da di dakta.
Eng: I am at the doctor’s (office).
BK: Ah di eet mi rais ahn beenz. Eng: That book is his.
Eng: I am eating my rice and beans.
(Note: “Di” also functions as the definite The Equative Verb in Future Tense
article, which in English is “the.”) BK: Ah waahn bee wahn teecha Eng: I want to be a teacher.
BK: Dehn mi-di daans aal nait. BK: Ah deh rait ya./ Ih deh rait ya.
Eng: They were dancing all night. Eng: I am right here./ He/she is right here.
BK: Ah don eet mi rais ahn beenz. BK: Di wud mi chap.
Eng: I already ate my rice and beans. Eng: The wood has been chopped.
I already have eaten my rice and beans.)
Progressive Completive Past Habitual Tense
BK: Ah don di eet mi rais ahn beenz. BK: Ah yoostu goh da di vilij evri week
Eng: I already am eating my rice and beans. Eng: I used to go to the village every week.
1.Think of 5 sentences in Kriol. Write them down and translate them into the equivalent English sentences.
2. Choose 5 English sentences from a book or newspaper. Translate them into Kriol. Remember that not everything translates literally. |
BK: Ah mi-don eet mi rais ahn beenz.
Eng: I already had eaten my rice and beans.
(This correlates to English’s Past Perfect Tense)
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