Difference between Kriol and English

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 16^th and 17^th  century  because we have more words surviving  in the Kriol we speak today  

What makes Kriol a language?

1. It has mother tongue speakers.
2. It has all the linguistic features of a   language: morphology, phonology, syntax and grammar. 

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.

Present Tense                                         Conditional Tense

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”

BK:     Ah mi eet rais ahn beenz.                                BK:     Ih da wahn faama.                        

Eng:     I ate rice and beans.                                        Eng:    He is a farmer.          

(Note: “Mi” also functions as the first person possessive which in English is “my.”                                                NOTE

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:

Imminent Future Tense                                          BK:  Ah gwain da (di) dakta.

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).

Present Progressive Tense                                      BK:  Da buk da fu hihn.

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.

Past Progressive Tense                                                   The Locative Verb

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.

Completive Tense                                                Example of a Passive Construction

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.

(This also correlates to English’s Present Perfect Tense:

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.                                                                    

 Past Habitual (completed) Tense      

 BK:  Ih doz  sok ih finga. 

Eng:  He/she always used to suck his/her finger.

Past Completive Tense                                                       

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)