An English-based creole language (often shortened to English creole) is a

creole language A creole language, or simply creole, is a stable form of contact language that develops from the process of different languages simplifying and mixing into a new form (often a pidgin), and then that form expanding and elaborating into a full-fl ...

for which English was the ''

lexifier A lexifier is the language that provides the basis for the majority of a pidgin or creole language's vocabulary (lexicon). Often this language is also the dominant, or superstrate language, though this is not always the case, as can be seen in the ...

'', meaning that at the time of its formation the

vocabulary A vocabulary (also known as a lexicon) is a set of words, typically the set in a language or the set known to an individual. The word ''vocabulary'' originated from the Latin , meaning "a word, name". It forms an essential component of languag ...

of English served as the basis for the majority of the creole's

lexicon A lexicon (plural: lexicons, rarely lexica) is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Greek word () ...

. Most English creoles were formed in British colonies, following the great expansion of British naval military power and trade in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The main categories of English-based creoles are Atlantic (the Americas and Africa) and Pacific (Asia and Oceania). Over 76.5 million people globally are estimated to speak an English-based creole. Sierra Leone, Malaysia, Nigeria, Ghana, Jamaica, and Singapore have the largest concentrations of creole speakers.

Origin

It is disputed to what extent the various English-based creoles of the world share a common origin. The '' monogenesis hypothesis'' posits that a single language, commonly called ''proto–Pidgin English'', spoken along the West African coast in the early sixteenth century, was ancestral to most or all of the Atlantic creoles (the English creoles of both West Africa and the Americas).

Table of creole languages

Marginal

Bonin English Bonin English, also known as the Bonin Islands language or Ogasawara English, is an English-based creole of the Bonin Islands (officially the Ogasawara Islands) south of Japan with strong Japanese influence, to the extent that it has been called ...

, sometimes considered a

mixed language A mixed language, also referred to as a hybrid language or fusion language, is a type of contact language that arises among a bilingual group combining aspects of two or more languages but not clearly deriving primarily from any single language. ...

* Iyaric ("Rastafarian") * Jamaican Maroon Spirit Possession Language

Other

Not strictly creoles, but sometimes called thus: *

Bay Islands English Bay Islands English is an English based creole spoken in the Bay Islands Department ( Guanaja, Roatán, Utila), and the Caribbean coast of Honduras (most notably in the Atlántida Department, and Colón Department). It includes influences fro ...

Cayman Islands English Cayman Islands English, also called Caymanian English, is an English variety spoken in the Cayman Islands. Its early development was influenced by Early Modern English, Guinea Coast Creole English, and the Igbo and Twi languages of West Africa ...

Notes

References

External links

Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Language Structures
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