Forro Creole () or Sãotomense () is a
Portuguese-based
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 ...
spoken in
São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main isla ...
.
It should not be confused with
São Tomean Portuguese, the non-creolised form of Portuguese spoken in São Tomé and Príncipe by the majority of São Toméans.
History
São Tomé is an island of the Gulf of Guinea, discovered by the
Portuguese in the 15th century. It was uninhabited at the time, but Portuguese settlers used the island as a center of the
slave
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
trade, and there was a need for slaves on the island. It has been theorised that since both parties needed to communicate, a
pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified form of contact language that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn f ...
was formed. The
substrate languages were from the
Bantu and
Kwa groups. It is believed that this pidgin then became fixed (
creolized) as it became the
mother language of children born from Portuguese men and African women slaves. Mixed marriages were then encouraged by the
Portuguese Crown, for the sake of settlement.
Later, because of
Dutch and
French pressure to gain the island, many Portuguese settlers left. Children of Portuguese and black women were, eventually, not considered African or slaves; some were considered full right
Portuguese citizens. Those mixed-race people that did not have the status of Portuguese citizens, those with darker skin, often gained a "forro" designation, because their Portuguese fathers did not want to enslave their children. The São Tomean Creole is mostly known as "Forro", the language of the freed slaves or Crioulo Santomense, not to be confused with
São Tomean Portuguese (a variety and dialect of Portuguese in São Tomé and Príncipe). Portuguese is the main language for children until their early 20s, when they relearn Forro Creole. The rich São Tomean culture also preserves a unique mixture of Portuguese and African cultures. European Portuguese is mostly spoken in formal situations, in the media, business, education, judicial system and legislature, while Forro and Sao Tomean Portuguese are preferred for informal situations as a
vernacular language
Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken form of language, particularly when perceived as having lower social status or less prestige than standard language, which is more codified, institutionally promoted, literary, or formal. More n ...
in day-to-day life and daily activities, and
code switching even occurs between Forro, standard European Portuguese, and São Tomean Portuguese in informal speech.
Classification and related languages
Forro 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 ...
with a majority of its lexicon coming from
Portuguese, the
superstrate language. The
substrate languages were from the
Bantu and
Kwa groups. It is similar to two other creoles spoken in the country (
Principense Creole and
Angolar Creole
Angolar Creole () is a Portuguese-based creole language of São Tomé and Príncipe, spoken in the southernmost towns of São Tomé Island and sparsely along the coast, especially by Angolar people. It is also called ''n'golá'' by its native ...
) as well as to the creole found in the island of Annobón, Equatorial Guinea (
Annobonese Creole).
Geographic distribution
Forro Creole is spoken mainly in
São Tomé Island
São Tomé Island, at , is the largest island of São Tomé and Príncipe and is home in May 2018 to about 193,380 or 96% of the nation's population. The island is divided into six districts of São Tomé and Príncipe, districts. It is located ...
(most of it); there are some speakers in
Principe Island.
Due to their great similarity and historical derivation, Principe Island's
Principense Creole and
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...
's
Annobonese Creole may be regarded as dialects of Forro Creole. Forro's lexical similarity is 77% with Principense Creole, 62% with Fa d’Ambu Creole and 70% with Angolar Creole.
Vocabulary
Although the São Tomean Creole had (and still has) a restricted contact with Portuguese (seen as a prestigious language), it did preserve a larger number of the substrate languages' elements, more than the creoles of Cape Verde. Roughly 93% of São Tomean Creole lexicon is from Portuguese and 7% of African origin. Most Forro Creole speakers also speak non-creolised Portuguese.
Although 95% of São Tomeans speak
Portuguese and it is the country's national language, Forro Creole is traditionally said to be spoken by 85% of the inhabitants of
São Tomé Island
São Tomé Island, at , is the largest island of São Tomé and Príncipe and is home in May 2018 to about 193,380 or 96% of the nation's population. The island is divided into six districts of São Tomé and Príncipe, districts. It is located ...
, or 81.7% of the country's population.
However, official census figures state that only 36.2% of the population can speak Forro Creole, and the creole is now considered threatened.
Writing system
Forro was and is largely an oral language; there is no standard
orthography
An orthography is a set of convention (norm), conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, punctuation, Word#Word boundaries, word boundaries, capitalization, hyphenation, and Emphasis (typography), emphasis.
Most national ...
.
Examples
:Hello: ''Seja lovadu!'' (proposed: ''sejalovadu''); From
Port.
:Good Morning: ''Bom dja ô'' (proposed: ''Bondja o''); From Port.
:Good Afternoon: ''Bos tadji ô'' (proposed: ''Boxtadji o''); From Port. or
:Good Evening: ''Boj notxi ô'' (proposed: ''Bojnotxi o''); From Port. or
:What's your name: ''Que nomi bo e?'' (proposed: ''Ke nomi bo e?''); possibly from Port. or
:My name's Pedro: ''Nomi mu sa Pedro''; possibly from Port. .
Not everything is from Portuguese:
:I live in Neves (São Tomean city): ''Nga-ta Tlaxa.'' (''-ta'' is from and ''tlaxa'' is from )
Notes
References
*
*
*
External links
Declaraçón Universal di Dirêtu di HóméUniversal Declaration of Human Rights in Forro
APiCS Online - Survey chapter: Santome
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forro Creole
Languages of São Tomé and Príncipe
Portuguese-based pidgins and creoles
Portuguese diaspora in São Tomé and Príncipe
Portuguese language in Africa