| Guyanese Creole | |
| Nativename: | Creolese |
| States: | Guyana |
| Speakers: | 643,000 in Guyana |
| Date: | 2021 |
| Ref: | e25 |
| Speakers2: | 68,000 in Suriname (2018) |
| Familycolor: | Creole |
| Fam1: | English Creole |
| Fam2: | Atlantic |
| Fam3: | Eastern |
| Fam4: | Southern |
| Notice: | IPA |
| Iso3: | gyn |
| Glotto: | creo1235 |
| Glottorefname: | Guyanese Creole English |
| Lingua: | 52-ABB-av |
Guyanese Creole (Creolese by its speakers or simply Guyanese) is an English-based creole language spoken by the Guyanese people. Linguistically, it is similar to other English dialects of the Caribbean region, based on 19th-century English and has loan words from West African, Indian-South Asian, Arawakan, and older Dutch languages.[1]
There are many sub-dialects of Guyanese Creole based on geographical location, urban – rural location, and race of the speakers. For example, along the Rupununi River, where the population is largely Amerindian, a distinct form of Guyanese Creole exists. The Georgetown (capital city) urban area has a distinct accent, while within a forty-five-minute drive away from this area the dialect/accent changes again, especially if following the coast where rural villages are located. As with other Caribbean languages, words and phrases are very elastic, and new ones can be made up, changed or evolve within a short period. They can also be used within a very small group, until picked up by a larger community. Ethnic groups are also known to alter or include words from their own backgrounds.
A socially stratified creole speech continuum also exists between Guyanese English and Standard / British English. Speech by members of the upper classes is phonetically closest to British and American English, whereas speech by members of the lower classes most closely resembles other Caribbean English dialects. A phrase such as "I told him" may be pronounced in various parts of the continuum:
| Utterance | Represents the speech of | |
|---|---|---|
| pronounced as /[ai tɔuld hɪm]/ | acrolect speech of upper-class speakers | |
| pronounced as /[ai toːld hɪm]/ | mesolect varieties of speech of middle-class speakers | |
| pronounced as /[ai toːl ɪm]/ | mesolect varieties of lower-middle and urban class speakers | |
| pronounced as /[ai tɛl ɪm]/ | ||
| pronounced as /[a tɛl ɪm]/ | ||
| pronounced as /[ai tɛl ɪ]/ | ||
| pronounced as /[a tɛl i]/ | ||
| pronounced as /[mi tɛl i]/ | rural working class | |
| pronounced as /[mi tɛl am]/ | basilect speech of illiterate rural laborers |
Definite nouns are pluralized with dem.[2]
It is common in Guyanese Creole to repeat adjectives and adverbs for emphasis (the equivalent of adding "very" or "extremely" in standard British and American English). For example, "Dis wata de col col" translates into "This water is very cold". "Come now now" translates into "Come right now".
There are several phonological markers that are present in Guyanese Creole:
The following phrases are written as they are pronounced: