Grenadian Creole English

Grenadian Creole English is a Creole language spoken in Grenada. It is a member of the Southern branch of English-based Eastern Atlantic Creoles, along with Antiguan Creole (Antigua and Barbuda), Bajan Creole (Barbados), Guyanese Creole (Guyana), Tobagonian Creole, Trinidadian Creole (Trinidad and Tobago), Vincentian Creole (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), and Virgin Islands Creole (Virgin Islands).[3] It is the common vernacular and the native language of nearly all inhabitants of Grenada, or approximately 89,000 native speakers in 2001.[4]

Grenadian Creole English
patois
Native toGrenada
Native speakers
89,000 (2001)[1]
English Creole
  • Atlantic
    • Eastern
      • Southern
        • Grenadian Creole English
Language codes
ISO 639-3gcl
Glottologgren1247[2]
Linguasphere52-ABB-as

History

The British Empire took control of Grenada from France in the 18th century, and ruled until its independence in 1974.[5] Despite the long history of British rule, Grenada's French heritage is still evidenced by the number of French loanwords in Grenadian Creole English, as well as by the lingering existence of Grenadian Creole French in the country.[6] The francophone character of Grenada was uninterrupted for more than a century before British rule. This ensured that language in Grenada could never be seen unless in that light.

The Grenada Creole Society, founded in 2009, implemented the mission to research and document the language in Grenada. The initial findings were published in 2012 in the publication Double Voicing and Multiplex Identities ed. Nicholas Faraclas et al.

See also

References
  1. Grenadian Creole English at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Grenadian Creole English". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  3. Ethnologue report for Southern
  4. Ethnologue report for language code:gcl
  5. Grenada - History
  6. French Creole in Grenada
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