Ndyuka , also called Aukan, Okanisi, Ndyuka tongo, Aukaans, Businenge Tongo (considered by some to be pejorative), Eastern Maroon Creole, or Nenge is a creole language of Suriname and French Guiana, spoken by the Ndyuka people. The speakers are one of six Maroon peoples (formerly called "Bush Negroes") in the Republic of Suriname and one of the Maroon peoples in French Guiana. Most of the 25 to 30 thousand speakers live in the interior of the country, which is a part of the country covered with tropical rainforests. Ethnologue lists two related languages under the name Ndyuka, the other being a dialect of Lutos language.
Phonology
Ndyuka is based on
English language vocabulary, with influence from African languages in its grammar and sounds. For example, the difference between
na ("is") and
ná ("isn't") is tone; words can start with consonants such as
mb and
ng, and some speakers use the consonants
kp and
gb. (For other Ndyuka speakers, these are pronounced
kw and
gw, respectively. For example, the word "to leave" is
gwé or
gbé, from English "go away".) A distinguishing characteristic of the language is the elimination of the letter
r, which is frequently used in
Sranan Tongo.
There are also influences from other languages. According to Creolization and Contact (2002), 46% of the words were from English, 16% from Dutch language, 35% from Portuguese, and 3% from African languages.
Orthography
Modern
orthography differs from an older
Dutch language-based orthography in substituting
u for
oe and
y for
j. The digraphs
ty and
dy are pronounced somewhat like the English
ch and
j, respectively. Tone is infrequently written, but it is required for words such as
ná ("isn't"). The syllabic
Afaka script was devised for Ndyuka in 1908.
Latin alphabet
-
Aa
-
Bb
-
Dd
-
Ee
-
Ff
-
Gg
-
Hh
-
Ii
-
Kk
-
Ll
-
Mm
-
Nn
-
Oo
-
Pp
-
Ss
-
Tt
-
Uu
-
Ww
-
Yj
-
Zz
Other letters
Long vowels are written with double letters (e.g. ⟨aa⟩ aː, ⟨ee⟩ eː)
An acute accent is sometimes used for a high tone. (e.g. ⟨á⟩)
Dialects
The Ndyuka language has three dialects: proper Ndyuka (or
Okanisi),
Aluku language, and Paramaccan, which are ethnically distinct..
Kwinti is distinct enough linguistically to be considered a separate language, but it is sometimes included as well under the name Ndyuka.
Ndyuka was also a basis of the Ndyuka-Tiriyó Pidgin.
Example
Here is an example of Ndyuka text, and its translation into English (showing the similitarities as well as the lexical evolution), adapted from
Languages of the Guianas (SIL Publications):
The language bears some similarity to Twi and other Akan languages spoken by the Akan people of Ghana.
Encoding
The IETF language tags have registered:
-
as "Eastern Maroon Creole", "Businenge Tongo", "Nenge"
-
for the Aluku language
-
for the Ndyuka language
-
for the Paramaccan language
-
for the Kwinti language
See also
Notes
Further reading
External links
