Equatorial Guinean Pidgin

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A language of Equatorial Guinea

ISO 639-3
fpe
Alternate Names
Criollo, Fernandino, Fernando Po Creole English, Fernando Po Krio, Pichinglis, Pidgin de Guinea Ecuatorial, Pidginglis
Autonym
Pichi
User Population

200,000, all users. L1 users: 15,000 (2020 S. Smith), increasing. L2 users: 185,000 (2020 S. Smith). Very few monolinguals.

Location

Bioko Norte and Bioko Sur provinces: north central Bioko Island, Fernando Po, Malabo area; Balueri de Cristo Rey, Basupu, Fiston, Las Palmas, Musola, and Sampaca.

Language Maps
Language Status

3 (Wider communication). Offshoot of Krio language of Sierra Leone; brought to Bioko with African settlers from Freetown, Sierra Leone in 1827. Used as LWC across Bioko island, including the capital city of Malabo, in all domains except education and government.

Classification
Creole, English based, Atlantic, Krio
Dialects

Pidgin, Pichi. Intelligible with Cameroon Pidgin [wes], Nigerian Pidgin [pcm], but it has 20% of its lexical inventory as loanwords from Spanish [spa].

Language Use

All domains except government. Used by all. Positive attitudes. All also use Spanish [spa]. Some also use English [eng], which is growing in importance for job opportunities. Also use Bube [bvb]. Used as L2 by Bube [bvb], Fa d’Ambu [fab], Fang [fan], Kombe [nui], Kwasio [nmg].

Language Development

Literacy rate in L1: Virtually none. Literacy rate in L2: 75% in Spanish [spa]. Dictionary. Grammar. Texts.

Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Equatorial Guinean Pidgin
Writing

Latin script [Latn], used since 2006.

Other Comments

Pidgin is the acrolect, used mostly by mother tongue speakers, Pichi is the mesolect, used as a language of wider communication; there is also a basilect form, used by expatriate immigrants. Christian.