Guyanese English Creole

A language of Guyana

Creolese, Guyanese, Guyanese Creole, Kriiyliiz, Kriiyoliiz

Gaiyniiz

643,000 in Guyana (2021 Joshua Project). 324,000 Afro-Guyanese Creole and 319,000 Indo-Guyanese Creole (2021 JoshuaProject). Total users in all countries: 715,200.

Location

Widespread. Possibly also in French Guiana.

Language Maps

Guyana

Language Status

5* (Developing). De facto language of national identity.

Classification

Creole, English based, Atlantic, Eastern, Southern

Dialects

Afro-Guyanese Creole, Rupununi, Indo-Guyanese Creole. Most similar to creoles of Saint Vincent and Tobago (Holbrook). Rupununi dialect may be a separate language. Rupununi claim they are not mutually inherently intelligible.

Language Use

The first or second language of most, but it has no official status. Home. Neutral attitudes. Used as L2 by Arawak [arw], Sarnami Hindustani [hns], Urdu [urd], Waiwai [waw], Warao [wba].

Language Development

Literature. Radio. TV. Videos. Grammar. Texts.

Language Resources

OLAC resources in and about Guyanese English Creole

Writing

Latin script [Latn].

Other Comments

There is a continuum of variation from basilectal Creole to acrolectal English of the educated.