Languages of Guinea-Bissau | |
---|---|
Official | Portuguese |
Recognised | Badyara, Bainouk-Gunyuño, Balanta-Kentohe, Bassari, Bayot, Biafada, Bijago, Fula, Jola-Felupe, Jola-Fonyi, Kasanga, Kobiana, Mandinka, Manjak, Mankanya, Mansoanka, Nalu, Papel, Soninke |
Vernacular | Guinea-Bissau Creole |
Foreign | French, English |
Signed | Guinea-Bissau Sign Language |
Keyboard layout |
The official language of Guinea-Bissau is Portuguese, which was spoken by 32.1% of the population according to the 2009 census. [1] It is the language of instruction in schools, the language of literary production, the written press, legislation and administration.
The local lingua franca, spoken by 90.4% according to the same census, is a creole language on a Portuguese basis which officially is called Guinea-Bissau Creole but colloquially is called Crioulo or Kiriol.
Several indigenous African languages are spoken by about half of the population, much more in rural than in urban settings.
French is taught in schools as foreign language, because Guinea-Bissau is surrounded by French-speaking countries and is a full member of the Francophonie as well as the Lusophone CPLP. [2] English is also taught but to a lesser degree than French.
In 1983, 44% of Guineans spoke Guinea-Bissau Creole, [3] in 1995 it was reported that Creole was spoken by 69% of the population, [2] and in 2009 by 90.4%.
Guinea-Bissau Creole is in the process of decreolization. As summary of his 2021 dissertation, João Fernando Cá states: Guinea-Bissau Creole "is in a process of continuous change as the society where it is spoken changes, detaching itself from its old modality and getting closer and closer to its base language, Portuguese, which gave way to the so-called Modern Guinean [creole language] which is more present in the speech of the young and literate people." [4]
Guinea-Bissau Creole is closely related to Cape Verdean Creole and the process of decreolization that occurs in Cape Verde in many aspects is similar the same process in Guinea-Bissau.
Native languages include Balanta, Fula, Mandjak, Mandinka, Jola, and Papel. [2] The number of speakers of these languages are indicated by the table on the right.
Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers 36,125 square kilometres (13,948 sq mi) with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to its north and Guinea to its southeast.
Portuguese is a Western Romance language of the Indo-European language family originating from the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is the official language of Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and São Tomé and Príncipe, and has co-official language status in East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, and Macau. Portuguese-speaking people or nations are known as Lusophone. As the result of expansion during colonial times, a cultural presence of Portuguese speakers is also found around the world. Portuguese is part of the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia and the County of Portugal, and has kept some Celtic phonology.
Casamance is the area of Senegal south of the Gambia, including the Casamance River. It consists of the Lower Casamance and the Upper Casamance. The largest city of Casamance is Ziguinchor.
The Community of Portuguese Language Countries, also known as the Lusophone Community, is an international organization and political association of Lusophone nations across five continents, where Portuguese is an official language. The CPLP operates as a privileged, multilateral forum for the mutual cooperation of the governments, economies, non-governmental organizations, and peoples of the Lusofonia. The CPLP consists of 9 member states and 33 associate observers, located in Europe, South America, Asia, Africa and Oceania, totaling 38 countries and 4 organizations.
Portuguese creoles are creole languages which have Portuguese as their substantial lexifier. The most widely-spoken creoles influenced by Portuguese are Cape Verdean Creole, Guinea-Bissau Creole and Papiamento.
Portuguese Guinea, called the Overseas Province of Guinea from 1951 until 1972 and then State of Guinea from 1972 until 1974, was a West African colony of Portugal from 1588 until 10 September 1974, when it gained independence as Guinea-Bissau.
The Bissagos Islands, also spelled Bijagós, are a group of about 88 islands and islets located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Guinea-Bissau. The archipelago was formed from the ancient delta of the Geba and Grande de Buba rivers and spans an area of 12,958 km2 (5,003 sq mi). 20 of its islands are populated year-round, including the most populated island, Bubaque. The administrative capital, Bolama is situated on the island of Bolama.
Annobonese Creole is a Portuguese creole known to its speakers as Fa d'Ambu or Fá d'Ambô. It is spoken on the Annobón and Bioko Islands off the coast of Equatorial Guinea, mostly by people of mixed African, Portuguese and Spanish descent. It is called annobonense or annobonés in Spanish.
The lançados were settlers and colonizers of Portuguese origin in Senegambia, Cabo Verde, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and other areas on the coast of West Africa. Many were Jews—often New Christians—escaping persecution from the Portuguese Inquisition.
Portuguese is spoken in a number of African countries and is the official language in six African countries: Angola, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe. There are Portuguese-speaking communities in most countries of Southern Africa, a mixture of Portuguese settlers and Angolans and Mozambicans who left their countries during the civil wars. A rough estimate has it that there are about 14 million people who use Portuguese as their sole mother tongue across Africa, but depending on the criteria applied, the number might be considerably higher, since many Africans speak Portuguese as a second language, in countries like Angola and Mozambique, where Portuguese is an official language, but also in countries like South Africa and Senegal, thanks to migrants coming from Portuguese-speaking countries. Some statistics claim that there are over 60 million Portuguese speakers in the continent.
Annobón is a province of Equatorial Guinea. The province consists of the island of Annobón and its associated islets in the Gulf of Guinea. Annobón is the smallest province of Equatorial Guinea in both area and population. According to the 2015 census, Annobón had 5,314 inhabitants, a small population increase from the 5,008 registered by the 2001 census. The official language is Spanish but most of the inhabitants speak a creole form of Portuguese. The island's main industries are fishing and forestry.
Guinea-Bissau Creole, also known as Kiriol or Crioulo, is a creole language whose lexicon derives mostly from Portuguese. It is spoken in Guinea Bissau, Senegal and The Gambia. It is also called by its native speakers as guinensi, kriyol, or portuguis.
Senegal is a multilingual country: Ethnologue lists 36 languages, Wolof being the most widely spoken language.
Guinean Portuguese is the variety of Portuguese spoken in Guinea-Bissau, where it is the official language.
The Swedish Sign Language family is a language family of sign languages, including Swedish Sign Language, Portuguese Sign Language, Cape Verdian Sign Language, Finnish Sign Language and Eritrean Sign.
Artur Augusto da Silva was a Cape Verdean writer, advocate and a journalist.
Manuel Ferreira was a Portuguese writer that became known for his work centered around African culture and literature.
The Portuguese-speaking world, also known as the Lusophone World, comprises the countries and territories in which the Portuguese language is an official, administrative, cultural, or secondary language. This article provides details regarding the geographical distribution of all Portuguese-speakers, a.k.a.Lusophones, regardless of legislative status. Portuguese is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world and is an official language of countries on four continents.
The Casamance Creole or Cacheu-Ziguinchor Creole also Portuguis Creole is a Portuguese-based creole language that is considered a dialect of Guinea-Bissau Creole spoken mainly in the Casamance region of Senegal and also in The Gambia.