Guyanese English (Creolese by its speakers; also called Guyanese English or simply Guyanese) is a creole language spoken by more than seven hundred thousand people in Guyana. A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable language that originates seemingly as a nativized pidgin. ...

Guyanese English is based on, and strongly influenced by the English language. It is similar to other West Indian dialects, but distinctly different from Jamaican and Trinidadian Creole. It is related to Paramaccan and Aluku. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Paramaccan are an ethnic group living in the forested interior of Suriname, and the eponymous term for their dialect, which has less than 1,000 speakers. ... Aluku is the linguistic entity of the eponymuous tribe in Suriname. ...

There are many sub-dialects in Guyanese english based on the race of the speakers and their geographical location within Guyana. For example, along the Rupununi River where the population is largely Amerindian, a distinct form of Guyanese Creole exists. Rupununi is a river and region in Guyana, South America. ...

As in any language, words and phrases are elastic and can be made up, change and evolve within a very short time period. They can also be used within a very small group, until picked up by a larger community.

Different Ethnic groups of the country are also known to alter or include words from their own backgrounds. For example, the East Indian communities words may be similar to words from Indian languages with the same meaning.

A socially stratified creole speech continuum also exists between Guyanese English and English. A phrase like I told him may be pronounced in various parts of the continuum: A phase that happens to native languages in a peripheral, especially colonial society that emerge from the previous dominance of a high language imposed by the center. ...

An acrolect is a register of a spoken language that is considered formal and high-style. ... A mesolect is a register of spoken language whose character falls somewhere between the prestige of the acrolect and the informality of the basilect. ... In linguistics, a basilect is a dialect of speech that has diverged so far from the standard language that in essence it has become a different language. ...

[edit] English Taught in Guyanese Schools

English taught in the schools of Guyana is based on British English. British English (BrE, BE, en-GB) is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere in the Anglophone world. ...

Guyanese people speak English/Guyanese Creole while learning the English system of writing and reading in schools. It is a slightly different system of communication from the standard forms.

[edit] Grammar

It is common in Guyanese Creole to repeat adjectives for emphasis (as if saying, very or extremely). For example, "Dis wata de col col" translates into "This water is very cold". "Come now now" translates into "come immediately"

[edit] Example phrases

• Girl - Gyal
• Boy - Bai (pronounced bye)
• I am on the phone - Meh deh pon a/de fone
• Who is she? - Ah who she?
• What is that? - Dah ah wha? / Ah wah ah Dah?
• I don't know - Meh nah know
• What do you want? - Wuh yuh want
• What is happening? (An every day greeting similar to What's up?) -Wappenin?
• How are you? - How yuh do?
• What are you doing?- Wa ya do?
• We are going to cook - Abee a guh cook
• Don't come back- Nah mek meh see yuh back here/Nah mas come back
• What's wrong with you? - Wha rong wih yuh?
• Do you understand what I am saying? - Yah hear wah meh ah seh?
• Come here - Come suh, nuh?