Saramaccan

Facts

Language: Saramaccan
Alternate names:
Language code: srm
Language family: Indo-European, Classical Indo-European, Germanic, Northwest Germanic, West Germanic, North Sea Germanic, Anglo-Frisian, Anglic, Later Anglic, Middle-Modern English, Macro-English, Guinea Coast Creole English, Surinamese Creole English
Creole language
Number of speakers: 26000
Script:

More information:

Introduction

Saramaccan is a Creole language spoken by about 24,000 people near the Saramacca and upper Suriname Rivers in Suriname, and 2,000 in French Guiana. The speakers are mostly descendants of fugitive slaves; they form a group called Saramacca, also spelled Saramaka.

The verb

	Subject	Tense	Modal/Aspect 1	Modal/Aspect 2	Verb	Translation
1	A	-	-	-	waka	He walked.
2	A	-	-	ta	waka	He is walking.
3	A	-	o	-	waka	He will walk.
4	A	bi	-	-	waka	He did walk.
5	A	-	-	sa	waka	He can walk or he may walk
6	A	-	o	ta	waka	He will walk (continuously or habitually).
7	A	-	o	sa ta	waka	He is able to walk (continuously or habitually).
8	A	bi	o	-	waka	He was going to walk.
9	A	bi	-	sa	waka	He could have walked.
10	A	bi	-	ta	waka	He was walking or he used to walk.
11	A	bi	o	sa	waka	He could have walked.
12	A	bi	o	sa ta	waka	He could have walked (continuously or habitually).
13	A	-	-	-	waka	He walked.
14	A	bi	-	sa ta	waka	He used to be able to walk.

7,8,13, and 14 occur seldom; the sa ta combinations are especially rare.

Verblist

bangulá
léi
séépi