Wiktionary:About Sranan Tongo

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Sranan Tongo (ISO code srn) is an English-based creole spoken chiefly in Suriname and the Netherlands. This page documents common practices and standards used across Wiktionary in entries for this language.

Templates

There are currently no Sranan-specific templates, so {{head}} is used as the standard headword-line template. However, due to Sranan's status as a creole language, a note must be added regarding the use of templates in Etymology sections.

Etymology sections

(Prior discussion on this topic can be found at:)

• Wiktionary:Beer parlour/2019/February#English-based creoles of Suriname

For the purposes of templatization in Etymology sections, the consensus seems to be to treat Sranan Tongo not as an inheritor or borrower of words derived from English. While English is the lexifier of this creole – that is, the main contributor to the Sranan lexis – the more general {{derived}} template is used instead of {{inherited}} to show lexical derivation from English. The rationale for this (for which see also the Beer Parlour discussion above) is that the regular process of language change that would justify seeing English as a regular ancestor of Sranan (the way Middle English is an ancestor of English) does not apply, and thus the usage of "inherited" is felt to be out of place. The {{borrowed}} template is also not applicable; this template is to be used only for terms from another language adopted by an already existing language. Of course, when a word is a recent one that cannot date back to Sranan's early period (such as baisigri), the {{borrowed}} template may be used even for English. (No similar discussion has been had for Dutch, the second major source of the Sranan lexicon, for which the {{borrowed}} template has been used exclusively so far.)

Phonology and orthography

Sranan is not an officially recognized language. Until the middle of the 20th century, most written texts in Sranan, seen at the time as a low-prestige language, used a spelling that was not standardized but based on Dutch orthography, recording an approximation of how Sranan words sound to Dutch ears. In view of the considerable differences between the phonologies of Sranan and Dutch, this was not a satisfactory situation.

With the emergence of a movement striving for the emancipation of Sranan as a respectable language, the need for a phonology-based orthography was felt. A more suitable orthography developed as an informal consensus from the publications of linguists studying Sranan and related creoles. For every-day use, the Dutch-based spelling remained common, while some literary authors adopted (variants of) the linguistic spelling.

To end this chaotic situation, the Surinamese government commissioned a committee of linguists and writers to define a standard spelling, which was adopted and came into force in 1986. This standard basically followed the linguistic consensus. However, as the language is not being taught in schools, while Dutch is, most speakers are not clearly aware of the principles on which this spelling is based and keep using a Dutchish, varying spelling. Nevertheless, the spelling used for Sranan entries here on Wiktionary is generally that of the 1986 standard.

The main points are summarized in the following tables. In the IPA columns, a comma-separated list indicates allophones. The “Dutch” spelling may vary from writer to writer, or even within a single text.

Monophthongs

IPA	standard	“Dutch”
a	a	a
e, ɘ	e	i, e
ɛ	è	e
i	i	ie, i
o	o	o
ɔ	ò	o
u	u	oe

/a/ may be realised as [a̠ ~ ɑ̟], /e/ as [e̝ ~ ɪ̞] and /o/ as [ɔ̝ ~ ʊ̞].

Diphthongs

IPA	standard	“Dutch”
ai̯	ai	ai, aj
ei̯	ei	ee, é
ɛi̯	èi	ei
oi̯	oi	oi, oj
au̯	aw	auw
ou̯	ow	o

Consonants

IPA	standard	“Dutch”
b	b	b, bb
d	d	d, dd
d͡ʒ	dy	dj
f	f	f, ff
ɡ, ɟ**	g	g, gg, k, kk
h	h	h
k, c**	k	k, kk, tj
l	l	l, ll
m	m	m, mm
n, ŋ*	n	n, nn, ng

IPA	standard	“Dutch”
ŋ*	ng	ng
ɲ	ny	nj
p	p	p, pp
ɾ, r	r	r, rr
s	s	s, ss
ʃ	sy	sj
t	t	t, tt
t͡ʃ	ty**	tj, tsj
w	w	w
j	y	j
z	z	z

*When syllable-final, the /n/ slightly nasalizes the preceding vowel. Also, it is then sometimes realized as [ŋ], especially at the end of a sentence or a phrase that is followed by a pause – and thus also when the word is spoken in isolation. For example, the word “Sranan” may be realized as [sraˈnãŋ]. This pronunciation is reflected in the “Dutch” spelling by writing ⟨ng⟩, as in “Sranang”, but not in the standard spelling. In other (not word-final) cases /ŋ/ is not an allophone of /n/ but a phoneme in its own right, always spelled ⟨ng⟩, as in “tongo” (/ˈto.ŋo/)
**The phoneme /ɡ/, when followed by /e/ or /i/, is palatalized to [ɟ] or even further lenited to [j], so that a word like “angisa” is realized as [anˈɟi.sa] or [anˈji.sa]. (Note that the combination ⟨ng⟩ in this word represents two separate phonemes, similar to the pair ⟨th⟩ in English hothead). Likewise, the phoneme /k/, when followed by /e/ or /i/, is palatalized to [c]; for example, the word “pikin” is commonly realized as [piˈcin]. In informal speech it may be further lenited to [t͡ʃ], so that a word like “pikin” is realized as [piˈt͡ʃiŋ]. In the standard orthography, the spelling ⟨k⟩ is retained in all cases; ⟨ty⟩ is only found before ⟨a⟩, ⟨o⟩ and ⟨u⟩, as in tyari and tyopu. Exceptionally, the variants tye and tyika are accepted spellings for ke and kika used as interjections.

Assimilation

An /n/ before the labial consonants /b/, /m/ and /p/ tends towards [m], as in granpa ([ˈgram.pa]). An /n/ before the velar consonants /ɡ/ and /k/ (and their allophones) tends towards [ŋ], slightly nasalizing a preceding vowel, as in kenki ([ˈɟẽŋ.ɟi]).

Elision of vowels and gemination

Some common particles exist in two versions, with and without an initial consonant: na → a; de → e; go → o. While this may historically correspond to the elision of a consonant, it is not denoted as such in the spelling. In contrast, the elision of a vowel, common in speech, is denoted orthographically by an apostrophe. For example, mi o naki dalèk → m’ o naki dalèk. This is frequently done in informal speech when otherwise a hiatus would result. Another common case is a /CV₁'CV₂/ combination in which the two consonants are the same, as in mama (/ma'ma/), fufuru (/fu'fu.ɾu/) and wiwiri (/wi'wi.ɾi/). (As in these examples, the vowels are also often the same.) The vowel between the consonants may be elided, resulting in a geminated consonant: m’ma (/mːa/), f’furu (/'fːu.ɾu/), w’wiri (/'wːi.ɾi/). A more drastic elision with gemination is seen in ferferi → f’feri (/'fːe.ɾi/).

Some examples

IPA	standard	“Dutch”
ˈfe.ti	feti	fittie
ˈdu.ku	duku	doekoe
ˈskou̯.tu	skowtu	skotoe
ˈwa.ɡi	wagi	waggie

Attestation

As a language with limited documentation, only one use or mention is necessary to cite a term. If the validity of a term is doubted, WT:RFV can be used.

Terms should display the {{LDL|srn}} template if they use less than three uses to verify an entry, which produces the following output:

This entry has fewer than three known examples of actual usage, the minimum considered necessary for clear attestation, and may not be reliable. Sranan Tongo is subject to a special exemption for languages with limited documentation. If you speak it, please consider editing this entry or adding citations. See also Help and the Community Portal.

Further reading

• Norval Smith & Vinije Haabo, "Suriname creoles: phonology", in Schneider et al., A Handbook of Varieties of English. Volume 1: Phonology, Mouton de Gruyter (2004), pages 525-564.