Lesser-Known Languages (LKL): Sranan Tongo
The history and structure of the most used language that isn't an official language of Suriname
Despite the fact I love to travel and learn languages, geography has never been my forte. I even struggle with placing famous cities in my home country of France.
So when I discovered Suriname was not anywhere close to Indonesia but instead in South America, close to the ABC islands I researched for Papiamento, I felt quite stupid.
And yet, I discovered during my research that I wasn’t the only one misplacing Suriname. In this piece on Slate, the writer mention the search “where is Suriname” as one of the most common ones on Google. And this piece about a recent Korean drama named “Narco Saints” (but 수리님 in Korean which is the word “Suriname”) mentions that many Koreans didn’t know Suriname was a real country.
Despite being close to the ABC Islands and having also been occupied by the Dutch, Sranan Tongo, the most spoken language outside of the official language of Dutch is a very different type of Creole from the ABC Islands’ language (Papiamento).
Suriname is a country surrounded by mountains, therefore separating it from the rest of South America (and in particular Brazil). As a result, its different languages have also evolved differently from other Creole languages in the area.
Sranan Tongo is considered a Dutch-English Creole language. Its grammar patterns come mostly from English but its vocabulary is a mix of many different ones. Some say 85% of its vocabulary comes from Dutch but, that’s actually not true as we’ll discuss later.
But first, let’s talk about the unfortunate but fascinating story of how Suriname became a very large melting pot of cultures.
You guessed it.
Colonization.
Suriname’s history of colonization
Suriname is a country separated from the rest of the South American continent due to its terrain. In fact, it’s often considered a Caribbean country despite not bordering that sea. Its language(s) also evolved quite differently from the rest of South America.
Its indigenous people were the Arawak, the indigenous Caribbeans.
The country was "discovered" during the Iberian exploration, in 1498, but it took another hundred years or so before any permanent settlement was made. Before that, all attempts had been pushed back by the resistance of the native people, although some slaves from West Africa were beginning to be brought.
The English began arriving in 1624 but it was in 1651 that a group of English planters really settled there for the first time.
The Dutch followed suit and, following a few wars, an exchange between the English and the Dutch was made in 1667. That trade made New York City (at the time called New Amsterdam) go to the British while Suriname was ceded to the Netherlands.
The country stayed under Dutch rule until its independence in 1975.
In the few years before the Dutch took over, however, English settlers worked closely with the slaves which helped develop an English creole language that would later become Sranan Tongo.
The Dutch developed a flourishing plantation colony where sugar was the largest export. To keep it growing, they brought in more slaves from West Africa until the 19th century.
In 1853, Chinese contract laborers began arriving. Then, slavery was abolished in Suriname in July 1863. Former slaves were forced to stay under a 10-year contract while other contractors from India started arriving. It was also during that time that Javanese people were brought to Suriname as Indonesia was a Dutch colony at the time.
Talks of autonomy started after WWII and universal suffrage was instituted in 1948. In 1954, autonomy over its internal affairs was granted to the country but the Dutch stayed in control overall and began aiding the country’s development.
When elections were held in 1973, the National Party Alliance won and requested independence from the Netherlands. The socialist party in control in the Netherlands supported that idea which led to Suriname’s independence on November 25, 1975.
A Melting Pot of Languages
Due to the extremely varied mix of people brought to Suriname when it was a colony, many remarkably different languages are spoken in this small country of about 700,000 people.
Dutch is the official language used for business and education in schools, but the language spoken most outside of these situations is Sranan Tongo.
The third most-spoken language is called Sarnami and is a type of Caribbean Hindustani1. Indeed, there is a sizeable Indo-Surinamese community, about a third of the population, that adapted their language following the Dutch and Sranan Tongo influences.
The Saramaccan language, spoken by 25,000 people in French Guiana also boasts about 8,000 speakers in Suriname. This is an English-based Creole language with a heavy influence from West and Central Africa.
Nyudka is another English-based Creole language spoken mostly in French Guiana and a bit in Suriname.
Chinese and Javanese speakers represent also a large part of the population as contractors stayed in the country and developed communities there.
Finally, many Brazilian gold diggers came to Suriname and settled there which is why there’s also a Brazilian Portuguese population in the country.
Before we moved on to dissecting our main topic today, let’s talk about Sranan Tongo in general terms a bit more.
By the way, Sranan Tongo is often just called Sranan.
Compared to other English-based Creole languages, Sranan was only influenced by native English speakers during its infancy. The Dutch did not try to change Sranan, which allowed the language to grow on its own. It basically avoided a process called decreolization.
Sranan Tongo kept evolving, adapting words from Dutch and other languages brought by contractors brought from Asia.
As mentioned at the beginning, a quick search about Sranan will get you to find the following statement on Wikipedia: “Sranan Tongo's lexicon is a fusion of mostly English grammar and Dutch vocabulary (85%), plus some vocabulary from Spanish, Portuguese and West African languages.”
However, my study of the language showed almost no sign of the Dutch’s influence so I dug deeper. It turns out there is no proof of this 85% Dutch vocabulary influence. On the contrary, this research paper indicates the real Dutch influence on Sranan’s vocabulary would be around 17.85%, which seems fairer to me.
This being said, as Dutch is the official language of Suriname and most people can speak it too, using Dutch words in the middle of sentences spoken in Sranan probably happens on a daily basis.
Alright, let’s talk Culture.
Surinamese culture
Due to the English and Dutch occupations as well as the variety of people from many cultures, Suriname has a very dynamic culture with influences from around the world.
There is a typical, mainly urban Creole, expression called “no span” ("Keep cool; don't worry"), symbolizing the generally relaxed atmosphere. The population has a reputation for being hospitable, and most houses do not have a bell.
Beliefs
Three major religions can be found in Suriname: Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam.
About 80% of the Hindustani population is Hindu while 15% are Muslim and 5% Christian. It appears that most creoles are Christians and most Javanese Muslims.
As for the rest of the population, while most are officially Christians, many adhere to traditional religious beliefs such as Winti, a traditional religion that stemmed from various West African religious systems, such as Vodun, Yoruba, and Akan religions. It was banned from 1874 until 1971.
Festivals
Another impact of the variety of ethnicities in Suriname is its large number of festivals.
Keti Koti, which literally means “the chain is cut” in Sranan Tongo, celebrates the end of slavery (1863) in Suriname every year on July 1st. Its official name is Dag der Vrijheden (Days of the Freedom), although it’s mostly known by its Sranan name. Colorful parades take place during this festival.
Holi, a famous Hindu festival celebrating the eternal and divine love of Radha Krishna, takes place in Suriname at the same time as in India by the Hindustani diaspora.
Wikipedia states there are celebrations for the Javanese arrival, Indian arrival, or even Chinese arrival, although I haven’t found official information about this. I reckon they might be small family celebrations rather than big festivals.
The Indigenous People’s Day is celebrated in Suriname on August 9th, as set by the UN.
Music
Suriname’s most famous music is called kaseko. It comes from the kawina music.
Kawina emerged as folk music with roots related to the Winti religion in the 19th century, after slavery was abolished. Its lyrics revolve around daily life and focus on being entertaining so that people can dance to the music.
There is usually an interlude during which an improvisation by the percussion ensemble happens.
Kaseko is a mix of Kawina and western march music, jazz, calypso, and much more. Interacting rhythmic patterns on the big drum (skratji) and rolls on the separate snare drum, solo and choir singing and riffs from the wind section (consisting of saxophone, trumpet, and sometimes trombone) play a fundamental role.
An interesting aspect of Kaseko is that the improvisation is done by a system of question and answer between instruments, following a similar traditional African interplay.
Here’s a nice mix of kaseko music in Sranan Tongo.
Sranan Tongo was heard for the first time as part of the Eurovision in 2021 in a song called "Birth of a New Age," sung by Surinamese singer-songwriter Jeangu Macrooy.
Alright, let’s get geeky and turn to the language’s structure! 🤓
Sranan Basics
Sranan Tongo is a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) language that follows pretty much the same standard English phrase construction, with adapted words.
Particularities
Sranan is an easy language to learn for English speakers once some basic linguistic changes are understood.
For example, long vowels as shortened in Sranan by adding an extra vowel at the end of the word:
talk becomes taki
make becomes meki
walk becomes waka
Then, words can only finish in vowels or using an “n” (pronounced closer to an “ng”). the “m” usually changes to an “n” too: “name” therefore becomes nen.
Finally, knowing Portuguese and Dutch as well can make learning the language much easier as the different influences will help with remembering words like bun (from Portuguese “bom” for “good”) and kba (from Portuguese “acabar”, for “to stop, end”).
Pronouns
The pronouns in Sranan are as follows:
Mi = I
Yu = You (Singular)
a/en = He/She/It
Wi = We
Un = You (Plural)
Den = They
The possessive adjectives (my, your, etc.) are the same words added just in front of the nouns they refer to:
Mi sisa = My sister
Den mati = Their friend
Articles and Plurals
When it comes to indefinite articles, the word wan (meaning “one”) is added in front of the noun:
wan uma/wan frow = a woman
When no such particle is added, the definite article becomes implied:
Uma/frow = the woman
The plural third person pronoun is den (from the English “them”) but it can also be added before a noun to change it to the plural if need be:
Den mun = the months
Tenses and Negation
Sranan has a simple conjugation system because, well, there’s none. A particle is added before the verb to change its tense.
Interestingly enough, the lack of a particle doesn’t indicate the present (like it does for many languages) but the past tense.2
Mi losi mi portmoni. → I lost my wallet.
Negation is done by adding no in front of the verb (and its particle when applicable).
Here are the particles used for each tense:
Present/Present Progressive tense: e
Mi no e siki. → I am not sick.
Den no e dringi → They don’t drink/They aren’t drinking.
Future tense: e go (from “am going to”), often shortened to o
Wi e go sabi. → We are going to know./ We will know.
Yu o koyri. → You will go for a walk.
Past progressive: ben
Yu ben sribi. → You were sleeping.
Mi ben wroko na Paranam. → I’ve worked/I was working in Paranam.
The verb “to be” on its own is replaced by the copula “na”:
En na wan man. → He is a man. (literally: He-[copula]-one-man)
Na mi fowtu. → It’s my fault.
Disi na mi papa. → This is my father.
Questions
Closed questions are created by changing the tone of voice to make it go up at the end. No other change is needed:
Yu e taki Ingris tongo. → You speak English
Yu e taki Ingris tongo? → Do you speak English?
Yu kan yepi mi? → Can/Could you help me?
For open questions, a question word is added at the beginning of the sentence:
San = What
Pe = Where
Sma/Suma = Who
Fu san ede = Why
Oten = When
Fa = How
Sortu = What kind of (probably from “What sort of”)
Omeni = How much/How many (from “How many”)
Here are a few examples:
Pe na weisei/toilet de? → Where is the restroom? (literally: Where-[copula]-toilet-[location particle])
de can often be translated as “at” or “in”
San mi musu du now? → What should I do now? (lit. What-I-must-do-now)
Sortu wroko yu wani du? → What kind of work do you want? (lit. What kind of-work-you-want-do)
Omeni yu o pai mi? → How much do you pay? (lit. How much-you-will-pay-I)
Sma na a frow? → Who is that woman?
Suma na yu? → Who are you?
Fa mi kan kon drape? → How do I get there? (lit. How-I-can-arrive-there)
Fa waka? → How are you? (lit. How-walk)
Fa yu tan? → How are you? (lit. How-you-stay)
Modal verbs
Modal verbs are useful verbs that indicate a modality such as a likelihood, ability, permission, request, capacity, suggestion, order, etc.
We’ve seen a few examples with some but let’s dig deeper. Here are a few useful ones to get you started:
sabi = to know how to/to know
musu/mus = “to must”
kan = “to can”
wani = to want/to want to V
Here are a few examples:
Mi no sabi fa yu e meki boyo. → I don’t know how to make boyo.
A sma disi no sabi bori aleisi. → This person doesn’t know how to cook rice.
Mi kan kisi mi bagasi. → I can take out my baggage.
Mi kan kisi mi bagasi? → May I take out my baggage?
Yu kan sori mi pe na wowoyo de? → Can you show me the way to the market? (lit. You-can-show-I-where-[copula]-market-at-?)
Mi mus saka na a tra halte. → I have to get off at the next stop.
Mi wani sidon eerste klas → I want to travel first class. (lit. I-want-to sit-first-class)
sidon comes from “sit on” and means “to sit down” Many verbs in Sranan originally come from compound English verbs. Another example is kmopo (to come up).
Mi wani wan kamra. → I want one room.
Mi wani go bai wantu sani. → I want to go shopping. (lit. I-want-go-buy-some-articles)
Introductory sentences
Finally, let’s go over a few very common sentences that’ll come in handy in Suriname.
Odi → Hello/Good day
Iya/ai/ayi→ Yes
No → No
mi bun → I am fine.
Grantangi → Thanks.
Mi o si → See you later (lit. I-will-see)
Mi lobi ... → I like… (probably from the English “love”3)
Mi sari. → I’m sorry.
Adyosi → Goodbye
Where to learn Sranan?
If you want to learn Sranan Tongo, resources are scarce online but it’s not impossible.
The Peace Corp training document available here is a good start and even has audio recordings to practice listening.
This website may also help you get a good grasp on the language structure as they go further in detail on the patterns I mentioned above (and more!)
Then, there’s this incredible website. It is filled with stories in Sranan Tongo (in the middle) and if you double-click on any word, its definition appears in the dictionary on the left. A great way to learn in context!
Finally, there’s also this book to learn for Sarammaccan that includes Sranan Tongo, English, French, and Dutch translations.
If you want, Verbix also has a Sranan Tongo conjugator but considering its simple verbal system, I don’t reckon it’d be useful more than once or twice to anybody.
Unfortunately, I haven’t found a YouTube channel teaching the language but there’s this video from a presentation by Kevin Sun during a past Polyglot Conference.
(If you speak Dutch, this website and this one seem to cover a lot too.)
Final words
Discovering Suriname’s creole language of Sranan Tongo was yet again another beautiful journey but it was also particularly interesting because it also allowed me to learn more about French Guiana (located right east of Suriname). Indeed, French Guiana’s history came up regularly in my research, and in particular about the Maroons4.
Furthermore, having also spent dozens of hours researching and studying Papiamento for a previous deep-dive piece, I was able to use that knowledge to apprehend Sranan with more ease.
Finding similar words here and there (like sabi or taki) tickled my curiosity all the more.
I also fell in love with kaseko and ended up researching and writing most of this piece while listening to different mixtapes I found on YouTube. Here’s another one if you want. 😉
I began the year knowing pretty much nothing of Creole languages but the more time I spend discovering them, the more beautiful I find them. The real question now is, which one will make me really dive in and learn for good?
On that note,
Waka bun! Mi o si yu moro lati!5
Hindustani is a language with two formal registers (Standard Hindi and Standard Urdu) and is written in the Arabic script, spoken in Pakistan and India.
Context can make the sentence be understood in the present tense though. Still, I find this fact the most surprising of them all.
The verb for “to love” seems to also be lobi, therefore relying on context is important here!
I haven’t mentioned much about the Maroons in this piece but I invite you to read up on them. This piece is a great start. On another note, one of my favorite French songs ever is called “Le Bilan” and was sung by a band called “Neg’ Marrons” in 2000. I’ve listened to it thousands of times and this research made me finally discover where the band name came from. 🤯
Have a nice day! (lit. Walk-well) I will see you later (lit. I-will-see-you-more-late)