|
|
| Population: |
23,000 in Suriname (1995 SIL). Population includes
1,000 Matawari. Population total all countries:
26,000. |
| Region: |
Central, along Saramacca and upper Suriname rivers.
Refugees are in Paramaribo. Also spoken in French
Guiana. |
| Dialect: |
Matawari (Matawai, Matuari, Matoewari). |
| Classification: |
Creole, English based. Ian Hancock classifies it
as Portuguese based rather than English based. Linguistic influences from Kongo (Hancock
1988). 20% or more of the lexicon has an African
component. The language development
Literacy rate in first language: below 1%. Literacy
rate in second language: 15% to 25%. |
| Comment: |
A Bush Negro ethnic group with background similar
to the Ndyuka. Tonal, one tone per vowel. Traditional
religion (SIL) |
|
|
| This is a language of an estimated 23,000
Saramaccan, the largest Maroon group in Suriname. Descendants
of late 17th century runaway African slaves from plantations
in Suriname, the Saramaccan Maroons speak a Creole language
with a vocabulary which shows influence from English, Portuguese
and West African languages. They occupy areas along the
middle and upper reaches of the Suriname River. This was
land ceded to them by way of a peace treaty with the Dutch
in 1762, after several decades of war. The Saramacca have
managed to maintain their language as well as their distinctive
traditional life style centred around farming, fishing
and hunting. |
| |
|
|
