Vocabulary
Although the São Tomean Creole had (and still has) a restricted contact with Portuguese (seen as a prestigious language), it did preserve a larger number of the substrate languages elements, more than the Creoles of Cape Verde, that preserve fewer traces. Roughly 93% of São Tomean Creole lexicon is from Portuguese and 7% of African origin.
Although 95% of São Tomeans speak Portuguese, Forro is one of the national languages of the country, spoken by 85% of the inhabitants of São Tomé Island, or 81.7% of the country’s population. Even though it does not have the prestige of the Portuguese language on the islands, it is evident that continuous contact with the large number Portuguese speakers did not destroy Forro, many relearn Forro when they become adults. The rich São Tomean culture also preserves a unique mixture of Portuguese and African cultures.
Read more about this topic: Forro Language
Famous quotes containing the word vocabulary:
“The vocabulary of pleasure depends on the imagery of pain.”
—Marina Warner (b. 1946)
“A new talker will often call her caregiver “mommy,” which makes parents worry that the child is confused about who is who. She isn’t. This is a case of limited vocabulary rather than mixed-up identities. When a child has only one word for the female person who takes care of her, calling both of them “mommy” is understandable.”
—Amy Laura Dombro (20th century)
“One forgets words as one forgets names. One’s vocabulary needs constant fertilizing or it will die.”
—Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966)