Annobonese Creole facts for kids

Annobonese Creole is a special language. It's known as Fa d'Ambu or Fá d'Ambô by the people who speak it. You can find this language on the Annobón and Bioko Islands. These islands are located off the coast of Equatorial Guinea.

Most people who speak Annobonese have a mix of African, Portuguese, and Spanish family backgrounds. In Spanish, the language is called annobonense or annobonés.

People in Equatorial Guinea like this language. It is even taught in special classes. These classes are held in the capital city of Malabo.

Where Annobonese Comes From

Annobonese Creole started a long time ago. It was first spoken by the children of Portuguese men and African women. These women were brought from places like São Tomé and Angola.

So, Annobonese is related to Portuguese. It also comes from Forro, which is a language spoken by freed slaves in São Tomé. A study was done in Annobón. It showed strong links between Annobonese and other Portuguese creole languages. These languages are spoken in São Tomé and Príncipe, Cape Verde, and Guinea-Bissau.

Where Annobonese Is Spoken

Annobonese is mainly spoken on Annobón island. You can also hear it in the capital city, Malabo. Some people speak it on Bioko island too. A few speakers live on the mainland of Equatorial Guinea.

How Annobonese Is Special

Annobonese is very similar to the Forro language. In fact, it might have come from Forro. Both languages share the same basic structure. They also have 82% of their words in common.

After Annobón became part of Spain, the language took in some Spanish words. About 10% of its words are from Spanish. Sometimes it's hard to tell if a word is from Spanish or Portuguese. This is because Spanish and Portuguese are quite similar.

Annobonese Grammar Basics

Let's look at some interesting parts of Annobonese grammar.

Simple Sentences

In Annobonese, sentences usually follow a specific order. It's like English: Subject-Verb-Object (SVO). For example, "The father gives money to the child."

If a sentence has two objects, like "money" and "child," the indirect object comes first. The indirect object is the person or thing that receives something. In Annobonese, you don't use words like "to" before the indirect object.

Here's an example:

In English, "Pay da mina dyielu" means "Father give child money." In Spanish, you'd say "to the child." Annobonese doesn't need that "to."

Naming Things: Nouns

Annobonese nouns usually don't change their form. They don't have a specific gender, like male or female.

But if you want to show if someone is male or female, you can add a word. You can use napay (male, man) or miela (female). For example, mina means "child." If you say napay mina, it means "boy" or "son." If you say miela mina, it means "girl" or "daughter."

Showing More Than One: Plurality

Usually, you don't need to mark a noun as plural in Annobonese. You can tell if there's more than one from the rest of the sentence.

But if you need to be clear, there are a few ways to show plurality:

• Use a word like "these" or "those." For example, galafa (bottle) + -nensyi (those) makes galafa nensyi (those bottles).
• Use a number. For example, canoe (canoe) + tisyi (three) makes canoe tisyi (three canoes).
• Use a word like "many." For example, xadyi (house) + muntu (much) makes xadyi muntu (many houses).
• Repeat the noun. This means "all" of that noun. For example, ngolo (shell) + ngolo makes ngolo ngolo (all the shells).

Using "The" and "A": Articles

Articles are words like "the" or "a." Speakers only use them in Annobonese when they are really needed. When used, they come right before the noun.

The word for "the" is na. It's used for both one thing and many things. For example, "The white woman" is Na may banku. Here, na means "the," may means "woman," and banku means "white."

For "a" or "an," you can use wan or an for one thing. For many things (indefinite plural), you use zuguan. In the sentence "We write a letter," which is No skéve wan xat, wan means "a."

Sometimes, articles are used with words that show plurality. This helps make it clear if "the" refers to one or many. For example, Na mina nensyi means "These/those children." Without nensyi (these/those), Na mina could mean "the child" instead of "the children."

See also

In Spanish: Criollo annobonense para niños