By Sarah-Claire Jordan Igbo is the language of the Igbo ethnic group found in the southeastern region of Nigeria. The large majority of Igbo speakers are ethnically Igbo as well, and Nigeria is where most call home. Though there probably was at one time a specific script used for writing Igbo, the British brought with […]
By Sarah-Claire Jordan Singapore is a fascinating place, simply due to the fact that is one of three surviving city-states in the world and the only island city-state. It is also famous for being a sort of meeting point for a variety of different cultures, namely Malay, Chinese, and Indian. Singapore was colonized by Britain […]
By Sarah-Claire Jordan When we think about Jamaica, we don’t tend to think about what languages are spoken there, because one of them is one that can be more or less easily understood by anyone who speaks English quite well. We tend to think more about the famous musicians who are from the island, the […]
By Sarah-Claire Jordan We have already discussed a bit about the main languages of Indonesia, and have come to see that Indonesian, a variety of Malay that became standardized, is the official language of the country and is spoken by the majority of its citizens. Before it was declared the official language of the country, […]
By Sarah-Claire Jordan Cyprus is a country that is a mix of different cultures. Settled by Greeks, ruled by Britain, and later invaded by Turkey, not to mention its proximity to Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Egypt, it’s no wonder it ended up becoming such a melting pot. Despite so much outside influence, however, Cyprus managed […]
By Sarah-Claire Jordan First of all, a French creole language is any creole language that uses French as the basis for its vocabulary and, to some extent, grammar. Creole languages are born when pidgins, or forms of communication used between groups that don’t share a common language, become the native languages of children and thus […]
By Sarah-Claire Jordan Bourbonnais Creole is a group of French-based creole languages that are spoken on different islands in the Indian Ocean. They get their name from the former name of one of the islands, Bourbon Island, which is now called Réunion Island. Sometimes the group is also referred to as Mascarene Creole, after the […]
By Sarah-Claire Jordan Besides the French Creole spoken in Louisiana, Haitian Creole is probably the most well-known French-based creole in the world. It is one of two official languages in Haiti, the other being French. Haitian Creole is based mostly on the French spoken in the 18th century, but also has elements of Portuguese, Taíno […]
