Cape Verdean Creole

Cape Verdean Creole is a special language that comes from Portuguese. People living on the islands of Cape Verde speak this language every day, and many people from the Cape Verdean diaspora use it too. This language is very important for learning about how languages grow and change.

One amazing thing about Cape Verdean Creole is that it is the oldest living creole language still in use today. This makes it very special for people who study how new languages develop. It is also the most common language that comes from Portuguese that people speak around the world.

Name

The full name of this creole is Cape Verdean Creole, but people often just call it "Creole." Some people suggest using the names "Cape Verdean" or "Cape Verdean language" when the creole is made official.

Origins

The history of Cape Verdean Creole is hard to understand because there are not many old writings about it and it was not always welcomed during Portuguese rule in Cape Verde.

Today, there are three main ideas about how this language started. One idea says that Portuguese people made the language simpler to help enslaved Africans understand better. Another idea says that the enslaved Africans used the rules of their own languages but swapped out the words for Portuguese ones. A third idea suggests that the language formed on its own among people born on the islands, using what all humans naturally understand about language.

Some believe Cape Verdean Creole began as a mix of Portuguese and other languages on the island of Santiago in the 1400s. This mix was then carried to Africa, where it split into two early versions—one that became Cape Verdean Creole and another that became Guinea-Bissau Creole.

The language spread across the islands in three steps. First, Santiago and then Fogo were settled in the late 1400s and late 1500s. Next, São Nicolau and Santo Antão were settled mostly in the late 1600s. Finally, the other islands were settled by people from the first islands between the 1700s and 1800s.

Status

Even though nearly everyone in Cape Verde speaks Cape Verdean Creole as their first language, Portuguese is the official language. Portuguese is used in schools, government, and official events, so people often mix Portuguese and Creole when they talk casually. Because Portuguese is used so much, the Creole language is slowly changing.

People in Cape Verde speak different versions of Creole, and there is no single way to write it correctly. This makes it hard to make Creole an official language. Some people think the best way forward is to create two standards—one for the northern islands and one for the southern islands—so everyone can agree on how to write and speak Creole.

Writing system

Main article: ALUPEC

The main writing system used for Cape Verdean Creole is called ALUPEC, which means "Unified Alphabet for the Writing of the Cape Verdean Language". It was first allowed for use in 1998 and became the official system in 2009. Even though it is the official system, people do not have to use it.

Because not everyone knows ALUPEC or the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), this article uses a slightly different way to write the sounds. This makes it easier for readers to understand. For example, some sounds are written like they are in Portuguese, and special marks are used to show how words are pronounced. An apostrophe is also used in some cases to show that a sound is missing.

Vocabulary

The words in Cape Verdean Creole mostly come from the Portuguese language. About 90 to 95 percent of the words are from Portuguese. The rest of the words come from languages spoken in Western Africa, such as Mandingo, Wolof, Fulani, Temne, Balanta, and Mandjak. Words from other languages like English, French, and Latin are very few.

Phonology

Cape Verdean Creole's sounds come from Portuguese spoken in the 15th to 17th centuries. It keeps some old sounds like /dʒ/ and /tʃ/ that are no longer used in modern Portuguese. It also changed some sounds, like turning /ʎ/ into /dʒ/.

Vowels

There are eight regular vowels and eight special nasal vowels, making sixteen in total.

Consonants and semi-vowels

• Note: The sounds [r], [ʁ] and [ʀ] are different ways to say the same sound /ʀ/.

First-person singular

The word for "I" can sound different depending on the islands. It comes from the Portuguese word mim and is often shortened to the sound [m]. In some places, it is even shorter, sounding like [n̩]. For example: N anda [n̩ ɐ̃ˈdɐ] means "I have walked". When certain letters follow, the sound changes a little.

Some people influenced by Portuguese say it as úm [ũ]. When used with the verb ser, it goes back to mi [mi], like in mi é [mi e] meaning "I am".

In formal writing, this word is written as N, with a capital letter, no matter the sound.

Grammar

Even though most words in Cape Verdean Creole come from Portuguese, the way they are used in sentences is very different. This makes it hard for someone who only speaks Portuguese to understand Creole easily. However, Creole grammar shares many features with other creole languages.

Sentence structure

The basic way to build a sentence in Creole is Subject – Verb – Object. For example:

• El ta kume pexi. "He eats fish."

When there are two objects, the indirect object comes first, followed by the direct object. The sentence structure then becomes Subject – Verb – Indirect Object – Direct Object. For example:

• El ta da pexi kumida. "He gives food to the fish."

A special feature of Creole is the use of double negation (and sometimes triple negation). For example: Nada N ka atxa. literally means "Nothing I didn't find." Although double negation is common in Portuguese, triple negation is less common.

Nouns

Gender inflection

Only nouns that refer to living things (people and animals) change their form to show gender. For example:

• inglês / ingléza "Englishman / Englishwoman"
• porku / pórka "pig (male) / pig (female)"

Sometimes, the difference between male and female is shown by adding the words matxu "male" and fémia "female" after the noun. For example:

• fidju-matxu / fidju-fémia "son / daughter"
• katxor-matxu / katxor-fémia "dog (male) / dog (female)"

Number inflection

Nouns in Creole only show plural forms when they are clear from the context. For example:

• Mininus di Bia é ben konportadu. "The children of Bia are well behaved."

When a noun is used in a general sense, it does not change to show plural. For example:

• Mininu deve ruspeta algen grandi. "Children must respect grown up people."

If a sentence has several parts, only the first part gets the plural marker. For example:

• mininus ("boys")
• nhas minina ("my girls")
• mininus bunitu ("beautiful boys")
• nhas dos minina bunita i sinpátika ("my two kind and beautiful girls")

Personal pronouns

Pronouns can be used as subjects or objects in sentences. They can also be stressed or unstressed depending on their place in the sentence.

The unstressed subject pronouns come before the verb. For example:

• Nu kre. "We want."

Stressed subject pronouns are used to emphasize and are separated from the verb. For example:

• Mi, N sta li, i bo, bu sta la. "Me, I am here, and you, you are there."

Object pronouns act as objects in sentences. Unstressed object pronouns are used with present-tense verbs. For example:

• N odja-l. "I have seen it."
• N ta beja-bu. "I kiss you."

Stressed object pronouns are used with past-tense verbs, when there are two pronouns, and after prepositions. For example:

• Es ta odjaba-el. "They saw it."
• Bu da-m el. "You gave it to me."
• N sta fartu di bo! "I'm fed up of you!"

When there are two object pronouns, the indirect pronoun comes first, followed by the direct pronoun.

There are no reflexive pronouns. Instead, Creole uses the word cabéça ("head") after the possessive word. For example:

• Es morde ses kabésa. "They have bitten themselves."

There are no reciprocal pronouns. Instead, Creole uses the word cumpanhêru ("companion"). For example:

• Es morde kunpanheru. "They have bitten each other."

Verbs

Verbs in Creole change very little. They have the same form for all people, and ideas about time and mood are shown using special words called "verbal actualizers."

Verbs usually have two basic forms: one for the present and one for the past. The present form is the same as the infinitive form, which often comes from Portuguese but without the ending r. For example: kanta /kɐ̃ˈtɐ/ (from Portuguese cantar), mexe /meˈʃe/ (from Portuguese mexer), etc. The past form is made by adding the particle -ba to the infinitive. For example: kantaba /kɐ̃ˈtabɐ/, mexeba /meˈʃebɐ/, etc.

In the Santiago version, the stress moves to the syllable before the last one in present tense verb forms.

Regular verbs

Regular verbs have a form for the present tense and a form for the past tense. The way they show mood and aspect depends on special words called verbal actualizers.

The perfective aspect of the present is used for actions that are finished. For example:

N da. "I gave. / I have given."

The imperfective aspect of the present is used for actions that are not finished. For example:

N ta da. "I give."

The progressive aspect of the present is used for actions happening continuously. For example:

N sta ta da. "I am giving."

There is no special form for the future. The future can be shown in three ways:

1. Using the imperfective of the present but meaning the future. For example: N ta da manhan. literally "I give tomorrow."
2. Using the helping verb "to go". For example: N ta bai da. literally "I go to give."
3. Using a phrase showing possibility. For example: N al da. "I will give."

The perfective aspect of the past is used for finished past actions. For example:

N daba. "I had given."

The imperfective aspect of the past is used for unfinished past actions. For example:

N ta daba. "I gave. / I used to give."

The progressive aspect of the past is used for continuous past actions. For example:

N staba ta da. "I was giving."

The future of the past can be shown in three ways:

1. Using the imperfective of the past but meaning the future. For example: N ta daba manhan. literally "I gave tomorrow."
2. Using the helping verb "to go". For example: N ta baba da. literally "I went to give."
3. Using a phrase showing possibility. For example: N al daba. "I would give."

The other moods – subjunctive, conditional, and eventual – do not have different aspects, only present and past tense, except the injunctive (imperative) mood which only has the present tense.

Irregular verbs

Some verbs do not follow the usual pattern. These include helping verbs like ser "to be", sta "to be", ten "to have" and tene "to have", and modal verbs like kre "to want", sabe "to know", pode "can", debe "must" and mestê "to need".

There are two ways these verbs are used.

In the first way (used by older speakers, in rural areas, or by those with less exposure to Portuguese), there are only two forms for these verbs: one for the present and one for the past. When used alone, the present form shows the imperfective aspect, not the perfective aspect. For example, mi é means "I am" and not "I have been."

In the second way (used by younger speakers, in cities, or by those with more exposure to Portuguese), the system has more forms influenced by Portuguese.

There is a similarity between the verbs ser and sta "to be" and the verbs ten and tene "to have."

• The verb ser is used to show a permanent quality. For example:

Mi é un ómi. "I am (I've always been and I will always be) a man."

• The verb sta is used to show a temporary state. For example:

El sta tristi. "He is (right now) sad."

• The verb ten is used to show permanent possession. For example:

N ten péli sukuru. "I have (I've had and I will always have) dark skin."

• The verb tene is used to show temporary possession. For example:

N tene un kanéta na bolsu. "I have (right now) a pen in my pocket."

The verbs sta and tene do not have the progressive aspect. The verb tene does not exist in the Barlavento versions. In São Vicente and Santo Antão, the verb sta has the form stóde for the infinitive, ta for the imperfective of the present, tive for the perfective of the present, and tava for the imperfective of the past.

Passive

Cape Verdean Creole has two voices. The active voice is used when the subject is clear. The passive voice is used when the subject is unknown or unclear. There are two forms for the passive. The present form is made by adding the particle -du to the infinitive. The past form is made by adding the particle -da to the infinitive. For example:

• Ta papiadu inglês na Mérka. "English is spoken in America."
• N nxinadu ta anda. "I was taught to walk."
• Un bes, ta kumeda txeu midju. "Once, one used to eat a lot of corn."

In the Barlavento versions, the past form does not exist.

Negative

To say "no" or "not" with a verb, the word ka is used after the subject and before any helping words. For example:

• Nu ka ta bibe. "We don't drink."
• El ka ta odjaba. "He didn't see."
• Bu ka bai. "You haven't gone."

In the Santo Antão version, the word n' is used instead of ka. For example:

• No n' da bibe. "We don't drink."
• El n' dava oa. "He didn't see."
• Bo n' be. "You haven't gone."

In commands, the word ka is always at the beginning. For example:

• Ka bu bai! "Don't go!" (you – singular)
• Ka nhos fase! (Sotavento), Ka bzote faze! (Barlavento) "Don't do!" (you-plural)

And in the Santo Antão version:

• N' bo be! "Don't go!" (you – singular)
• N' bzote feze! "Don't do!" (you – plural)

Adjectives

Adjectives in Creole usually come after the noun. Only nouns that refer to living things need gender changes in their adjectives. For example:

• ómi feiu / mudjer feia "ugly man / ugly woman"
• bódi prétu / kabra préta "black buck / black goat"

Adjectives for non-living things have the same form as masculine adjectives. For example:

• bistidu branku "white dress"
• kamisa branku "white shirt"

Usually, the word showing plural does not appear on the adjective because it comes before the noun.

Determiners

Creole does not have definite articles like "the." If needed, demonstrative words are used instead.

For indefinite articles, there are two forms: one for singular and one for plural:

• un... /ũ/ "a, an (singular)", uns... /ũz/ "a, an (plural)"

Possessive words change for number, but the plural refers to the things owned, not the owners. For example:

• nha karu "my car"
• nhas karu "my cars"
• nos karu can mean either "our car" or "our cars"

Demonstrative words have two levels of closeness: close to the speaker (es "this, these") and far from the speaker (kel "that", kes "those").

Designatives

Creole has special words to show or announce something. There are two forms: one to show something close (ali... /ɐˈli/) and another to show something far (ala... /ɐˈlɐ/). For example:

• Ali nha fidju. "Here is my son."
• Ala-l ta bai. "There he goes."

Dialects

In Cape Verde, each island has its own way of speaking Creole. There are nine different ways to speak Creole (one island is not lived in by people). Scholars usually call these ways "variants". These variants are split into two groups: the South group includes Brava, Fogo, Santiago, and Maio; the North group includes Boa Vista, Sal, São Nicolau, São Vicente, and Santo Antão.

Because some words in Cape Verdean Creole can change between variants, this article uses a "middle Creole" to make it easier to understand. This helps avoid favoring any one variant. When needed, special pronunciation guides will be shown after words.

From a language study point of view, the most important variants are Fogo, Santiago, São Nicolau, and Santo Antão. These islands received people directly from Africa, have the oldest language features, and sound very different from each other.

From a community point of view, Santiago and São Vicente are the most important. These are the variants spoken in the two biggest cities, Praia and Mindelo, and they have the most speakers. They also tend to influence nearby variants.

These variants have lots of literature:

• Brava: Eugénio Tavares
• Fogo: Elsie Clews Parsons
• Santiago: Carlos Barbosa, Tomé Varela da Silva, Daniel Spínola
• São Vicente: Sérgio Frusoni, Ovídio Martins
• Santo Antão: Luís Romano Madeira de Melo

Sotavento

The Sotavento Creoles are spoken in the Sotavento Islands. Some features include:

• The past continuous tense is formed by adding the past particle -ba to the verb: ta + V+ba.
• The plural "you" pronoun is nhos.
• The singular "I" pronoun is shown by nasalizing the sound. For example, N anda sounds like /n̩ ɐ̃ˈdɐ/ instead of /m ɐ̃ˈdɐ/ "I have walked".

Brava

Brava Creole is mainly spoken on Brava Island. It is one of the least spoken but was the first to have written poetry, written by Eugénio Tavares.

Besides the main Sotavento features, Brava Creole includes:

• The present continuous tense is formed by adding sta before verbs: sta + V.
• Sounds from Portuguese /ɐ̃w/ (written ão) become /ɐ̃/. For example, kurasan /koɾɐˈsɐ̃/ instead of kurason /koɾɐˈsõ/ "heart".

Fogo

Fogo Creole is mainly spoken on Fogo Island.

Besides the main Sotavento features, Fogo Creole includes:

• The present continuous tense is formed by adding stâ before verbs: sta + V.
• Sounds from Portuguese /ɐ̃w/ become /ɐ̃/. For example, kurasan /koɾɐˈsɐ̃/ instead of kurason /koɾɐˈsõ/ "heart".
• The sound /l/ changes to /ɾ/ at the end of syllables. For example, artu /ˈaɾtu/ instead of altu /ˈaltu/ "tall".
• The sound /ɾ/ disappears at the end of words. For example, lugá /luˈɡa/ instead of lugar /luˈɡaɾ/ "place".

Maio

Maio Creole is mainly spoken on Maio Island.

Besides the main Sotavento features, Maio Creole includes:

• The present continuous tense is formed by adding sta before verbs: sta + V.
• Unstressed final vowels /i/ and /u/ often disappear. For example, kumadre /kuˈmadɾ/ instead of kumadri /kuˈmadɾi/ "midwife".
• The sound /dʒ/ is sometimes represented by /ʒ/. For example, janta /ʒɐ̃ˈtɐ/ instead of djanta /dʒɐ̃ˈtɐ/ "to dine".

Santiago

Santiago Creole is mainly spoken on Santiago Island, including the capital, Praia.

Besides the main Sotavento features, Santiago Creole includes:

• The present continuous tense is formed by adding sa-ta before verbs: sa-ta + V.
• In verbs, stress moves to the second-to-last syllable in present tense forms. For example, kánta /ˈkãtɐ/ instead of kantá /kɐ̃ˈtɐ/ "to sing".
• Some speakers say voiced sounds as unvoiced sounds. For example, kása /ˈkasɐ/ instead of káza /ˈkazɐ/ "house".
• The sound /ʀ/ is sometimes said as /ɾ/. For example, karu /ˈkaɾu/ instead of karru /ˈkaʀu/ "car".

Barlavento

The Barlavento Creoles are spoken in the Barlavento Islands. Some features include:

• The past continuous tense is formed by adding the past particle -va to the verb: tava + V.
• The plural "you" pronoun is bzote.
• Unstressed vowels /i/ and /u/ often disappear. For example, kmadre /ˈkmadɾ/ for kumadri /kuˈmadɾi/ "midwife".
• The stressed /a/ sound raises to /ɔ/ in words that used to end with /u/. For example, ólte /ˈɔlt/ from altu /ˈaltu/ "tall".

Boa Vista

Boa Vista Creole is mainly spoken on Boa Vista Island. It is the least spoken form of Creole. Literature is rarely recorded.

Besides the main Barlavento features, Boa Vista Creole includes:

• The present continuous tense is formed by adding ta ta before verbs: ta + ta + V.
• In verbs ending in ~a, the sound /ɐ/ becomes /ɔ/ when used with the first person singular pronoun. For example, panho-m /pɐˈɲɔm/ instead of panha-m /pɐˈɲɐm/ "to catch me".
• The stressed e is always /ɛ/. For example, busé /buˈsɛ/ instead of bosê /boˈse/ "you".
• The stressed o is always /ɔ/. For example, bó /bɔ/ instead of bô /bo/ "you".

Sal

Sal Creole is mainly spoken on Sal Island.

Besides the main Barlavento features, Sal Creole includes:

• The present continuous tense is formed by adding ta ta before verbs: ta + ta + V.
• In verbs ending in ~a, the sound /ɐ/ becomes /ɔ/ when used with the first person singular pronoun. For example, panho-m /pɐˈɲɔm/ instead of panha-m /pɐˈɲɐm/ "to catch me".
• The sound /dʒ/ is sometimes represented by /ʒ/. For example, janta /ʒɐ̃ˈtɐ/ instead of djanta /dʒɐ̃ˈtɐ/ "to dine".

Santo Antão

Santo Antão Creole is mainly spoken on Santo Antão Island. It is third in the number of speakers.

Besides the main Barlavento features, Santo Antão Creole includes:

• The present continuous tense is formed by adding ti ta before verbs: ti + ta + V.
• The negation word with verbs is n'. For example, Mi n' kre instead of N ka kre "I don't want".
• The sounds /s/ and /z/ change to [ʃ] and [ʒ] at the end of syllables. For example, fésta "party" sounds like [ˈfɛʃtɐ] instead of [ˈfɛstɐ].
• The stressed final /ɐ/ sound becomes /a/. For example, já /ʒa/ instead of djâ /dʒɐ/ "already".

São Nicolau

São Nicolau Creole is mainly spoken on São Nicolau Island.

Besides the main Barlavento features, São Nicolau Creole includes:

• The present continuous tense is formed by adding ta ta before verbs: ta + ta + V.
• In verbs ending in ~a, the sound /ɐ/ becomes /ɔ/ when used with the first person singular pronoun. For example, panho-m /pɐˈɲɔm/ instead of panha-m /pɐˈɲɐm/ "to catch me".
• The sounds /k/ and /ɡ/ are sometimes said as /tʃ/ and /dʒ/ before certain vowels. For example, fdjera /ˈfdʒeɾɐ/ instead of fgera /ˈfɡeɾɐ/ "fig tree".
• The sound /dʒ/ is sometimes represented by /ʒ/. For example, janta /ʒɐ̃ˈtɐ/ instead of djanta /dʒɐ̃ˈtɐ/ "to dine".

São Vicente

São Vicente Creole is mainly spoken on São Vicente Island. It is the second most widely spoken dialect. It has literature from many writers and musicians including Sergio Frusoni.

Besides the main Barlavento features, São Vicente Creole includes:

• The present continuous tense is formed by adding ti ta before verbs: ti + ta + V.
• The sounds /s/ and /z/ change to [ʃ] and [ʒ] at the end of syllables. For example, fésta "party" sounds like [ˈfɛʃtɐ] instead of [ˈfɛstɐ].
• The stressed final /ɐ/ sound becomes /a/. For example, já /ʒa/ instead of djâ /dʒɐ/ "already".
• The sound /dʒ/ is represented by /j/. For example, bói /bɔj/ instead of bódje /bɔdʒ/ "dance (noun)".

For more examples, see the Swadesh List of Cape Verdean Creole (in Portuguese).

Cape Verdean Creole examples

Example 1 (Santiago variant)

This shows a part of a song called Dôci Guérra by Antero Simas, changed a little to fit the Santiago way of speaking.

Example 2 (São Vicente variant)

This shows a part of a song called Nôs Ráça by Manuel d' Novas. You can find the whole song at a different website.

Example 3

This shows a free translation of the first idea from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.