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Saramaccan (autonym: ''Saamáka'') is a creole language spoken by about 24,000 ethnic African people near the Saramacca and upper Suriname Rivers in Suriname (formerly also known as Dutch Guyana), and 2,000 in French Guiana. It has three main dialects. The speakers are mostly descendants of fugitive slaves who were native to West Africa; they form a group called Saramacca, also spelled Saramaka. Linguists consider Saramaccan notable because it is based on two major source languages: English (50%) and Portuguese (35%), but diverges considerably from them. The African component accounts for about 5% of the total, one of the highest in the Americas. African portions are derived from Niger-Congo languages of West Africa, especially Fon and other Gbe languages, as well as Akan. ==Origins== The Saramaccan lexicon is largely drawn from English, Portuguese, and Dutch, among European languages, and Niger-Congo languages of West Africa, especially Fon and other Gbe languages, as well as Akan. The African component accounts for about 5% of the total. Saramaccan phonology has traits similar to languages of West Africa. It has developed the use of tones, which are common in Africa, rather than stress, which is typical of European languages. Over half of Saramaccan's words are from English. It is generally agreed that Saramaccan's Portuguese influence originated from enslaved peoples who lived on plantations with Portuguese masters, and possibly with other slaves speaking a Portuguese creole. The masters might have brought the latter when migrating to Suriname from Brazil. Saramaccan originators began with an early form of Sranan Tongo and transformed it into a new creole via this Portuguese influx, plus influence from the grammars of Fongbe and other Gbe languages. English was incorporated later but contributed half of the lexicon. An earlier idea that Saramaccan was an offshoot of a Portuguese pidgin spoken by slaves who had learned it on the West African coast is no longer subscribed to by working creolists. See monogenetic theory of pidgins for more information. Certain common words in Sranan Tongo, the most common creole spoken in Suriname, also derive from Portuguese words. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Saramaccan language」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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