Miskito Coastal Creole
Encyclopedia
Mískito Coast Creole or Nicaragua Creole English is a language spoken in Nicaragua
based on English
. Its approximately 30,000 speakers are found along the Mosquito Coast
of the Caribbean Sea
. The language is nearly identical to Belizean Creole (Kriol)
, and similar to all Central America
n Creoles. It does not have the status of an official language.
n, Amerindian, and Europe
an descent in the towns and on the offshore islands of the Mosquito Coast. The main concentration of speakers is around Bluefields
, capital of the Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur
, although a majority of inhabitants of the city are now Spanish
-speaking immigrants.
Other communities of Creole
s are found in Waspán on the Coco River
near Cape Gracias a Dios, in Laguna de Perlas
, Puerto Cabezas
, the offshore Corn Islands
, Prinzapolka
(Puerto Isabel), and San Juan del Norte
(Greytown). Inland, the language is spoken in Siuna
, Rosita
, and Bonanza
on the Prinzapolka River. On the Pacific coast, there are small numbers of speakers in Corinto
, Puerto Sandino
, and the Nicaraguan capital of Managua
.
Rama Cay Creole
is a variety of the language spoken by the Rama people
on Rama Cay
, an island in the Bluefields Lagoon.
population commenced. Larger numbers of Africans from Jamaica
enslaved by British
owners were settled in the area during the 18th century which led to the development of Miskito Coastal Creole. The Coast was officially under British protection
from 1740 to 1787 according to the Treaty of Friendship and Alliance
with the Miskito Kingdom and remained under British influence until the late 19th century. In the mid-19th century, more English- or Creole-speaking laborers, primarily from Jamaica, were brought to the Coast as labourers.
However, following the 1894 formal annexation of the Miskito Kingdom by Nicaragua, an increasing number of Spanish speakers migrated to the area. The 1987 Constitution of Nicaragua
granted autonomy to the Zelaya Department as two autonomous regions
of the North
and South Atlantic Coast
s. Autonomous status has allowed for the promotion and development of the languages of the Caribbean Coast and, , there was education in English and Spanish, as well as education in Indigenous languages.
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
based on English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Its approximately 30,000 speakers are found along the Mosquito Coast
Mosquito Coast
The Caribbean Mosquito Coast historically consisted of an area along the Atlantic coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras, and part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It was named after the local Miskito Indians and long dominated by British interests...
of the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
. The language is nearly identical to Belizean Creole (Kriol)
Belizean Kriol language
Belizean Creole English, known as Kriol by its speakers, is an English-based creole language most closely related to Miskito Coastal Creole, Limón Coastal Creole, Colón Creole, San Andrés and Providencia Creole, Guyanese Creole, Jamaican Patois and English creoles of the Caribbean show similarity...
, and similar to all Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
n Creoles. It does not have the status of an official language.
Geographic distribution
Speakers of Miskito Coast Creole are primarily persons of AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n, Amerindian, and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an descent in the towns and on the offshore islands of the Mosquito Coast. The main concentration of speakers is around Bluefields
Bluefields
Bluefields is the capital of the municipality of the same name, and of Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur in Nicaragua. It was also capital of the former Zelaya Department, which was divided into North and South Atlantic Autonomous Regions...
, capital of the Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur
Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur
Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur , sometimes shortened to RAAS, is one of two autonomous regions in Nicaragua. It covers an area of 27,407 km² and has a population of 382,100...
, although a majority of inhabitants of the city are now Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
-speaking immigrants.
Other communities of Creole
Creole peoples
The term Creole and its cognates in other languages — such as crioulo, criollo, créole, kriolu, criol, kreyol, kreol, kriulo, kriol, krio, etc. — have been applied to people in different countries and epochs, with rather different meanings...
s are found in Waspán on the Coco River
Coco River
The Río Coco, formerly known as the Río Segovia, Cape River, or Yara River, is a river in southern Honduras and northern Nicaragua. To the Miskito Indians that live along the river it is known as the Wanki or Wanks River...
near Cape Gracias a Dios, in Laguna de Perlas
Laguna de Perlas
Pearl Lagoon is a town in the municipality by the same name. It is located in Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur department of Nicaragua...
, Puerto Cabezas
Puerto Cabezas
Puerto Cabezas is a municipality in, and capital of, the North Atlantic Coast department of Nicaragua....
, the offshore Corn Islands
Corn Islands
The Corn Islands are two islands about east off the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, constituting one of 12 municipalities of the Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur department...
, Prinzapolka
Prinzapolka
Prinzapolka is a municipality in the Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte department of Nicaragua.Prinzapolka is also an important river basin in the Atlantic Region of Nicaragua 330km .- External links :...
(Puerto Isabel), and San Juan del Norte
San Juan del Norte
San Juan de Nicaragua, formerly known as San Juan del Norte and known in English as Greytown, is a town and municipality in the Río San Juan department of Nicaragua.-Geography:...
(Greytown). Inland, the language is spoken in Siuna
Siuna
Siuna is a municipality in the Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte department of Nicaragua.The town of Siuna was the site of several mines operated by foreign corporations in the past...
, Rosita
Rosita, Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte
Rosita is a municipality in the Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte department of Nicaragua. In 2005, the population was 8,535 people. Rosita is also sometimes called La Rosita.-External links:...
, and Bonanza
Bonanza, Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte
Bonanza is a municipality in the Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte department of Nicaragua.In 1996, the local authorities chose for the first time to vote....
on the Prinzapolka River. On the Pacific coast, there are small numbers of speakers in Corinto
Corinto, Nicaragua
Corinto is a town of 17,000 on the northwest Pacific coast of Nicaragua in the province of Chinandega. The municipality was founded in 1863 and was named in honour of the Greek city of Corinth.- Economy :...
, Puerto Sandino
Puerto Sandino
Puerto Sandino is a coastal town in western Nicaragua. It is located at around .- U.S. Attacks :While supporting the Contras in the 1980s, U.S. forces attacked Puerto Sandino on September 13 and October 14, 1983. On March 28 and March 30, 1984 U.S. forces attacked patrol boats at Puerto Sandino....
, and the Nicaraguan capital of Managua
Managua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
.
Rama Cay Creole
Rama Cay Creole
Rama Cay Creole is a Creole language spoken by some 8-900 people on the island of Rama Cay in eastern Nicaragua. It is based on Miskito Coast Creole with additional elements of the Chibchan language Rama and purportedly some elements of English spoken with a German accent...
is a variety of the language spoken by the Rama people
Rama (people)
The Rama are an indigenous people of Nicaragua. The 900 ethnic Rama live within a thirty mile radius of the Rama Cay island on the Caribbean coastline.The Rama are hunters, fishers and agriculturalists growing mainly bananas and white cacao beans....
on Rama Cay
Rama Cay
Rama Cay is an island in the Bluefields Lagoon on the eastern coast of Nicaragua. During the 17th or 18th century, the more powerful Miskito awarded the island to the Rama people in recognition of their assistance in fighting off the Terraba Indians....
, an island in the Bluefields Lagoon.
| Location | Number of speakers |
|---|---|
| Bluefields Bluefields Bluefields is the capital of the municipality of the same name, and of Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur in Nicaragua. It was also capital of the former Zelaya Department, which was divided into North and South Atlantic Autonomous Regions... |
11,258 |
| Corn Islands Corn Islands The Corn Islands are two islands about east off the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, constituting one of 12 municipalities of the Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur department... |
3,030 |
| Pearl Lagoon | 1,285 |
| Puerto Cabezas Puerto Cabezas Puerto Cabezas is a municipality in, and capital of, the North Atlantic Coast department of Nicaragua.... |
1,733 |
| Other locations | 8,417 |
| Total | 25,723 |
History
African slaves were shipwrecked on the Mosquito Coast as early as 1640 and interaction between them and the local MiskitoMiskito
The Miskitos are a Native American ethnic group in Central America. A substantial number of them are mixed race, especially those in the northern end of their territory, where an African-Indigenous mixture was predominant. Their territory extends from Cape Camarón, Honduras, to Rio Grande,...
population commenced. Larger numbers of Africans from Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
enslaved by British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
owners were settled in the area during the 18th century which led to the development of Miskito Coastal Creole. The Coast was officially under British protection
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
from 1740 to 1787 according to the Treaty of Friendship and Alliance
Treaty of Friendship and Alliance
The Treaty of Friendship and Alliance was signed on March 16, 1740 between King Edward I of the Miskito Nation and the British. Based on the terms of the treaty, King Edward relinquished his kingdom to King George II in return for British military protection. Moreover, the accord dictated that King...
with the Miskito Kingdom and remained under British influence until the late 19th century. In the mid-19th century, more English- or Creole-speaking laborers, primarily from Jamaica, were brought to the Coast as labourers.
However, following the 1894 formal annexation of the Miskito Kingdom by Nicaragua, an increasing number of Spanish speakers migrated to the area. The 1987 Constitution of Nicaragua
Constitution of Nicaragua
The Constitution of Nicaragua was reformed due to a negotiation of the executive and legislative branches in 1995. The reform of the 1987 Sandinista Constitution gave extensive new powers and independence to the National Assembly, including permitting the Assembly to override a presidential veto...
granted autonomy to the Zelaya Department as two autonomous regions
Departments of Nicaragua
Nicaragua is a unitary republic, and for administrative purposes, it is divided into 15 departments and two self-governing regions based on the Spanish model:-Zelaya Department:...
of the North
Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte
Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte , sometimes shortened to RAAN, is one of two autonomous regions in Nicaragua. It covers an area of 32,159 km² and has a population of 249,700 . It is the largest autonomous region or department in Nicaragua...
and South Atlantic Coast
Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur
Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur , sometimes shortened to RAAS, is one of two autonomous regions in Nicaragua. It covers an area of 27,407 km² and has a population of 382,100...
s. Autonomous status has allowed for the promotion and development of the languages of the Caribbean Coast and, , there was education in English and Spanish, as well as education in Indigenous languages.