Daily Archives: 03/17/2014

Echoes of Berbice Dutch Creole – By Dmitri Allicock

Albertha Bell

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103 years old Albertha Bell, the Last Speaker of Berbice Dutch Creole, interviewed by Jamiekan Langwij Yuunit in 2004.

Echoes of Berbice Dutch Creole

By Dmitri Allicock

“Language reflects our thoughts and knowledge is lost when it becomes extinct”

Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America, but English has been the official language for much less than the 232 years when Dutch was the main medium of communication. The actual words spoken by most Guyanese is an English base creole that is very elastic to various regions and has slight historical influences from Dutch, West African, Arawakan, and to a lesser extent Indian Languages. Berbice Dutch Creole was a language developed by the slaves on the plantation of Berbice that survived the passage of time and only recently was considered officially extinct by international language database Ethnologue.  

Read more: Echoes of Berbice Dutch Creole..

Make your comments on the Dmitri Allicock Blog link above

Guyanese Online Newsletter: February – March 2014

Download: 43- Guyanese Online Newsletter – Feb-Mar 2014<click

Guyanese Online Newsletter: Feb – Mar 2014

Flag Raising Ceremony - Republic Day 2014

Flag Raising Ceremony – Republic Day 2014

This is the REPUBLIC DAY and MASHRAMANI Edition of the Guyanese Online Newsletter.

It is the 43rd edition of the Guyanese Online Newsletter.  It culminates 48 months of publishing on this Blog and its monthly Newsletters.  Our first Newsletter was published four years ago in March 2010. This will be the last newsletter in this series.

On February 16, 2013 this Blog achieved 1,000,000 views. Now,13 months later on March 15,2014 it has reached the 2,000,000 mark. Our thanks to everyone for making this a very popular blog.    Continue reading

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