Gudnis... taim oanli ku goh lang faas faas! Ah mi-di taak wid wahn fren di ada day bowt how da now nain (9) yaaz sins di grayt GEORGE GABB ded. Imajin … da don nain yaaz! Wi mi-di taak bowt di Septemba selibrayshan weh di kohn op dis mont, ahn da soh George Gabb nayhn kohn op, sayka hihn da-mi kolcha man fu chroo fu chroo! Eena di lee buklet “You Can Read and Write Kriol,” pahn payj 26, wi kwoat George Gabb di seh “Yu kyaahn ga sehreh widowtn kuknat, ahn yu kyaahn ga kolcha widowtn langwij.” Pahn da sayhn payj, wi aalso ga wahn shaat pees George Gabb mi du fu dis sayhn Kriol nyoozpaypa aatikl—da mi way way bak eena The Reporter, Disemba 8, 1996... yes! Dat da tweni (20) yaaz abak! Tudeh, wi di shyaa wahn lee pees a dis agen:
“Yu noa,” seh George Gabb. “Dis Kriol da wahn powaful ting. Ih gi yu soh moch freedom fu seh weh reeli deh eena yu haat.”
Ah kuda neva seh ahn beta miself. Weh George Gabb mi-di seh da dis: Kaal ahn weh yu waahn, bot Bileez Kriol da di chroo chroo way Kriol pipl geh kraas dehn inamoas feelin ahn ting.
Shoar, wi wahn laan di Spanish ahn maasta di Inglish. Bot di langwij a wi haat da Bileez Kriol. Jos tink, honjrid yaaz fahn now, yu grayt-grayt granpikni kuda reed bowt yu, if yu tek taim fi rait yu stoari pahn paypa eena yu oan langwij!
Sins 1996 wen dat mi rait, Bileez Kriol now ga dikshineri (weh mi kohn owt eena 2007) ahn Baibl (Nyoo Testiment weh mi kohn owt eena 2013) ahn moa buk ahn ting. Bot bak eena 1996, sohn pipl stil mi-di seh Kriol da noh wahn langwij. Bot noh di layt grayt George Gabb! Dat grayt Bileezhan man mi aalwayz doz seh: Kriol da wahn langwij. Dis da jos laik how di grayt grayt Leela Vernon doz aalwayz seh: Kriol ga kolcha! Laik shee seh eena ih faymos sang: “Ah waahn noa hoo seh Kriol noh ga no kolcha!”
Silvaana Udz, Ed.D. da fahn Bileez. If yu waahn tel shee bowt sohnting speshal fu put eena dis Kriol aatikl, eemayl: [email protected] or Vizit: www.nationalkriolcouncil.org