Da Chroo! Kriol Eezi Fi Reed ahn Rait! Jos Chrai Bifoa Yu Seh No!

Laas week wi mi shyaa wahn lee lesn fahn di buklet “You Can Read and Write
Kriol.” Laik wi mi tel unu, di Kriol langwij divelopment memba dehn a di 
Nashanal Kriol Kongsl a Bileez mi put tugeda dis eena 2001. Dehn mi geh help
fahn Naomi Glock, Cindy ahn Paul Crosbie, ahn Ken ahn Sandy Decker. Dehn mi
kohn da Bileez fahn di SIL Lingwistiks Groop. Da-mi Dakta Colville Young (hoo da
now Sir Colville Young, wi Govna Jenral) hoo mi aks dehn fi kohn help owt wen
ihn da-mi prezident a UB, way bak eena 1989/1990. Tudeh, wi di shyaa
sohnting fahn dis buklet, weh hafu du wid di Kriol wod dehn weh en eena “h.”
 

**Kriol words do not end in a single e. Instead an h is added:

  seh  (say)              weh  (where)           geh  (get)

  deh  (there)           tideh (today) [Sohn Kriol pipl seh “tudeh.”]

“Weh” ku aalso yooz sohntaihn fi meen “away, which, that, what, because”: Chek owt
pp. 370-371 a di Kriol dikshineri: https://www.sil.org/resources/archives/10602
 

**Certain pronouns are written with an h at the end:

ih   (he, she, it) Ah  (I)     

**Note: the pronoun “Ah/Ai” is always capitalized. “Ai” da di schres way. 
[Sohn pipl rait wi aks wi wai wi kyapital “Ah/Ai” … no need fi put
kyapital pahn Ah/Ai” fu “I” jos sayka how Inglish du dat.  Eena sohn
angwij raitn sistim, “I” oanli geh kyapital wen ih staat wahn sentens.]
 

**A few other Kriol words also end in h such as:

      goh  (go)                     soh  (so; therefore)

    noh   negative marker as in “Ah noh waahn  dat.”

**Notes: The word no, meaning the opposite of yes, does not end in “h.”The
word know is spelled noa in Kriol, using the rule for “long o.



Silvaana Udz, Ed.D da fahn Bileez. If yu waahn tel shee bowt sohnting speshal fu put eena dis Kriol
aatikl, eemayl: [email protected]          Vizit: www.nationalkriolcouncil.org



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Kriol is the language spoken by many Belizeans, especially the Creole people of Belize. Although it is often perceived as a dialect of English, it is indeed it's own language with grammar and spelling rules. The National Kriol Council of Belize was created to promote the culture and language of the Kriol people of Belize, as well as harmony among all the ethnic groups of Belize. Please visit the website of the National Kriol Council of Belize for lots of good information about the Kriol language and the Creole people.


The Kriol Council has been kind enough to send us the weekly "Weh Wi Ga Fi Seh" column that is usually published in the Reporter.


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