Surinamese Dutch
In today's world, Surinamese Dutch has become a topic of great relevance and interest to people of all ages and backgrounds. Whether due to its impact on society, its historical relevance or its influence on different aspects of daily life, Surinamese Dutch has captured the attention of many and has become a topic of study, debate and reflection. In this article, we will explore different aspects related to Surinamese Dutch, from its origin and evolution to its influence today. We will analyze its impact in various areas, as well as the future perspectives it generates. Without a doubt, Surinamese Dutch is a topic that does not leave anyone indifferent and that deserves to be analyzed from different perspectives to understand its true scope in today's society.
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (April 2015) |
| Surinamese Dutch | |
|---|---|
| Surinaams | |
| Surinaams-Nederlands | |
 Butcher signs in a Paramaribo market | |
| Pronunciation | |
| Native to | Suriname |
Early forms | |
| Dutch alphabet | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Suriname |
| Regulated by | Dutch Language Union |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| IETF | nl-SR |
| Coordinates: 4°N 56°W / 4°N 56°W | |
| This article is a part of a series on |
| Dutch |
|---|
| Low Saxon dialects |
| West Low Franconian dialects |
| East Low Franconian dialects |
Surinamese Dutch (Surinaams-Nederlands, pronounced [ˌsyːriˈnaːms ˈneːdərlɑnts]), also known as Surinaams is the form of Dutch spoken in Suriname and is the official language in Suriname, a former Dutch colony. Dutch is spoken as a native language by about 80% of the population, most of them being bilingual with Sranan Tongo, Hindustani, Javanese, and other languages. Nevertheless, Dutch is the country's sole official language. Surinamese Dutch is easily intelligible with other forms of Dutch. Furthermore, as opposed to other languages that have different forms in the Americas (e.g., American English vs. British English) the regulation and thus standardised spelling of the Dutch language is done through a joint Dutch–Belgian–Surinamese organization, the Dutch Language Union, and thus has no regional differences regarding spelling. Suriname has been an associate member of this Nederlandse Taalunie since 2004. Therefore, many typical Surinamese words were added to the official Wordlist of Standard Dutch, known as "the Green Booklet" (Groene Boekje).
Surinamese Dutch is generally easily distinguishable from other standardized forms of Dutch due to the accent and some loanwords adopted from other languages spoken in Suriname.
Phonology
In Surinamese Dutch, the voiced fricatives /v, z, ɣ/ have completely merged into the voiceless fricatives /f, s, x/.
History
Dutch was introduced in what is now Suriname when Paramaribo and its environs became a Dutch colony. The remainder of Suriname, however, remained in British hands. Only after the Dutch had lost New Netherland (now New York) to the British did they in exchange receive the rest of Suriname. Then, Dutch became the language of communication between Native Surinamese, African slaves, and the Dutch colonial administration. In 1876, the language also became official in the Surinamese education system, and new immigrants from British India and the Dutch East Indies also picked up the language. The immigrants also added features to spoken Dutch that are not present in the original European variants of Dutch.
References
- ^ a b "Suriname - The World Factbook". CIA.gov. CIA. 2023-11-14. Archived from the original on 2023-11-16. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
- ^
"Taalunie". Taalunie.org (in Dutch). Taalunie. Archived from the original on 2023-10-21. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
De Taalunie ontwikkelt en stimuleert beleid voor het Nederlands in Nederland, Vlaanderen en Suriname, en ondersteunt het Nederlands in de wereld.
- ^
"Suriname - Taalunie". Taalunie.org (in Dutch). Taalunie. Archived from the original on 2023-04-17. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
Sinds 2004 is Suriname geassocieerd lid van de Taalunie.
- ^ De Schutter (2013), pp. 448, 451.
- ^ "Suriname country profile - BBC News". BBC.com. BBC News. 2023-11-13. Archived from the original on 2023-11-13. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
- ^ Diepeveen, Janneke; Hüning, Matthias (2016). "The status of Dutch in post-colonial Suriname" (PDF). neon.niederlandistik.fu-berlin.de. Freien Universität Berlin. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-02-21. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
Sources
- De Schutter, Georges (2013) , "14 Dutch", in van der Auwera, Johan; König, Ekkehard (eds.), The Germanic Languages, Routledge, pp. 439–477, ISBN 978-0-415-05768-4
