South Tussenland Creole

South Tussenland Creole
Afia Beatriks de Waal (1847–1911), the founder of the first purpose-built Kriöl academy at Nieuw-Beverwÿck in 1889.
Language family	Dutch-based creole languages South Tussenland Creole
Official status
Official language in	South Tussenland
Recognised minority language in	Salvatia

South Tussenland Creole (Tâl Saudasenda; Amerikaens: Suydt-Tussenlandts kriöl), commonly known as Kriöl or Sakoro, is a Dutch-based creole language spoken natively by 60–80% of South Tussenland's population. It emerged as a distinct language c. 1700 among African slaves of the Lower Mississippi region. The formation of a sovereign South Tussenland in 1855 brought about the literarization of the language; its 'golden age' is often considered to span roughly 1850 to 1920.

The early 20th century saw many speakers decreolize their speech in favor of the Taelkomisie-prescribed Juys Mondordt. Today, Sakoro functions as the lower register in a diglossic relationship with Amerikaens, mainly being used as a spoken vernacular and the liturgical language of Zoekerism. Since 1918, it has been recognized as a minority language in Salvatia, though only spoken by 3.2% of its population.

The lexical, grammatical, and syntactical elements of Sakoro exhibit influences from Dutch, Spanish, Akan, Kikongo, as well as indigenous American languages such as Hoema. This linguistic composition and its historical trajectory bear resemblance to other creole languages found in the Caribbean region, such as Berbice Dutch, Papiamento, and Saint-Dominguese.

Etymology

The word sakoro came to be used in reference to the language from the beginning of the 19th century. Three theories on the word's origin, none widely accepted, circulate among the general public and the scholarly class:

• Shakulo, a native Tsjatah word meaning 'bald cypress', a tree indigenous to South Tussenland.
• Sakōro, the Akan word for foe-foe, a pounded dough staple foodstuff found in various forms throughout west and central Africa.
• The Latin term sacculus ('small sack' or 'wine sack') via Spanish.

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar	Coronal–palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m	n
Plosive	vl.	p	t		k
	v.	b	d		g
Fricative		f	s	ʃ		h
Affricate				t͡ʃ
Liquid		w	l	j
Rhotic			r

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		u
Close-mid	e		o
Open-mid	ɛ
Open	ɑ