Di laytis nyooz fahn
di Kriol Kongsl
The Latest News from the Kriol Council
(Last updated/Laas opdayt: Julai 1, 2008)
Reed wi
aatikl evri week eena di Reporter nyoozpaypa.
Ih nayhn “
The following is a brief guide to reading
some of the more unfamiliar symbols in the current Belize Kriol phonemic
system which is in its 11th year of testing; it was revised in
2002 to reflect the following main changes: ‘long a'
= 'ay' as in 'layt" (late) ‘tr’ = ‘chr’ as in ‘chrai’ (try) 'long
e' = 'ee' as in 'teech
(teach) ‘x’
= ‘ks’
as in ekschra (extra) 'long i' = 'ai' as in 'bwai' (boy) 'long
o' = ‘oa' as in 'hoam'
(home) 'long
u' = 'oo' as in 'myool'
(mule) Our Mailing
address is For more
on the Kriol spelling system, scroll down to Item #4 below. Note: the
spelling system used elsewhere in this website will soon be changed to reflect
the revised system herein indicated.
1.
Kriol-Inglish
DIKSHINERI don print agen!
Since the establishment of our country’s first school in 1816, many dynamic advances have occurred in education. On Wednesday, October 31, 2007, another exciting and timely development occurred that is in line with the 1990’s reform movement in education and the Ministry of Education’s 1996 Language Education Policy, which was solidified in the 2000 Handbook of Policies and Procedures. After more than a decade of designing, testing and revising, the Belize Kriol Project launched the Kriol-Inglish Dikshineri (Kriol-English dictionary). Moreover, the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the National Institute of Culture and History (NICH) printed the first run of 1,000 copies and we congratulate them for their continuing efforts to make education even more relevant and meaningful to all Belizean student and adult learners. It is with pleasure, therefore, that we launched the dictionary, 474 pages of Kriol words, their English translations and meanings, etymology where available, part of speech of the word, variants of the word, different senses of the word where they exist, and sample sentences in Kriol with English translations.
2.
Ges wat? Wi don di geh
redi fu di 2008 Kriol Festival !
The 2006 and 2005 and 2004 Kriol festivals were smashing
successes! The two hurricanes this year had us scrambling and cancelling the
2007 festival. However, the festival will be back in 2008. Again, we will have
the participation of several traditional Kriol villages in the Belize District
and featured music, dance, arts and crafts, food and drinks and books all
promoting Kriol culture. Special features at the Kriol Festival are always the
Maypole platting, games and exhibits for hundreds of
school children, plus the extensive Makoabi
Collection of the Sharon Pitts family which features museum-piece collections
that traditionally have been identified with Kriol culture. Luk
owt fi moa nyooz pahn dis!
National Kriol
Council
House of
Culture,
Belize City, Belize Tel: 203-5551
(or) 610-2560
3. Kriol Grama Buk laanch!
In January 2006, the Belize Kriol project launched the much-awaited Song of Kriol: a Grammar of the Belize Kriol Language which was written by ken Decker, SIL International (linguistics) volunteer. First of all, on behalf of the Kriol Project, and the National Kriol Council, we say a big big warm thanks to Ken, and to the sponsors of the first 100 editions (now almost gone!) – CARIFORUM – the Caribbean Cultural Support Fund. Maybe you saw the television coverage or heard the radio coverage – great news, which was tied in with the one-week Kriol music workshop (see next story)! You can buy copies or use samples on site at the National Kriol Council at our office on the grounds of the House of Culture on Regent Street.
4. Aypril 2008 Kriol Myoosik Werkshap fala op fahn di
“Gaad Put Wahn nyoo Sang Eena Mi Mowt.”
The
National Kriol Council held a free concert and book launch on April 12, 2008.
The concert showcased the results of a one-week music workshop held at “My
Father’s House” in Belize City. The ethno-music workshop was the second of its
kind held under the auspices of the Belize Kriol Project, a Council member,
which has been engaged in over a decade of writing the Kriol language and
producing books and other materials in it. Two years ago, the Council produced
original songs in Kriol, and the CD called “Gaad Put Wahn Nyoo Sang Eena Mi Mowt” was a result of
that workshop. This year’s production is for Kriol Krismos
songs based on the Scriptures. That workshop was hosted though SIL International’s
visiting ethnomusicologist, Jo_ann Richards of Jamaica. Some
seventeen participants were engaged in the 2008 April workshop, some with expertise in Belizean
traditional music forms. Members of the Garifuna
Choir have also joined the workshop to create Krismos
songs in Garifuna. The workshop was conducted by
visiting ethno-musicologist Aaron Appleton, who has done similar work in
Uganda, Rwanda, Guatemala and in the USA. Again, the belize Kriol Project gives much
thanks to SIL International for their support in having Aaron visit with us.
5. Buk a oal-taim
gaymz bai Myrna Manzanares!
Sharing
the limelight at the April 2008 concert was the launch of a delightful
collection of Kriol ring games compiled by Myrna Manzanares.
The games, such as “Brok Makachista”
and a dozen others from the villages and from “wi graama dayz,” are accompanied by
illustrative pictures and a CD. The words are in Kriol and English and the
title of the book is Traditional Games of Belize: Volume One. The publication of the Kriol games book was
made possible though UNICEF.
5.
Aal bowt Kriol Lichrasi!
The Kriol Project’s position on a mother language approach
to literacy as one of the options in teaching/learning methods is premised on
the fact that literacy is a skill, not a
language. We are researching and promoting educational initiatives that
place premium on improving whatever skills learners bring to a formal
teaching/learning situation. Specific kriolk@yahoo.com or silvana@btl.net. We believe that first teaching Kriol speakers
who can’t read and write HOW to read and write what they already speak is key in success in moving on these learners to the much
needed international languages of English and Spanish. English and Spanish,
then, should be introduced with second language methodology. While the
traditional education system is most hesitant about such a wide sweeping change
in approach for first-time readers (4+ years old), the feedback at this time is
that we ought to concentrate on piloting a full scale test in areas like Adult
literacy programs. MEMBA: Di Dikshineri deh
owt! Di Grama buk deh owt!
6. About the Creole spelling system/Di Kriol Spelin Sistem
Please note that this segment of the
website “Upcoming Events” uses both the English language and the Kriol spelling
system as revised since May 2002. All publications since then have been in the
more internally consistent phonemic system; that is, one in which each sound in
the language that makes a difference in meaning is represented by only one
symbol (for example, the English ‘long i’
sound which also occurs in Belize Kriol
(BK), is represented in the BK writing system by the symbol ‘ai’. This allows for the personal or regional
differences in the way people talk; the important thing is that everybody
understands it as the same word. Once the person learns the symbol for each
sound, he/she will more easily know how to spell any word in Kriol. The mini-glossary in this website is
currently being revised and updated into a dictionary ; although it uses the
Project’s first test orthography (1994-2002), it is still very useful and very
readable; in fact, in your literacy is in English, then the first test system,
which was not very internally consistent, will appear easier to read at first
glance. However, this revised system, now being tested since 2002, is more in
line with Kriol orthography development elsewhere in the region – in that it is
internally consistent. Whether or not it will further change, that is, to use
the same long vowel symbols being used elsewhere in the region (san Andres,
Nicaragua, Jamaica), depends on further testing and local acceptance and use.
To assist Belizean Kriol speakers in learning the orthography, the Project has
published “You Can Read and Write Kriol” which is a transitional primer. It
gives Kriol speakers who are already literate in English the basic rules to
read and write in the revised and user-friendlier Kriol writing system. The
brief guide to reading some of the more unfamiliar symbols in the current
Belize Kriol phonemic system is given at the top of this article.