Sranan (Taki Taki)

arpee
Posts:375
Joined:2007-08-12, 6:12
Real Name:arpee
Gender:male
Location:US
Country:USUnited States (United States)
Sranan (Taki Taki)

Postby arpee » 2011-07-18, 10:51

in Suriname, Dutch is the official language taught in schools but Sranan is the language used in day to day life. What's amazing is that it only has 340 words, and yet they can say anything they want in day to day life. Does anyone know where I can find all 340 words? Most dictionaries carry compounds. I just want the basic 340 words.

User avatar
Reinder
Language Forum Moderator
Posts:3774
Joined:2011-03-22, 17:21
Gender:male
Country:MXMexico (México)

Re: Sranan (Taki Taki)

Postby Reinder » 2011-07-18, 11:29

The dictionary is here.
If other people are also interested I could teach you a few things about Sranantongo.
I hope you are happy with this, maybe I can add some more later.

Articles:
House - Oso
The house - A oso
A house - Wan oso
Houses - Den oso
Note: 'Wan' also means 'one'.
'Den' is the plural marker.


Basics - Fos'fosi sani
Good morning - Morgu
Tomorrow - Tamara
Thank you - Tangi
(It's) okay - A bun
See you - Mo syi

Personal pronouns:
I - Mi
You - Yu
He/she/it - A
We - Wi
You - Unu
They - Den

Verbs - Den wrokowortu
In Sranantongo there is no conjugation and verbs are also used as nouns, for instance:
To think - Denki
Thought - Denki
To rent - Yuru
Rent - Yuru

To put a verb in the present tense you add 'e' before the verb:
I work - Mi e wroko (m'e wroko)
Compare 'mi e wroko' to the English 'me is working'.

To put a verb in the past tense you add 'ben' before the verb:
You worked - Yu ben wroko
Compare 'yu ben wroko' to the English 'you been working'.

To put a verb in the future tense you add 'sa' or 'o' before the verb:
You shall work - Unu sa wroko

To put a verb in the conditional tense you add both 'ben' and 'sa' or 'o' before the verb:
They should work - Den ben o wroko (Den b'o wroko)

To put a verb in the imperative mood you add 'mu' before the verb:
He has to work - A mu wroko
Another possibility:
He must work - A musu wroko
Note: Musu = to must

Languages - Den tongo
Language - Tongo
Sranan - Sranantongo
English - Ingristongo
Spanish - Spanyorotongo
French - Franstongo
German - Doysritongo
Dutch - Bakratongo
Last edited by Reinder on 2011-07-18, 11:53, edited 2 times in total.
Image Image Image Image | Image | Image

arpee
Posts:375
Joined:2007-08-12, 6:12
Real Name:arpee
Gender:male
Location:US
Country:USUnited States (United States)

Re: Sranan (Taki Taki)

Postby arpee » 2011-07-18, 11:45

But that dictionary has compounds. I only want the 340 words and that's it - no compounds.

User avatar
Reinder
Language Forum Moderator
Posts:3774
Joined:2011-03-22, 17:21
Gender:male
Country:MXMexico (México)

Re: Sranan (Taki Taki)

Postby Reinder » 2011-07-18, 11:51

arpee wrote:But that dictionary has compounds. I only want the 340 words and that's it - no compounds.

I don't believe there are only 340 words, but there are lots of words in there, so you can pick them out yourself, you can't ask someone to list them all.
Image Image Image Image | Image | Image

księżycowy

Re: Sranan (Taki Taki)

Postby księżycowy » 2011-07-18, 12:48

Totally forgot about this language. Which is unforgivable considering my interest in Haitian Creole, Jamaican Patois, and Papiamentu (going Caribbean for some odd reason, huh?). Thanks for the link Reinder!

And even more so for the grammar notes! :D

User avatar
Reinder
Language Forum Moderator
Posts:3774
Joined:2011-03-22, 17:21
Gender:male
Country:MXMexico (México)

Re: Sranan (Taki Taki)

Postby Reinder » 2011-07-18, 12:51

księżycowy wrote:And even more so for the grammar notes! :D

Hehe, no problem, I enjoyed making them. =)
Image Image Image Image | Image | Image

arpee
Posts:375
Joined:2007-08-12, 6:12
Real Name:arpee
Gender:male
Location:US
Country:USUnited States (United States)

Re: Sranan (Taki Taki)

Postby arpee » 2011-07-18, 13:01

So, I concluded that all of those websites lied. This language does NOT have only 340 words, it has way more:

Here is 357 (and this is not even close to all of the words):

a - he/she/it/his/hers/its
abi - have
aksi - ask
ala - all
arki - listen
ati - hart/hurt
ay - yes
ayti - eight
baka - back
bakra - european
bari - yell
bay - buy
bigi - big
boy - boy
brada - brother
buku - book
bun - good/well
dagu - dog
dape - there
dati - that
datra - doctor
de - from/be (place)
den - they
dey - day
disi - this
doro - door
drape - there
dri - three
dyari - garden
dyaso - here
dyompo - jump
ede - head
ef - if
esde - yesterday
esi - soon
ete - yet
fa - how
fara - far
fasi - touch
faya - fire
feni - find
fesi - in front/face
feyfi - five
fo - four
fosi - first
foto - city
(fu)furu - steal
gado - god
gi - for/give
go - will (verb)
gowtu - gold
gran - gram
gridi - greedy
ingi - indian
ini - in
masra - mister
k(a)ba - stop/already
kan - can (verb)
kari - call
kerki - church
kisi - get
komopo - come (from)
kon - come
kondre - country
koti - cut
koyri - go for a walk
krin - clean
krosi - clothes
langa - long
lasi - lose
libi - live/life
lobi - love/like
ma - but
makandra - each other
man - can (verb)
mati - friend
mi - I/my
misi - miss/mrs.
mofo - mouth
moni - money
moro - more
mun - month
munde - monday
musu - have to
na - be/at
nai - sew
naki - hit
nanai - needle
nanasi - pineapple
nanga - and, with, together with
nangra - fingernail or toenail, claw
napi - a kind of edible tuber, cushcush
nati - get wet, make wet
ne - then, indicates that something happened at the same time
nefi - knife
nefo - nephew, cousin
neti - night
neygi - nine
neki - neck, throat
neleki - just like
nen - name
nene - grandmother, old woman, nanny
nengre - negro, person of African descent, Creole, man, Sranan Tongo
nesi - nest
neti - night, nighttime
niri - kidney
no - no, question particle
nofo - enough
noiti - never
noko - highest point of a building, ridge of a roof
nomo - only, however, but, then
nomru - number
noso - nose
noti - nothing
nyun - new
o - future tense marker, exclamation of surprise
obe - refers to the both of the obe palm and its fruit
obia - medicine of a magical nature
odi - good day
odo - proverb, saying
ofisiri - officer
ofrandi - sacrifice, offering
ogri - naughty
okasi - opportunity, chance
okro - okra
olanga - how long
olati - what time
oleif - a kind of fruit, Indian jujube
oli - cooking oil, salad oil
olo - hole
oloisi - watch, clock
olometi - a game where the players try to knock marbles with a lead disk
oma - grandmother
omeni - how much
omu - uncle, chinese storekeeper
ondro - under
ondrow - maintenance, maintain, perform maintenance activities
onfu - oven
ongoloku - accident, adversity, bad luck, unlucky
oni - honey, honey bee, stingless bee
onti - hunt, hunting trip
oostsei - east
opa - grandfather
(o)pe - where
Opete - one of the kromanti gods, said to manifest itself in a vultureform
opo - open, unlock, unlocked, clear up
opolangi - airplane
opo-opo: party, fanfare, a big to do, bustle
opruru - disturbance, riot, tumult, commotion, racket, clamor, noise, rowdy
orga - arrange, organize, organization
ori - hold, hold on to, grab, catch
oso - house/home
oten - when
oto - car
owktu - too, also, as well
owru - old, age, become old, machete, cutlass
patu - pot
pe - where
peipi - pipe, tube
peiri - arrow
pemba - white clay, kaolin
pen - pen, pain, stall, stable, clothespin
peni - spotted, speckled
pepe - godparent
pepre - pepper
perki - pill, tablet
peti - well, spring
pi - quiet
piai - an Amerindian medicine man
piki - answer, reply, pick up, choose
pikin - child/small
pikolet - lesser seed-finch
pina - suffer, be scarce, poor, run down (ex. I live in a run down house), pin, pina palm
pinda - peanut, groundnut
pingi - pinch, tweak, white-lipped peccary
pipa - pipe (for smoking), pistol, gasp for air, doze
pipi - penis
piren - piranha
piri - peel, open wide, spread out, flake, peel, go bald
pisi - piece, part, urine, urinate
pipel - people
planga - plan, board, hundred guilder bill
plata - flaw, low, thin, flatten, level out
plei - toilet, outhouse
plekti - responsibility, obligation, duty
plen - ringing sound (of bell, cymbal, or potlid)
plenplen - (a sort of) deep-fried wafer made by the Javanese
ploi - put a crease, fold, or pleat in cloth
podosiri - fruit of the pina palm, a beverage made of podosiri
poisi - pimple, pustule, blackhead
poko - balance
poku - music
pomerak - Malay apple, pomerak
pompu - pump
pomusteri - ambarella, golden apple, Polynesian plum
pon - casserole made from grated pontaya
pondo - barge, ferry (boat)
ponpon -created oropendola (a kind of bird), green oropendola
pontaya - a kind of cultivated tuber
pontu - weight of 500 grams, pound, weight
popki - doll, statue
pori - spoil, rot, separate, divorce
postu - post, beam
poti - set, put, lay, poor
Potogisi - a descendant of Portugese Jews who came to Suriname, Portugese
pototo - thing, stuff
powa - biceps
powema - poem
powisi - black curassow
prakiki - any of a variety of parakeets
prakseri - think, ponder, thoguht, plan, intention
pramisi - promise
pranasi - Land where plantations stood
prani - plant
pranpran - fanfare, pomp, show, decoration, ornamentation
pransum - sprout, young plant
prapi - large clay bowl made by the Amerindians
prasara - pole cut from the trunk of a prasarabon
prasaradia - large red brocket
prasi - yard, lot
prasi - mullet, any of various species of muillets
prasoro - umbrella, parasol
prati - divide, separate
prefu - instead of
prefuru - dare
prei - pray, bewitch, put a spell on, trick (fool someone)
preiki - preach, sermon
pren - open public area, a square
prenki - picture, photo
prenspari - important
presenti - gift, present
preti - plate
prijs - prize
prijse - praise
primisi - permission, approval, authorization
printa - central vein of the leaf of a coconut palm
prisiri - be happy, have fun, celebrate, pleasure
pristeri - offer
priti - tear, tear off, rip, torn, rip, tear, crack, split
proberi - try, experiment
problema - problem
prodo - show off, pomp
profeiti - prophet
profen - spirit of a dead person who had not ben baptized in a Christian church
profosu - guiana white dolphin
pruberi - try, experiment
psa - ago, happen, pass, pass by
pu - bottle gourd, calabash gourd
puiri - powder, cocaine, pulverize
puru - remove, take away
puspusi - cat
pusu - push
redi - red
sabi - know
safri - soft
san - what
sani - thing
satra - saturday
sei - side
seri - sell
seybi - seven
si - see
siki - be ill
siksi - six
sisa - sister
skowtu - police
skribi - write
sma - people
sneysi - chinese
sonde - sunday
sroto - lock
srudati - soldier
sturu - chair
su - shoe
suma - who
tabaka - tobacco
tabiki - small island in a river
tafra - table
tai - tie, tighten, secure, tough, hard to chew
tamara - tomorrow
tan - stay.
tangi - thanks, thankfulness
tap - at
taigi - tell
tak(i) - talk, say, speak
takru - bad, evil, mean
tamalen - tamarind
tan - stay, remain, live, reside, dwell, keep on, continue to
tanti - aunt
tapu - close, lock, shut, delay, hold up, prevent
tapu - on, above, on top of
tapun - cover, lid
tara - tar
tata - father, ancestor
taya - edible tubers and large leaves such as tanya, yautia, and malanga
te - when, tea
tego - eternal, everlasting
teki - take
telo - fried cassave
temre - construct out of wood, gammer, pound (on something)
ten - time
tenti - temporary of poles and a tin/plastic roof, suffix of two digit numbers with zero (EX.20)
tide - today
tifi - teeth
tin - ten
tongo - language
tori - story
tra - other
tron - become, repetition, time(s)
trow - marry
tu - two
tumsi - too much
tyari - carry
udu - wood, lumber
uku - corner, angle, fishing pole or rod with line, to fish with fishing pole
uma - woman
un - your (plural)
unu - you (plural)
upru - hoop
urei - hooray
wadya - blow away
wagi - wagon, cart, car automobile, vehicle
wai - blow, wave, go away
waka - walk
wakti - wait, await
wan - one/a
wana - deterna, red louro
wani - want
waran - warm
warana - olive ridley
warskow - warn, warning
warti - value, worth, worthy
was - wash, bathe
watra - water
watramun - watermelon
wawan - alone, only
we - (sentence introducer or attention getter; well), hey!
wefi - wife, spouse
wega - contest, game
wegi - scales, weight, weigh
wei - pasture, field
weisi - waste
wegri - refuse
wenkri - shop
weri - wear
westsei - west
wet - law
weti - white, blank
wi - we/our
wiki - week
wroko - work
yari - year
yepi - help
yere - hear
yu - you (singular)/your (singular)
yuru - hour
zuidsei - south

User avatar
Reinder
Language Forum Moderator
Posts:3774
Joined:2011-03-22, 17:21
Gender:male
Country:MXMexico (México)

Re: Sranan (Taki Taki)

Postby Reinder » 2011-07-18, 13:10

arpee wrote:So, I concluded that all of those websites lied. This language does NOT have only 340 words, it has way more.

Yes, that's not even close, look at those few words with the letter -a-.
It's not as easy as you thought it to be, haha.
Image Image Image Image | Image | Image

User avatar
Meneghis
Posts:88
Joined:2011-01-10, 20:40
Gender:male
Country:DEGermany (Deutschland)

Re: Sranan (Taki Taki)

Postby Meneghis » 2013-07-23, 19:52

I recently got into Sranan Tongo, so here are some resources I found on the Web:
http://www.livelingua.com/peace-corps/Sranan/ (a nice Peace Corps handbook, with audio);
http://www.memrise.com/course/117510/ba ... nan-tongo/ (a Memrise course, with 144 essential words -numbers 1-100, adjectives, nouns and pronouns-);
http://srn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fesipapira (the Sranan Tongo edition of Wikipedia);
http://www2.uni-siegen.de/~engspra/Pape ... n-plag.pdf (an interesting scholarly paper about early Sranan word formation).
Corrections are welcome

vijayjohn
Language Forum Moderator
Posts:27056
Joined:2013-01-10, 8:49
Real Name:Vijay John
Gender:male
Location:Austin, Texas, USA
Country:USUnited States (United States)
Contact:

Re: Sranan (Taki Taki)

Postby vijayjohn » 2014-03-02, 8:28

Sranan Tongo and the other creoles of Suriname are English-based. (I'm pretty sure that "Sranan" comes from the English pronunciation of 'Suriname' and that "tongo" ([ˈtoŋo], I think) comes from 'tongue'). When the Dutch colonized Suriname, they forbade their slaves from learning Dutch and communicated with them only in Sranan Tongo. This left Suriname in quite an awkward situation when it finally gained independence. A decision had to be made regarding the official language of Suriname. Would it be the language of the colonizers, which the Surinamese were forbidden to learn as slaves? Or would it be the language that most Surinamese already spoke (and that was unique to Suriname), which was also the language that they or their ancestors spoke as slaves?

Because the official language of Suriname is Dutch and not English, Sranan Tongo does not exist in a continuum involving English, though various other English-based creoles do. Thus, as I understand it, it is much less likely to be mistaken for bad English.

vijayjohn
Language Forum Moderator
Posts:27056
Joined:2013-01-10, 8:49
Real Name:Vijay John
Gender:male
Location:Austin, Texas, USA
Country:USUnited States (United States)
Contact:

Re: Sranan (Taki Taki)

Postby vijayjohn » 2014-08-15, 17:40

was - wash, bathe

For some reason, in my notes (from a class on pidgins, creoles, and language contact in general), I have the word for 'wash' written down as ˈwasi. Also, apparently, the word for 'wasp' in Sranan Tongo is wasiˈwasi, so reduplication is used in order to avoid confusion between 'wash' and 'wasp'. There is a similar phenomenon I noted just now on the Krio thread.

Bakra is also a vocabulary item found in many English-based creoles (including Krio) for 'white person' (or 'European' or whatever).

Lusumbe
Posts:3
Joined:2017-11-19, 13:49
Real Name:Melvin Saleem
Gender:male

Re: Sranan (Taki Taki)

Postby Lusumbe » 2017-11-19, 13:57

This forum is still active for learning Sranantongo?

vijayjohn
Language Forum Moderator
Posts:27056
Joined:2013-01-10, 8:49
Real Name:Vijay John
Gender:male
Location:Austin, Texas, USA
Country:USUnited States (United States)
Contact:

Re: Sranan (Taki Taki)

Postby vijayjohn » 2018-02-02, 19:02

I'm afraid not; usually, I'm the only person who posts here, and I'm not currently learning Sranan Tongo. :( Sorry!

I do hope to learn some someday, though.

Hopkins
Posts:1
Joined:2018-04-14, 21:08
Gender:male

Re: Sranan (Taki Taki)

Postby Hopkins » 2018-11-06, 13:35

I would like to help you to learn it.

Lusumbe
Posts:3
Joined:2017-11-19, 13:49
Real Name:Melvin Saleem
Gender:male

Re: Sranan (Taki Taki)

Postby Lusumbe » 2019-01-21, 11:03

Help me to learn Sranan Tongo? Ok, let’s start here with some basics. I know fa waka and fa yu tan. How about how to say I am African. My name is djalo and I am going or I went to the store to buy bananas, rice and meat.

Lusumbe
Posts:3
Joined:2017-11-19, 13:49
Real Name:Melvin Saleem
Gender:male

Re: Sranan (Taki Taki)

Postby Lusumbe » 2019-01-31, 20:35

Mi na nengre. Mi nen djalo. Mi e go bai bakba Aleisi nanga meti na wowoyo.


Return to “Creoles and Pidgins”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests