Berbice Creole Dutch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Berbice Creole Dutch is a highly endangered creole language spoken on the coast of Guyana. After the conquest of English Guyana by the Dutch in 1664, and the subsequent peace treaty in which the English handed it over in exchange for New Amsterdam, the coastal areas came under Dutch cultural influence. However, this influence was rather slight, and did not reach much further than the town of Berbice. When the colony was reconquered by the British in Napoleonic times, and split up into Dutch and British parts after the Vienna Congress, the Berbice slaves kept speaking it among themselves, until the language came in decay in the 20th century. As of 1993 there were some 4 or 5 elderly speakers of the language, although other sources report tens of speakers.
Berbice Creole Dutch is, as are Negerhollands (extinct) and Skepi Dutch Creole (with a similar preservation status as Berbice Dutch), not based on Hollandic Dutch (the dialect that is closest to Standard Dutch) but on Zealandic.
