Chapter 1 Krio, the lingua franca of Sierra Leone

1.1 Need for a text on the linguistic properties of Krio

The study of pidgin and creole languages is one of the fastest-growing disciplines in linguistics and this text fills an important gap in creolistic studies. It provides information on the linguistic properties of Krio from historical, lexical, morphophonological, morphosyntactic, and sociolinguistic perspectives. Current publications on Krio provide anecdotal information but little or no systematic analysis of the evolution of the linguistic properties of the language.

This book provides a comprehensive description and analysis of the linguistic components of Krio and discusses the effects of language contact on its development, evolution, and usage from diachronic and synchronic perspectives. Proposed features emerging from contact with different languages (and their dialects) contributing to the early linguistic features of Krio are identified and discussed within the context of the historical, social, and linguistic settings in which contact languages emerge. Discussions include comparative analysis of features of Krio and other Atlantic pidgins and creoles as well as contributions of multiple languages (including varieties of lexifier English and West African substrate languages) to the expansion and elaboration of key Krio linguistic properties.

The text discusses the critical role that Krio has played in contributing to our understanding of creole genesis, particularly in relation to the emergence and distribution of English-lexified creoles that trace their origins to the West African coast. It additionally allows for comparative work with other Atlantic-based English-lexified creoles, particularly in areas such as the lexicon, morphophonology, and morphosyntax. The text should be of interest to students, scholars, and practitioners interested in learning about the linguistic properties of Krio and how they relate to similar linguistic properties observed in West African substrate languages and other pidgin and creole languages across West Africa and globally.

1.2 Demographic and sociolinguistic information on Krio and its speakers

1.2.1 Krio, the lingua franca of Sierra Leone

Krio is an English-lexified creole that is used as a lingua franca in Sierra Leone, but it is the native language of a small percentage, estimated at between 2% (Fyle 1994) and 10% (Oyetade and Fashole Luke 2008) of the population living primarily in the Western Area Peninsula (including Freetown and surrounding villages). As lingua franca, Krio is the default language of communication in Sierra Leone, particularly in the major cities including Freetown, Bo, Makeni, Port Loko, and Koidu (see Figure 1). Regardless of the multiple primary languages used in Sierra Leone, many residents are proficient enough in Krio and can use it to conduct meaningful conversation in various domains of communication. Nevertheless, it is almost impossible to estimate the percentage of Krio speakers (native and non-native combined). The Africa Review World of Information (Dow Jones and Reuters, 2005: Africa Review World of Information) estimated that 95% of the Sierra Leone population understood Krio.

1.2.2 Origin of the name "Krio"

One suggestion regarding the origin of the name "Krio" is that it was derived from the Yoruba term a kiriyo or kirio 'to walk about and be satisfied' and was used in reference to the settlers in Freetown who had a habit of paying relatives a visit on their way home from a church service, a practice that is still common among the Krios of Freetown (Fyle and Jones 1980). Wyse (1989) adds that this term was used in reference not only to the tradition of Krios visiting each other after a church service but also to the fact that Krio children loved being out of the house much of the time. Another suggestion regarding the origin of the name is that it was simply a modification or variation of the term "creole".

1.2.3 The linguistic landscape of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is divided into 5 major regions - The Northwest, Northern, Eastern, and Southern Provinces, and the Western Area. The estimated number of languages or ethnic groups in Sierra Leone varies from one report to another. According to www.ethnologue.com, there are nineteen living languages spoken in Sierra Leone. There is a general consensus that speakers of two languages - Mende and Temne - comprise of about 60% (roughly 30% each) of the population of Sierra Leone (Dow Jones & Reuters, 2005: Africa Review World of Information). The Mendes reside primarily in the Southern and Eastern Provinces (where Mende serves as a regional lingua franca), and the Temnes reside primarily in the Northwest and Northern Provinces (where Temne serves as the regional lingua franca). The Krios reside almost exclusively in the Western Area (comprising Freetown and surrounding villages). See Figure 1:

Figure 1: Map of the geographical regions of Sierra Leone.

The linguistic properties of Krio have evolved over time with influence from West African languages (currently used outside of and within Sierra Leone) as well as from standard and nonstandard varieties of English and other European languages introduced to the West African coast by European (including British) traders and explorers. The grammar of Krio has been influenced more recently by input from non-native speaking Krio residents of the provinces who migrated to the Western Area. This mass migration was triggered by the decade-old civil war (March 1991 to January 2002, when the war was officially declared to be over) which devastated the economy of the provinces (Northwest, Northern, Eastern, Southern) and destabilized its population. The war, which raged in the provinces for several years during its early stages, displaced several residents who fled the onslaught and destruction of the "rebel" war. Many residents sought refuge in the Western Area and made the Western Area their permanent home after the war officially ended because of perceived better economic prospects, much to the disappointment of native Krio-speaking residents of the Western Area. Fyle (1994) estimated the Freetown population to be about half a million in the early 1990s. Africa Review World of Information (Dow Jones & Reuters, 2005) estimated the population of Freetown to have doubled in 2004 to 1.1 million. The Freetown population is believed to be significantly higher now because of continued migration from the provinces.

The influx of migrants from the provinces to the Western Area resulted in a surge in the number of non-native users of Krio residing in the Western Area with Krio becoming the primary medium of communication as a non-native lingua franca for an indeterminate but a large segment of the Western Area population. The extensive use of Krio in the Western Area by a diverse group of speakers resulted in the emergence and coexistence of multiple forms and expressions in the language. The newly arrived residents exhibited varying levels of competency in Krio, and some contemporary variations (mostly lexical and syntactic, and phonology to a limited extent) now evident in the linguistic properties of Krio have been attributed to the widespread use of Krio by migrants from the provinces. Features of the native languages (primarily Temne and, to some extent, Mende) of the new migrants were incorporated into their use of Krio through transfer of linguistic properties of their native languages in their use of Krio. Some of the mainstream Krio-speaking populace (usually younger generation of speakers) have accepted change as inevitable and have incorporated the new features into their communication in Krio. Others (mostly older generation speakers) have resisted integrating these features into their speech or even acknowledging them as "authentic" features of Krio in attempts to maintain the "purity" of the language.

1.3 Krio in broadcast and print media

The national news has been read in Krio, along with other indigenous languages (Mende, Temne, Limba), since the late sixties. A prevailing problem then was that broadcast news read in Krio (and other local languages) were live translations from English scripts, which made it challenging sometimes for newscasters to use appropriate translated lexical items or expressions in the local languages (De-Souza George 1992). De-Souza George observed that a newscaster consistently used a Krio phonological variation of the English lexical item "particular" (patikla) rather than the more appropriate Krio expression: n? l?k we ('not like it usually is'). Another Krio newscaster used the English word "delegate" verbatim. De-Souza George welcomed the decision by the then Director General of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service to institute a Language Advisory Committee mandated with exploring and recommending standard orthographies that could be used to prepare the news in the various indigenous languages prior to it being broadcast. This would enable newscasters to use...