Bemé: Difference between revisions

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{{infobox language

| name = Bemé

| nativename = bemeh, bemetak, kriyal

| nativename = bemeh / bemetak / kriyal

| altname = Poccasin Creole, Poccasin Pidgin, Poccasinese

| altname = Poccasin Creole / Poccasin Pidgin / Poccasinese

| image = File:Poccasin.svg

| imagesize = 250px

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The name ''Bemé'' is derived from the [[Kabao]] phrase ''beme po kasin'', literally meaning "nation of the red mountain", it is also the origin of the English [[w:Exonym|exonym]] ''Poccasin'' and ''Poccasinese''.

===''Beme'' vs ''Bemé''===

The words ''Beme'' and ''Bemé'', both derived from Kabao ''beme'', mean two distinct things in English. ''Beme'', (/[[IPA for Bemé|ˈbɛmeɪ̯]]/ or /[[IPA for Bemé|ˈbɛmiː]]/, ''BEH-may'' or ''BEH-mee'') without the accent, is the widely used [[w:Endonym|endonym]] of citizens of the Poccasin Federation; in the Poccasins specifically, ''bemeh'' in this context is mostly used to refer to the Poccasin federative government, akin to referring to the British government as simply "Westminster".

The words ''Beme'' and ''Bemé'', both derived from Kabao ''beme'', genitive of ''bema'' "nation", mean two distinct things in English. ''Beme'', (/[[IPA for Bemé|ˈbɛmeɪ̯]]/ or /[[IPA for Bemé|ˈbɛmiː]]/, ''BEH-may'' or ''BEH-mee'') without the accent, is the widely used [[w:Endonym|endonym]] of citizens of the Poccasin Federation; in the Poccasins specifically, ''bemeh'' in this context is mostly used to refer to the Poccasin federative government, akin to referring to the British government as simply "Westminster".

In contrast, ''Bemé'', (/[[Help:IPA|bəˈmeɪ̯]]/ ''buh-MAY'') with an accent, is exclusively used in English to refer to the Bemé language. However, in Bemé itself, both ''bemeh'' "nation" and ''bemeh'' "Bemé" are homophones and homonyms, and their differing meanings is only discerned by context, such as:

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However, a key difference between older and younger speakers is the presence of [[w:Situational code-switching|code-switching]]; younger speakers are much more likely to be adept at code-switching between ''tak'' and ''kriyal'' depending on context, as opposed to older, traditionally less educated speakers who can't code-switch and as such whose speech may be permanently considered ''kriyal''. This factor has been considered one of many causes of [[w:Ageism|ageism]] in the Poccasin workforce, where older job applicants who exclusively speak in what is considered ''kriyal'' may be discriminated against compared to younger job applicants who are capable of speaking in more formal ''tak''.

===Patois===

'''Bemé patois''', (Bemé: ''patwa'' ~~{{bm-ipa|~~patwa}}) or simply '''patois''', is a register of Bemé used in poetry. It features a more lenient word order, as well as the ability to "degrade" words into fewer syllables for the sake of poetic clarity or [[w:Rhyme|rhyme]]. Additionally, nominative pronouns ending in vowels may "merge" into the following verb or particle if the verb starts with a vowel or the particle is ''{{bm|eh}}'', so ''mi ogul'' {{bm-ipa|mi ogul}} "I see, I look at" becomes ''m'ogul'' {{bm-ipa|mogul}}, or ''mi eh wosh'' "I am washing" {{bm-ipa|mi ɛ woʃ}} becomes ''m'eh wosh'' {{bm-ipa|mɛ woʃ}}.

'''Bemé patois''', (Bemé: ''patwa'', ''patwa tak'') or simply '''patois''', is a register of Bemé used in poetry. It features a more lenient word order, as well as the ability to "degrade" words into fewer syllables for the sake of poetic clarity or [[w:Rhyme|rhyme]]. Additionally, nominative pronouns ending in vowels may "merge" into the following verb or particle if the verb starts with a vowel or the particle is ''{{bm|eh}}'', so ''mi ogul'' {{bm-ipa|mi ogul}} "I see, I look at" becomes ''m'ogul'' {{bm-ipa|mogul}}, or ''mi eh wosh'' "I am washing" {{bm-ipa|mi ɛ woʃ}} becomes ''m'eh wosh'' {{bm-ipa|mɛ woʃ}}.

==Orthography==

Most Bemé speakers use the ~~'''~~Caine ~~romanisation'''~~, ~~(Bemé: ''Keyn romanisesh'')~~ invented by Charlie F. Caine, the first American ambassador to the Poccasin Federation. Caine allegedly invented the ~~romanisation system~~ while on a particularly long plane ride to Cassim Po, basing the phoneme-grapheme correspondence on the phonology of urban Cassim Po Bemé, of which he was most accustomed to. As such, Caine's ~~romanisation~~ has sometimes been criticised for contributing to urbocentrism in the Poccasin Federation.

Most Bemé speakers use the [[Caine orthography]], invented by Charlie F. Caine, the first American ambassador to the Poccasin Federation. Caine allegedly invented the orthography while on a particularly long plane ride to Cassim Po, basing the phoneme-grapheme correspondence on the phonology of urban Cassim Po Bemé, of which he was most accustomed to. As such, Caine's orthography has sometimes been criticised for contributing to urbocentrism in the Poccasin Federation.

However, the Caine ~~romanisation~~ has also conversely been praised for contributing to the standardisation of the Bemé language. Its lack of diacritics also proved beneficial in the early days of the [[w:Information Age|Information Age]], as the entire standard Bemé language could be displayed using only [[w:ASCII|ASCII]], at a time where many languages such as [[w:Chinese language|Chinese]] or [[w:Japanese language|Japanese]] could not be effectively represented on computers before the introduction of [[w:Unicode|Unicode]] in 1988.

However, the Caine orthography has also conversely been praised for contributing to the standardisation of the Bemé language. Its lack of diacritics also proved beneficial in the early days of the [[w:Information Age|Information Age]], as the entire standard Bemé language could be displayed using only [[w:ASCII|ASCII]], at a time where many languages such as [[w:Chinese language|Chinese]] or [[w:Japanese language|Japanese]] could not be effectively represented on computers before the introduction of [[w:Unicode|Unicode]] in 1988.

{|

|-

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! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | !! colspan=14 | Obstruents

|-

! /p/ !! /b/ !! /t/ !! /d/ !! /tʃ/ !! /dʒ/ !! /k/ !! /g/ !! /s~~/ !! /z~~/ !! /ʃ/ !! /h/

! /p/ !! /b/ !! /t/ !! /d/ !! /tʃ/ !! /dʒ/ !! /k/ !! /g/ !! /s/ !! /ʃ/ !! /h/

|-

! rowspan=3 | Nasal

! Bemé

| colspan=2 rowspan=3 | /m/ || colspan=4 rowspan=2 | /n/ || colspan=2 rowspan=3 | /ŋ/ || colspan=3 | /n/ || rowspan=2 | /m/

| colspan=2 rowspan=3 | /m/ || colspan=4 rowspan=2 | /n/ || colspan=2 rowspan=3 | /ŋ/ || colspan=2 | /n/ || rowspan=2 | /m/

|-

! Bijun

| ~~colspan=2~~ rowspan=2 | /n/ || rowspan=2 | /ɲ/

| rowspan=2 | /n/ || rowspan=2 | /ɲ/

|-

! Columbé

| colspan=2 | /n/ || colspan=2 | /ɲ/ || -

|}

The placement of /n/ before /h/ only occurs in one word: ''{{bm|Anhara}}'', a girl's name of Sasubi origin ([[Sasubi]]: انخارا); the /n/ is pronounced as a ~~bilabial <nowiki>[</nowiki>~~[[w:Voiced bilabial nasal|m]]~~<nowiki>~~]~~</nowiki>~~ in standard Bemé and [[Bijun]] but not pronounced whatsoever in [[Columbé]], instead giving /ahaɾa/ or /aːhaɾa/(the first /a/ may be lengthened to compensate for a lack of a /n/). In the original [[Sasubi]], the name is pronounced [[Help:IPA|[ɐŋxɐˈra]]].

The placement of /n/ before /h/ only occurs in one word: ''{{bm|Anhara}}'', a girl's name of Sasubi origin ([[Sasubi]]: انخارا); the /n/ is pronounced as a [[w:Voiced bilabial nasal|bilabial nasal]] [m] in standard Bemé and [[Bijun]] but not pronounced whatsoever in [[Columbé]], instead giving /ahaɾa/ or /aːhaɾa/(the first /a/ may be lengthened to compensate for a lack of a /n/). In the original [[Sasubi]], the name is pronounced [[Help:IPA|[ɐŋxɐˈra]]].

===Vowels===

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'''''Leleh''''' or '''''lelé''''' (<small>with ''leleh'':</small> [[IPA for Bemé|[lelɛ]]]; <small>without:</small> [[IPA for Bemé|[lele]]]) is a Bemé word describing the distinction between /e/ and /ɛ/ in a Bemé dialect. ''Leleh'' is present in ''Bemetak'', as well as in all Cassim Po dialects; it is also present in [[Bijun Creole]], though the distinction occurs instead between /i/ and /ɛ/ as /e/ merges with /i/.

However, some ''[[#Tak vs kriyal|kriyal]]'' dialects especially in the south do not have ''leleh''; instead, /ɛ/ merges with /e/ another phoneme, though the pronunciation of the resultant phoneme is variable. Examples of dialects that lack ''leleh'' include most Southern Seru dialects as well as [[Columbé]]; in the case of Columbé specifically, /ɛ/ is pronounced /e/.

However, some ''[[#Tak vs kriyal|kriyal]]'' dialects especially in the south do not have ''leleh''; instead, /ɛ/ merges with /e/ or another phoneme, though the pronunciation of the resultant phoneme is variable. Examples of dialects that lack ''leleh'' include most Southern Seru dialects as well as [[Columbé]]; in the case of Columbé specifically, /ɛ/ is pronounced /e/.

==Grammar==

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|}

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Plural pronouns are written in order from common in ''tak'' to common in ''kriyal''.

''im'', although derived from the gendered English word {{l|en|him}}, is ungendered and can be roughly translated to "he", "she", "it" or singular "they" depending on context. Older speakers may use {{l|beme|shi}} or {{l|beme|shya}}/{{l|beme|shiya}} (all from English {{l|en|she}}) in the same way as ''she'' is used in English, but this word is functionally obsolete in modern Bemé (at best archaic in [[#Patois|patois]]).

"Paucal" pronouns refer to groups of people, as in ''wi kri'' would mean "some of us", ''yu kri'' means "some of you all", etc. Paucal pronouns are thought to have been borrowed from [[Dadaareg]], constructed by a combination of pronoun + ''kri'' (lit. "three"), as is typical for paucal pronouns in Dadaareg(''tanuk'', ''penuk'', ''lolonuk''). The third-person paucal pronoun, ''imim''/''emem'', is thought to have been derived via [[Ketaserang]] reduplication, a feature typical of Ketaserang for forming plural pronouns.

''Tuka'', ''ka'', ''tukeh'' and ''keh'' are all taken from the [[Yabo]] languages, all of which have pronouns along the lines of ''toka'' or ''tokeq''.

====Interrogatives====

Bemé interrogatives are derived from the word ''{{bm|wa}}'' "what", from English {{l|en|what}}.

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|big=big

|long=long

|wide=wi long

|wide=weh long

|thick=wi big

|thick=weh big

|heavy=ebig

|small=na big

|short=na long

|narrow=na wi long

|narrow=na weh long

|thin=na wi big

|thin=na weh big

|woman=jal

|man (adult male)=mwoi

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|rain=rey

|river=long wateh

|lake=~~big wateh~~

|lake=desi

|sea=big desi

|salt=sal

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==See also==

* [[:Category:Bemé words]]

* [[Caine orthography]]

[[Category:Bemé]] [[Category:Conlangs]] [[Category:Languages]] [[Category:Creole languages]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{infobox language
 | name = Bemé
-| nativename = bemeh, bemetak, kriyal
+| nativename = bemeh / bemetak / kriyal
-| altname = Poccasin Creole, Poccasin Pidgin, Poccasinese
+| altname = Poccasin Creole / Poccasin Pidgin / Poccasinese
 | image = File:Poccasin.svg
 | imagesize = 250px
@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 The name ''Bemé'' is derived from the [[Kabao]] phrase ''beme po kasin'', literally meaning "nation of the red mountain", it is also the origin of the English [[w:Exonym|exonym]] ''Poccasin'' and ''Poccasinese''.
 ===''Beme'' vs ''Bemé''===
-The words ''Beme'' and ''Bemé'', both derived from Kabao ''beme'', mean two distinct things in English. ''Beme'', (/[[IPA for Bemé|ˈbɛmeɪ̯]]/ or /[[IPA for Bemé|ˈbɛmiː]]/, ''BEH-may'' or ''BEH-mee'') without the accent, is the widely used [[w:Endonym|endonym]] of citizens of the Poccasin Federation; in the Poccasins specifically, ''bemeh'' in this context is mostly used to refer to the Poccasin federative government, akin to referring to the British government as simply "Westminster".
+The words ''Beme'' and ''Bemé'', both derived from Kabao ''beme'', genitive of ''bema'' "nation", mean two distinct things in English. ''Beme'', (/[[IPA for Bemé|ˈbɛmeɪ̯]]/ or /[[IPA for Bemé|ˈbɛmiː]]/, ''BEH-may'' or ''BEH-mee'') without the accent, is the widely used [[w:Endonym|endonym]] of citizens of the Poccasin Federation; in the Poccasins specifically, ''bemeh'' in this context is mostly used to refer to the Poccasin federative government, akin to referring to the British government as simply "Westminster".
 In contrast, ''Bemé'', (/[[Help:IPA|bəˈmeɪ̯]]/ ''buh-MAY'') with an accent, is exclusively used in English to refer to the Bemé language. However, in Bemé itself, both ''bemeh'' "nation" and ''bemeh'' "Bemé" are homophones and homonyms, and their differing meanings is only discerned by context, such as:
@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
 However, a key difference between older and younger speakers is the presence of [[w:Situational code-switching|code-switching]]; younger speakers are much more likely to be adept at code-switching between ''tak'' and ''kriyal'' depending on context, as opposed to older, traditionally less educated speakers who can't code-switch and as such whose speech may be permanently considered ''kriyal''. This factor has been considered one of many causes of [[w:Ageism|ageism]] in the Poccasin workforce, where older job applicants who exclusively speak in what is considered ''kriyal'' may be discriminated against compared to younger job applicants who are capable of speaking in more formal ''tak''.
 ===Patois===
-'''Bemé patois''', (Bemé: ''patwa'' {{bm-ipa|patwa}}) or simply '''patois''', is a register of Bemé used in poetry. It features a more lenient word order, as well as the ability to "degrade" words into fewer syllables for the sake of poetic clarity or [[w:Rhyme|rhyme]]. Additionally, nominative pronouns ending in vowels may "merge" into the following verb or particle if the verb starts with a vowel or the particle is ''{{bm|eh}}'', so ''mi ogul'' {{bm-ipa|mi ogul}} "I see, I look at" becomes ''m'ogul'' {{bm-ipa|mogul}}, or ''mi eh wosh'' "I am washing" {{bm-ipa|mi ɛ woʃ}} becomes ''m'eh wosh'' {{bm-ipa|mɛ woʃ}}.
+'''Bemé patois''', (Bemé: ''patwa'', ''patwa tak'') or simply '''patois''', is a register of Bemé used in poetry. It features a more lenient word order, as well as the ability to "degrade" words into fewer syllables for the sake of poetic clarity or [[w:Rhyme|rhyme]]. Additionally, nominative pronouns ending in vowels may "merge" into the following verb or particle if the verb starts with a vowel or the particle is ''{{bm|eh}}'', so ''mi ogul'' {{bm-ipa|mi ogul}} "I see, I look at" becomes ''m'ogul'' {{bm-ipa|mogul}}, or ''mi eh wosh'' "I am washing" {{bm-ipa|mi ɛ woʃ}} becomes ''m'eh wosh'' {{bm-ipa|mɛ woʃ}}.
 ==Orthography==
-Most Bemé speakers use the '''Caine romanisation''', (Bemé: ''Keyn romanisesh'') invented by Charlie F. Caine, the first American ambassador to the Poccasin Federation. Caine allegedly invented the romanisation system while on a particularly long plane ride to Cassim Po, basing the phoneme-grapheme correspondence on the phonology of urban Cassim Po Bemé, of which he was most accustomed to. As such, Caine's romanisation has sometimes been criticised for contributing to urbocentrism in the Poccasin Federation.
+Most Bemé speakers use the [[Caine orthography]], invented by Charlie F. Caine, the first American ambassador to the Poccasin Federation. Caine allegedly invented the orthography while on a particularly long plane ride to Cassim Po, basing the phoneme-grapheme correspondence on the phonology of urban Cassim Po Bemé, of which he was most accustomed to. As such, Caine's orthography has sometimes been criticised for contributing to urbocentrism in the Poccasin Federation.
-However, the Caine romanisation has also conversely been praised for contributing to the standardisation of the Bemé language. Its lack of diacritics also proved beneficial in the early days of the [[w:Information Age|Information Age]], as the entire standard Bemé language could be displayed using only [[w:ASCII|ASCII]], at a time where many languages such as [[w:Chinese language|Chinese]] or [[w:Japanese language|Japanese]] could not be effectively represented on computers before the introduction of [[w:Unicode|Unicode]] in 1988.
+However, the Caine orthography has also conversely been praised for contributing to the standardisation of the Bemé language. Its lack of diacritics also proved beneficial in the early days of the [[w:Information Age|Information Age]], as the entire standard Bemé language could be displayed using only [[w:ASCII|ASCII]], at a time where many languages such as [[w:Chinese language|Chinese]] or [[w:Japanese language|Japanese]] could not be effectively represented on computers before the introduction of [[w:Unicode|Unicode]] in 1988.
 {|
 |-
@@ Line 184: / Line 185: @@
 ! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | !! colspan=14 | Obstruents
 |-
-! /p/ !! /b/ !! /t/ !! /d/ !! /tʃ/ !! /dʒ/ !! /k/ !! /g/ !! /s/ !! /z/ !! /ʃ/ !! /h/
+! /p/ !! /b/ !! /t/ !! /d/ !! /tʃ/ !! /dʒ/ !! /k/ !! /g/ !! /s/ !! /ʃ/ !! /h/
 |-
 ! rowspan=3 | Nasal
 ! Bemé
-| colspan=2 rowspan=3 | /m/ || colspan=4 rowspan=2 | /n/ || colspan=2 rowspan=3 | /ŋ/ || colspan=3 | /n/ || rowspan=2 | /m/
+| colspan=2 rowspan=3 | /m/ || colspan=4 rowspan=2 | /n/ || colspan=2 rowspan=3 | /ŋ/ || colspan=2 | /n/ || rowspan=2 | /m/
 |-
 ! Bijun
-| colspan=2 rowspan=2 | /n/ || rowspan=2 | /ɲ/
+| rowspan=2 | /n/ || rowspan=2 | /ɲ/
 |-
 ! Columbé
 | colspan=2 | /n/ || colspan=2 | /ɲ/ || -
 |}
-The placement of /n/ before /h/ only occurs in one word: ''{{bm|Anhara}}'', a girl's name of Sasubi origin ([[Sasubi]]: انخارا); the /n/ is pronounced as a bilabial <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[w:Voiced bilabial nasal|m]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> in standard Bemé and [[Bijun]] but not pronounced whatsoever in [[Columbé]], instead giving /ahaɾa/ or /aːhaɾa/(the first /a/ may be lengthened to compensate for a lack of a /n/). In the original [[Sasubi]], the name is pronounced [[Help:IPA|[ɐŋxɐˈra]]].
+The placement of /n/ before /h/ only occurs in one word: ''{{bm|Anhara}}'', a girl's name of Sasubi origin ([[Sasubi]]: انخارا); the /n/ is pronounced as a [[w:Voiced bilabial nasal|bilabial nasal]] [m] in standard Bemé and [[Bijun]] but not pronounced whatsoever in [[Columbé]], instead giving /ahaɾa/ or /aːhaɾa/(the first /a/ may be lengthened to compensate for a lack of a /n/). In the original [[Sasubi]], the name is pronounced [[Help:IPA|[ɐŋxɐˈra]]].
 ===Vowels===
@@ Line 219: / Line 220: @@
 '''''Leleh''''' or '''''lelé''''' (<small>with ''leleh'':</small> [[IPA for Bemé|[lelɛ]]]; <small>without:</small> [[IPA for Bemé|[lele]]]) is a Bemé word describing the distinction between /e/ and /ɛ/ in a Bemé dialect. ''Leleh'' is present in ''Bemetak'', as well as in all Cassim Po dialects; it is also present in [[Bijun Creole]], though the distinction occurs instead between /i/ and /ɛ/ as /e/ merges with /i/.
-However, some ''[[#Tak vs kriyal|kriyal]]'' dialects especially in the south do not have ''leleh''; instead, /ɛ/ merges with /e/ another phoneme, though the pronunciation of the resultant phoneme is variable. Examples of dialects that lack ''leleh'' include most Southern Seru dialects as well as [[Columbé]]; in the case of Columbé specifically, /ɛ/ is pronounced /e/.
+However, some ''[[#Tak vs kriyal|kriyal]]'' dialects especially in the south do not have ''leleh''; instead, /ɛ/ merges with /e/ or another phoneme, though the pronunciation of the resultant phoneme is variable. Examples of dialects that lack ''leleh'' include most Southern Seru dialects as well as [[Columbé]]; in the case of Columbé specifically, /ɛ/ is pronounced /e/.
 ==Grammar==
@@ Line 263: / Line 264: @@
 |}
 <nowiki>*</nowiki>Plural pronouns are written in order from common in ''tak'' to common in ''kriyal''.
+''im'', although derived from the gendered English word {{l|en|him}}, is ungendered and can be roughly translated to "he", "she", "it" or singular "they" depending on context. Older speakers may use {{l|beme|shi}} or {{l|beme|shya}}/{{l|beme|shiya}} (all from English {{l|en|she}}) in the same way as ''she'' is used in English, but this word is functionally obsolete in modern Bemé (at best archaic in [[#Patois|patois]]).
 "Paucal" pronouns refer to groups of people, as in ''wi kri'' would mean "some of us", ''yu kri'' means "some of you all", etc. Paucal pronouns are thought to have been borrowed from [[Dadaareg]], constructed by a combination of pronoun + ''kri'' (lit. "three"), as is typical for paucal pronouns in Dadaareg(''tanuk'', ''penuk'', ''lolonuk''). The third-person paucal pronoun, ''imim''/''emem'', is thought to have been derived via [[Ketaserang]] reduplication, a feature typical of Ketaserang for forming plural pronouns.
 ''Tuka'', ''ka'', ''tukeh'' and ''keh'' are all taken from the [[Yabo]] languages, all of which have pronouns along the lines of ''toka'' or ''tokeq''.
 ====Interrogatives====
 Bemé interrogatives are derived from the word ''{{bm|wa}}'' "what", from English {{l|en|what}}.
@@ Line 428: / Line 432: @@
 |big=big
 |long=long
-|wide=wi long
+|wide=weh long
-|thick=wi big
+|thick=weh big
 |heavy=ebig
 |small=na big
 |short=na long
-|narrow=na wi long
+|narrow=na weh long
-|thin=na wi big
+|thin=na weh big
 |woman=jal
 |man (adult male)=mwoi
@@ Line 552: / Line 556: @@
 |rain=rey
 |river=long wateh
-|lake=big wateh
+|lake=desi
 |sea=big desi
 |salt=sal
@@ Line 654: / Line 658: @@
 ==See also==
 * [[:Category:Bemé words]]
+* [[Caine orthography]]
 [[Category:Bemé]] [[Category:Conlangs]] [[Category:Languages]] [[Category:Creole languages]]