Most of us are able to speak at least 3 languages; Dutch, Surinamese (Sranan Tongo) and English. Some can also speak an extra language like Javanese, Sarnami Hindustani (the dominant indian language) Spanish, Portuguese, or another indigenous/creole language.
Lol. Mijn surinaams is op basis niveau. Ik zou weinig of niet verstaan wat ik nooit heb gehoord en ook als je snel zou praten. Ik hou niet ervan om in het surinaams te praten.
Thank you so much for doing a video about my country. It is so beautiful, diverse and unique, but so unknown to many. For it to receive an entire video is amazing! 🇸🇷
Funny enough this popped up in my recommendations. Most people don't even know our country exists haha. Glad you made a video on this. We consist of different religions, languages and races. Most of us speak Dutch tho, depending on different parts tho. Some speak less Dutch then others. Surprisingly people find it odd to see so many different people together in one place in our country. It's very nice honestly and I wouldn't change it for the world❤👌
I'm getting more and more fascinated by Suriname. As a Belgian with a strong Dutch influence I can get enough information. However, I am surprised (or rather shocked to be honest) most Brazilians do not know anything about it. "I'd love to visit Suriname as well" - "Where is that?" - "Guiana holandesa" - "Ah! But why you want to go there?". However, when I explain it, they get intrigued as well.
The Netherlands is sending Jeangu Macrooy to Eurovision this year and he’s originally from Suriname. His song also includes some lines in Sranan Tongo!
Yu no man broko mi, mi na afu sensi. (I hope I spelled it right). And a wonderful song it is! I’m very happy Jeangu is representing my country with his beautiful message. The Netherlands is more than just the white population so Dutchies with a different background deserve to be heard and should represent the country more often.
@@tahirghoerahoe8246 I agree that it is a movie with class. The time period the movie was made in - Discrimination among certain group's was huge. Nowadays its otherwise - the culture has really changed allot anno 2021 - the state of the country also
Surinamese Dutch is basically a heavy accent. Funnily enough many Surinamese creole words made it into modern Dutch informal language. Patta, skeer and jonkoe to name a few. I work with a lot of Surinamese folks. According to them Dutch is spoken by everyone, I don't think it is viewed as a 'oppressive' language since, well, they are independent. They can make Sranan the only official language if they want. Surinamese independence is a very interesting topic, as is Suriname as a whole. While they are independent, Dutch influence is HUGE. Apart from the language, there is a huge diaspora in the Netherlands. Many people in Su have family in NL. Most people going on vacation from Su go somewhere within the Dutch kingdom, be it to NL proper or the Dutch Caribbean. Surinamese students can go to Dutch universities for the same cost as Dutch students as opposed to other foreigners who pay much more. In some ways the country is in an unofficial Dutch commonwealth. Independence in 1975 wasn't uncontroversial, since many people there did not want Su to be independent at all. However Colonialism was not cool anymore in the seventies and so the Dutch basically tossed them to the side. The country isn't doing particularly well and official relations between the last Su president and the Dutch government were bad to say the least, relations are now improving again and I hope this has a positive effect on the country. Oh and there are as many culinary influences as there are linguistic ones. Surinamese food is fantastic.
Hey - from/in Suriname here. You are correct with regards to the relationship of Sranan and Dutch, although it is not the elite only anymore. Anyone who has gone to school will know and speak Dutch, since schooling is exclusively in Dutch. The older people and those who dropped out in elementary school and work in the mostly unofficial industry rarely speak Dutch but will usually understand it more or less. Sranan is indeed the language which everyone if not speaks, then definitely understands. It is now an official language with grammar rules, spelling, and a dictionary. It is an incredibly simple language with no past tense or future tense - you simply add a word to indicate the past: no distinctions between ongoing or finished events, etc. You have to describe what you mean instead of being able to use specific grammar rules to indicate this. Did you know that Suriname was traded for the island of Manhattan? Culturally and the ethnically Suriname is part of the Caribbean.
As a Venezuelan i wish i could learn and interact more with our fellow mainland Caribbean neighbors... Sad that language barriers and weird national conceptions haven't allowed us to more sharing and friendship between sibling peoples
@@MiguelHernandez-tl3hj i have Brazilian and Dominican family members. Thanks to our diversity in culture, etnicity and languages, we Surinamese people can comunicate with the rest of the world. There is a small Venezuelan diaspora here in Suriname🇸🇷. We Surinamese love to be friends with the rest of the world.
@@andriwahyudani1302 to truly understand they need to see why dutch people sometimes write "Colonised" in places, its a meme from here ua-cam.com/video/TFgfrv7AfWw/v-deo.html
Thanks to explain about history of language in Suriname, especially about the arrival of the Javanese people who influenced their language. Btw, salam sedulur Jowo 🇸🇷 saka wong Jowo 🇮🇩
@@mfra959 .....nowadays japanese language is not 100% the same as how the javanese from java speaks....the elder generations speaks them still....but the generation now don't even understand the simplest word ....because all the diversities here and the main lamguage is dutch...thus for this reason its slowly losing its roots ....
It’s basically seen as slang in Indonesia. Compared to the different forms of politeness in the asian language, especially Bahasa, Surinamese Javanese is the least polite form.
Fun fact: Sranan Tongo has started to make it's way into pop/rap scene in the Netherlands. I believe it is also heavily being used as slang even between the different people. Who knows, it might one day fulfill the same role as it did in Suriname: providing a way for people of different cultures to communicate with one another.
Nonsens, where did you heard this? You are totally wrong informed. . Only some (not all by far) people in 1 or 2 neighourhoods in Amsterdam, were a lot of negro Surinamese live, use it as a street slang. Rest of Netherlands it is never heard. The Hindustani, Chinese and Javaneze Surinamese don't even use it in Netherlands. And its influence in Dutch pop/rap music is very limited, almost non existent.
@@pv325 It's not true. It's used in ALL of the big cities, but came out of the randstad area. Sranan tongo itself is used by everyone, not just people of african descent. I am Surinamese, quit your bs.
I am half Surinamese, Half Dutch. The Saran tongo language is used informally I'ts kinda comparable like how Scottish, Welsh or even Frisian are spoken in the UK and The Netherlands. With the key difference being that you don't see them written so much as a second language on signs and stuff like that.
@@blabla.8739 informeel. ik ben geen surinamer maar worden bij regeringsinstanties niet alles in het Nederlands genotuleerd? alle vaardigingen worden dacht ik ook in het Nederlands geschreven dat maakt Nederlands de formele taal in SU
@@blabla.8739 Kijk op school werd mij altijd geleerd dat Sranantongo "straattaal" is, grof is, en we mochten het niet spreken. dat is natuurlijk jammer omdat het een deel is van Suriname en eigenlijk gewoon mooi is. Wat maakt sranantongo "Informeel"? 1. We krijgen het niet op school, leren het altijd achteraf en door het gewoon, te spreken. Niemand die de grammatica aan ons leert. 2. In alle officiele documenten die je haalt, staat het geschreven in het Nederlands. Haast alles dat je ziet of hoort om je heen staat in het nederlands (Reclames, nieuws, media etc.). Heel weinig komt het voor dat je een reclame in het sranan tongo ziet. 3. Ons officiele taal is letterlijk, Nederlands. alles daarbuiten zijn eigenlijk bij-talen als ik het zo mag noemen
Thank you jon bastion and name explain for doing my country ... i was born there but lived in the Netherlands from a very young age! right now I'm writing a sociological paper about how the kolonial switch still affects today. I'm so elated that this video was made at this moment. love love love ❤️
AAAAH i loved this soo much. It's always great to see my country in these kinds of videos. Most kids here speak 3 languages (usually dutch, english and sranang and whatever tongue they may speak at home) I myself speak 5 languages sranang, dutch, english, spanish and portuguese.
The Surinamese Dutch is pretty cool when you consider that it took it's own path of development. As a Dutchman, it took me a while to get used to some of the "old-fashioned" words that I heard during my five year tenure there. The grammatical structure of Surinamese Dutch is also increasingly influenced by creole and carribean English, which makes for some unusual sentence constructions. My personal favourite: Begin te gaan.
Impressive Surinamese. But you still have a long way to go before you reach the top dogs, DRC who speak over 200 languages. Including Hebrew. Much of Africa is just broken in terms of languages. My country, Kenya has 55 languages and neighbours Tanzania 120 languages, same as the Indian subcontinent.
As a Surinamese I'd like to give some insight and some corrections: 0:15 = depending on who you ask, this map is either good or wrong. A Surinamese uses this map: i.pinimg.com/originals/9d/50/c9/9d50c9aebdd61e3be97323a73500f931.jpg. There is a border dispute with both Guyana and France (French Guiana). Read more about that here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borders_of_Suriname 8:11 = Dutch is the native language of 60% of the population. Yes, Sranantongo is spoken by almost everyone, but it has only around 20% of native speakers. The other 60% are the Dutch native speakers that speak Sranantongo as a second language and or mix it with Dutch. Dutch is seen as a formal language, while Sranantongo is seen as a informal language. The more formal the situation, the more Dutch in someone's speech, the less formal the situation, the more you will hear Sranantongo. Dutch is mainly heard in the capital and the area around it, which is also where 70% of the nation lives. 10:44 = Sarnami Hindustani is not an export language. It's a creole language. It was created here and it has mainly influences of Bhojpuri, other Indian languages, Dutch and Sranantongo. A native Hindi and Bhojpuri speaker might understand a lot of it, but not everything. Sarnami is also not spoken by all the 150.000 Indo-Surinamese as native language though. Many of them speak Dutch as native language and either Sarnami or Sranantongo as second or third. 11:00 = The Netherland's didn't rule over that area. It was the British Raj. The Dutch made a deal with the Brits to bring Indians to Suriname, because the British were doing it too. Our neighbor Guyana also has Indians as does Trinidad and many other Caribbean countries. 11:34 = It's not Javanese, it's Surinamese Javanese. A creole language of Suriname. Like Sarnami it has influences of Dutch and Sranantongo. It also has words that sound Javanese, but are not found in standard Javanese of Indonesia. There are not 100,000 speakers as Suriname has only 73,000 Javanese. Of that number only 12.967 speak it; 5.531 are native speakers and 7.436 second speakers. The Javanese in Suriname mainly speak Dutch and Sranantongo. I hope the following is a little more clear now.
Note: Just because a language has some outside influence it doesn't become a creole a creole is mixture of languages... Sure Surinamese Javanese and Sarnami are different from their cousins in Indonesia and India but they are not different enough to be considered creoles...
@@ind-m-20 They are considered creole languages. If I use your theory I can say the same about Guyanese Creole, Trinidadian Creole and Jamaican Creole. Heck even Haitian Creole. They have similarities with English and French, but they aren’t English and French. Yet they are classified as Creoles. Similarly Sranantongo is an English based Creole. I can also say it's just a version of English, but it isn’t, because it classifies as a Creole. Sarnami and Surinamese Javanese meet the requirements to classify as Creoles. Linguist in Suriname and the Netherlands also classify it as such. The reason why this guy referred to it as an export language, is because there is not enough information available in English about these languages. Read all information about these languages in Dutch and you'll see that it is classifies as a creole.
@@SheldonY14 Well its not considered creoles by linguists for reason for example Hindi/Urdu has a lot of persian influence yet it isn't considered a creole, English has a lot of French influence yet it isn't considered a creole so influence isn't the only factor in making a language a creole
@@ind-m-20 I think it's imporatant to know how a creole language gets created. And why the other languages you mentioned are not Creoles. When people from many areas come together (factors such as slavery and/or indenture laborers) and they can't understand each other and have a need to communicate, they create this language called a pidgin language. When the next generation takes over that language, as their native language, it's called a creole. This video explains it in 5 minutes more perfectly: ua-cam.com/video/qqJI7SdS9Gg/v-deo.html In this case Sarnami was created the same way. People from all over the Indian subcontinent coming into Suriname in a period of 30+ years, with the majority speaking Bhojpuri and others some other languages. To understand each other, they had to create a common language to communicate with each other (taking Dutch, Sranantongo and Bhojpuri/Indo-Aryan words)...that's what you call a pidgin language. The next generation being born, now learns that pidgin language instead of the language their parents spoke in India. Because that language is now the native language of that new generation, it's no longer called a pidgin, but a creole language. So Sarnami started out as a pidgin and became a creole language. The same thing also happend to Surinamese-Javanese. People mainly from central Java, but also other parts of Indonesia coming together and have a need to understand each other. They create a common pidgin language, from Dutch, Sranantongo, Javanese and other languages in Indonesia. This is taught to their children who will now speak this as a native language, making it a creole.
Speaking of Suriname, hello from Indonesia fellow brothers and sisters Indonesia also had a huge variety of living languages, there's 700 of them Anyway, great and insightful video as always!
As a surinamese person proud that we are featured. I speak sranan tongo and other languages as well. I don't live in Suriname anymore but i never forget where i came from
Having lived 3 years in Suriname, I encountered also several other cultures and languages than you summed up. As a starter, there are still descendants of Portuguese Jews (from Brazil) as wel as Jews from early Colonization by Dutch, of whom still speak a remnant of Hebrew. Further there are descendants of Libanese immigrants, who speak a form of Arab. Also there are descendants of immigrants of Cabo Verde, which speak still a dialect of Portuguese. Then there are descendants of early Dutch settlers who speak a very Surinamised Dutch, called "Boeroe" (boers meaning Farmers), whitch is not unlike (South-) Afrikaans. The "Hindustani" have alse still many speakers in "Hindi" (from India) as well as "Urdu" (the language now of Pakistan). The "Javanese" speak themselves more (inter-related) languages, like Soendanese and Madurese, and some languages from other Indonesian Islands, though there are only a few speakers still alive. But then the Chinese: there are many languages in China, of which some are still spoken in Suriname. And I might have forgotten some also. Still even more so a record!
I'm south-east Asian that moved to Suriname and learned Dutch there. Than moved to Netherlands since I already learned how to speak their language. Here in Netherlands in street slang ""Suriname" often gets shorted to "Su".
Whaaaaaat I’m half Surinamese. I was born in Holland where we have a huge diaspora. I speak Dutch and can understand Sarnami. However my dad who was born there speaks Dutch, Sranang Tongo, and Sarnami (Daughter language of Bhojpuri of the Indo-Surinamese population)
@@sayantanpaul626 So basically during the Britsh Raj in India, slavery of Africans was abolished which lead to a shortage of labor on sugarcane fields and coffee plantations. To make up for this loss, the British, along with mainly the French and the Dutch started “importing” labor from one of the poorest regions in India. Mainly from UP and Bihar. Our ancestors got shipped to various parts of the world including Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Fiji, even to Africa. Most notably Kenya and Uganda. 200+ years have passed and now we’re our own distinct ethnic group collectively known as Indo-Caribbeans/Indo-Fijians/Indo-Africans :) Our language is known as Caribbean-Hindi or Sarnami/Hindoestaans as we call it in Suriname and Holland. Edit: Suriname isn’t located in “Latin-America” since it’s not a Spanish-speaking country like Guyana and Belize but they are of course in South America where most of the Spanish-speak pop. live.
Oi lad The relationship between Dutch and sranan is : we just put that stuff in the blender and talk....that's it there is no divide between elites and non elites using a specific language . we just mix that stuff most of the time
As a boomer who grew up with colonial era maps, I can testify that when it was a Dutch colony, the final silent E was not used. It was added only after independence.
That's strange, because the name of the place while under the Dutch was Dutch Guiana, just like Guyana was British Guiana or Belize in Central America was British Honduras.
@@sion8 Come to think of it, I may have seen both “Dutch Guiana” and “Surinam.” They may have been alternate names. But there was a time when “Surinam” was spelled without the final E.
@@sion8 Interesting. To me it the silent E would also be out of place in English, since it rhymes with “Mom” and not with “name.” In French the silent E would make it rhyme with “Mom,” however. If I had to do business there, I would check it out with the US State Dept. I do know a family that came from there. I’ll ask them and get back on here. Thanks.
Thank you for doing an episode about Suriname! I was fortunate enough to spend New Years in Paramaribo a few years ago and immediately fell in love with Suriname. Such an interesting and beautiful country. Everyone I interacted with spoke very good English, but walking around the markets at night it was really interesting to hear Surinamese Dutch as well as other languages being spoken there. Although the book focuses on Guyana you should read "Bastard Tongues" by Derek Bickerton, it goes into great detail on the African/ Guiana creoles across that area. Incredibly fascinating.
Something I've noticed (being from Suriname) is that more and more (young/ gen z/ gen Alpha) people are developing an accent. I have it and a lot of my friends do too. It kinda sounds like a Dutch accent, but we got it from speaking too much english. We now pronounce our Rs less clearly and our Ls a little different. To be completely honest I think one day in the far future English will be spoken more than dutch and surinames/ any other languages in Suriname.
I thought I was the only one who noticed. It's called a "gehemelte-r". The rolling-r that the older generation has is disappearing. Though, if they government does take action in the education system, Dutch could still be preserved and spoken for many generations to come.
Surinamese here! loved the video, some of the facts are even new to me, haha! About the language: The most schools are in Dutch and teach exclusively in Dutch like (96% of them). Surinamese people who don't speak Dutch generally haven't had basic education. However this may be just about 10% of the population or less. The majority of the population (90%) lives in urban areas, but the rest are scattered throughout the (mostly) untouched nature that accounts for roughly 90% of the country! Sranan Tongo is very easy to learn because it doesn't have a lot of words (Approx. 340!), so often this language eliminates the language barrier for people that don't speak Dutch in the country. If you meet a Surinamese person, it's most likely they'll understand you the best in Dutch! About Dutch in the Netherlands vs Suriname : Surinamese and the Dutch understand each other perfectly! The only problem can be the accent, but it's not hard to get past that. Grammatically both are identical. Generally Surinamese and the Dutch understand each other for about 99% because of how we sometimes address certain objects or actions.
@@sayantanpaul626 I am Indian! Hahaha. But you can day I'm a "Dutch Indian". From 1873 there were alot of Indian immigrants that came from (then called) British-India. This was when suriname was a British colony. Buuut later the Dutch colonized Suriname, and after the independence in 1975 some moved to the Netherlands and other's stayed in Suriname (like my (great) grandparents)
One thing i would like to add. The Dutch had some land in India but the indentured servants that came here, which I am a descendant from, came from British India. The Dutch asked the British for some manpower and the Brits said, I know a place with lots of people.
That explains why they speak Hindustani or Bhojpuri in Surinam. The Dutch had forts on the coast of Kerala (where they speak Malayalam) and colonised Ceylon between the Portuguese and the British.
A creole is not specific to america, but rather refers to any pidgin language that becomes a native language. There are even theories that English is a creole language, and many Creoles came about across the world as a result of imperialism.
I'm from suriname, and i can speak : dutch, English, javaanese, Spanish And Portuguese(cause of school), and a little bit of hindu. and we got a ton of cultures in here, there's even a mosque build next to a synagogue which is freaking awesome
Beautiful video..love it🇸🇷👏 Like the different languages we also have different religions what also make us unique. A beautiful place where we live in harmony with each other 🙏🌍
I'm Dutch with afro-Surinamese roots. Many people of my age don't really speak Sranan Tongo here in the Netherlands. Our parents and/or grandparents moved to the Netherlands and there are many of them who didn't teach their children Sranan. It was forbidden to speak Sranan tongo during the colonized times. As result people are proudly dutch-Surinamesre, but their level or Sranan Tongo is very low. There are many initiatives by organisations to help the next generation of the Surinamese diaspora in the Netherlands with learning S.T. language is part of your heritage.
Fact about my country: The last TWO speakers of the Mawayana language live in the village of Kwamalasamutu in the south of Suriname. It was spoken in the south of Suriname and north of Brazil. After these people pass away the Mawayana will be extinct.
🇸🇷‼️ To Us Alone Bushinenge (maroon) of Suriname. We have many languages 7 & 7 : there seven contemporary Afro-Surinamese and a bit of European Creole languages: Sranan tongo, Saamaka, Matawai, Okanisi, Kwiïnti, Aluku and Pamaka. 7 other older ones that some of us also practice are: Amanfu, Kumanti, Akoopina, Loanga, Ampuku, Papa and Anklibenda, ancestral African languages. saamaka, Pamaka, Aluku, Sranan, Okanisi, Matawai, Kiïnti. and the oldest Amanfu, Kumantie, Papa, Loanga, Anklibenda, Akoopina, Ampuku THESE ARE LANGUAGES PRACTICED ALREADY MORE THAN 343 - 500 YEARS OLD. I am extremely proud of what we have, I myself speak 7 of them with other languages from elsewhere like French, English and Créole guyanaise. So with the rest of the other communities in the country we are unique for a population of around 630,000 inhabitants on a territory covered 90% by the primary Amazonian forest.
I wasn't paying much attention to the name of this video, and for a second i unsarstood it as "surnames' varieties in origins " (i don't know how that end ended up there either), and now i'm curious on the variety in surnames origins XD
Omggg!!! Reallyyy a video about our country❤❤🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷 I'M FROM SURINAME AND IT IS A FACT THAT IT IS A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY AND WE HAVE MANY LANGUAGES❤❤🤗🤗🤗🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷 btw i live in SURINAME and i speak Hindoestani also know as Surinami❤❤🤗🤗 ok greeting from suriname🇸🇷❤❤🤗🤗🤗🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷
"Street language" in the Netherlands is heavily influenced by Tamazight (Berber language from Nothern Marocco) and Sranantongo (from Suriname). Pattas - shoes Doekoe - money Taataa - Dutch people All come from Sranantongo for example.
@@avonbarksdale2268 Tata is also father in sranan tongo but that's not where the slang for Dutch people comes from. It's from p'tata (potatoes) which at some point got it's p dropped from the slang word.
@@MrAfusensi Dat is wat ze jou zeggen ja. Wanneer die oudere bidden naar “Nana A Tata” zal je ze zeggen ze hebben het van het woord P’tata ja. 😂 Tata is congolees en Wij creolen in Suriname komen meerendeels van Loango Congo streek / Angola.
I recommend "Lexicon Valley," a podcast by John McWhorter. He's a professional linguist who has done a lot of research on creole languages in Suriname. He covers a range of linguistic topics in a quirky way that is accessible to non-specialists.
3:48 'in 3000 BC they didn't care much for borders like wo do' that's what you think. For the most part, tribes make up very pronounced borders along the lines of geographical features such as rivers, valleys or mountains.
Yeah, but they weren't precise like we have them now where we can measure them to the micrometer! People back then only defended what they thought was most vulnerable via fortifications and left the rest to chance if it wasn't too much of a burden, which is why they left it to geography to stop people or at least to a trickle.
@@mysteriousDSF Oh, he is still right. It is with the advent of the modern passport that everyone becomes super serious about borders. Travel for most of human history didn't require one as one could get anywhere one wanted to as long as one had the means. Today, we have visas and migration control is very tight and so most border be precise.
Another interesting fact about Warao is that it's one of the few languages which uses object-subject-verb word order. However, OSV has found notability in English; it's the word order that Yoda speaks in
Suriname often sending their javanese suriname as diplomat in indonesia as it can make relation between the two country became closer and closer Also, if you are javanese suriname and never tracking your relatives in java, it's better to start doing so, as alot of javanese suriname already find their relatives in indonesia Psst... If you are javanese suriname and you are single, finding your relatives in java might be a good idea, as you may have lots of beautiful cousin to choose
@@apeman9238 psst... Indonesian javanese has mixed with other ethnic which makes them even more beautiful. Some indonesian javanese even have orientalish face
@@thegrandlord2914 btw. Whay do every indonesian i saw commenting on a video about Suriname, only care about the javanese people of Suriname? And that guy Raymond Sapoen is politician that needs to work on his popularity guy (i saw indonesian news say that he was president of suriname or somthing). And javanese people here in Suriname are only 14% of the population, the largest are the Hindustanies (like myself) people often think that i am Javanese instead of Hindustani.
i can't give you ratio perse, but dutch is often used in formal settings while sranantongo is used in informal settings so most people speak both depending on the situations and who they are speaking to officially we are taught in dutch but most of media, at least when it comes to movies and series, are just in english, no dutch subtitles. all official media is in dutch however. we are taught english in our 8th year of school all the way till the end of highschool. we are also taught spanish in our 8 year but after our 9th year it becomes optional
@@siriestichotkan2198 However, control was exercised by the Dutch. So the government and administration style was Dutch oriented. So in practice it was under Dutch control since 1667. Many historians in Suriname recognize it as such and in school during history class we learn it as such.
Thanks for presenting suriname international. I'm from suriname and i speak 7 languages 😊😊😊😊 2 i learn in school ( english and spanish) From home ( sranan tongo, dutch,japanese, aucaans is one of the ndyuka language, french) my mom was half black half japanese my dad is black. But they speak many language.🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷
Hii, greatings from Suriname 🇸🇷 In these covid times it is good to see something other than covid... Thank you for making a video of the languages in Suriname... Some things not accurate though but it's a start ☺
Thanks for making this vdo. The thought recently crossed my mind to suggest Suriname as it's indeed an interesting country with interesting people and the many languages. I'm a second generation Amsterdammer (lastly I consider myself Dutch) from Surinamese descend. The fact that I was born and raised in Amsterdam whilst my parents spoke solely Dutch to me and my siblings was, as already mentioned, due to the erroneous idea that we as children were thought to have lingual difficulties in NL. As a matter of fact thus very situation opened up my interest for languages at an early age. I taught myself the basics in English through the adult courses on telly. I then already discovered similarities between SrananTongo (~ng~ sounds as in 'ring') which sped my skill. In answer of your question: this made me speak seven languages; NL, DE, FR, ES, CAT, ST and EN.
Linguistic treasure wow.... We Surinamers appreciate your time taken for all your input to make such great video... Haha... It's really fascinating that foreigners see out beloved Suriname like a treasure! Where are you from? I speak Sranang tongo, sarnami, Dutch(our main language) English and little Spanish
I am dutch and moved to Suriname a couple years ago. In the Netherlands I grew up with some basic words in Sranantongo, but when I moved it felt like I had to learn all over again. It’s been 10 years now and I can understand it perfectly but it’s hard for me to speak😂 Most people from the city at least understand dutch, even if they don’t speak it, but most people from the interior have problems with/ do not speak or understand dutch, since it is more of a city (and surrounding areas) thing. But it’s a minor effort to learn Surinamese, it is very easy, that’s why most new immigrants start by learning sranantongo instead of dutch or English. Any dutch, English, Spanish or Portuguese speaking person has an advantage in learning the language 😌 Hope this made some things clear lol.
I'm so sad that I don't speak any of my country's languages. We migrated and my mom thought it was best not to speak speak to us in Dutch so that we can learn English, bad idea
The Arawak people also leave in the northernmost part of Colombia! Their traditional knitted (don't know if it's the correct word) bags are very popular all around the country
I'm Javanese Indonesian, sadly I also can't speak Javanese because my parents never taught me Javanese and quite a lot of children today can't speak Javanese;"(
English has also had a huge influence on our speach in Suriname, we even create content in perfect english. For example, if i start speaking english, you would think i'm from the US, while deeply knowing i ain't never yet visited the US😅
@@dirtmanrock5428 Om dat de politiekers kinderachtig zijn en niet met elkaar willen saamen werken en andere meningen hebben het is niet echt door de taal.
If you're watching from Suriname I'd love to know what languages you are able to speak!
Can you do a video about Guyana?
Most of us are able to speak at least 3 languages; Dutch, Surinamese (Sranan Tongo) and English. Some can also speak an extra language like Javanese, Sarnami Hindustani (the dominant indian language) Spanish, Portuguese, or another indigenous/creole language.
When you mentioned Javanese I figured it was probably The Dutch who were responsible. Very interesting, I never knew about that.
@@WaterShowsProd Of course, because Indonesia (especially Javanese people) was colonized by the Dutch and it was on the same boat as Suriname.
Wow I am in Suriname. I am a Surinamer. I speak Dutch, English and the Creole langauge
All my Suriname people..let me see you.. Tek joe big up djaso..🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷
Jawelll
🇸🇷❤
Lol. Mijn surinaams is op basis niveau. Ik zou weinig of niet verstaan wat ik nooit heb gehoord en ook als je snel zou praten. Ik hou niet ervan om in het surinaams te praten.
Ja boi..100%
Ai toch mie Dja
Haha, never expected Suriname to be featured here (or anywhere really). As someone who is half Surinamese, thanks!
country's name sounds like a Japanese trying to pronounce "surname"
I am also have Surinamese
Lol ÖP
Same I love Surinam but still
I’m also half 🇸🇷🇳🇱
Thank you so much for doing a video about my country. It is so beautiful, diverse and unique, but so unknown to many. For it to receive an entire video is amazing! 🇸🇷
Je hebt echt een cool land maat
must've been pretty exciting to see a video about your small country
Ofa
@@nathanjoy06 ja echt!
Bosland
Funny enough this popped up in my recommendations. Most people don't even know our country exists haha. Glad you made a video on this. We consist of different religions, languages and races. Most of us speak Dutch tho, depending on different parts tho. Some speak less Dutch then others. Surprisingly people find it odd to see so many different people together in one place in our country. It's very nice honestly and I wouldn't change it for the world❤👌
I do and I live in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia city of Makkah I love Surinam wish you all the best
@@OsamasStory aww thank you and same to you!❤
Ahh❤️❤️
@@jasminetea2653 hey hey XD❤❤❤
I'm getting more and more fascinated by Suriname. As a Belgian with a strong Dutch influence I can get enough information. However, I am surprised (or rather shocked to be honest) most Brazilians do not know anything about it. "I'd love to visit Suriname as well" - "Where is that?" - "Guiana holandesa" - "Ah! But why you want to go there?". However, when I explain it, they get intrigued as well.
The Netherlands is sending Jeangu Macrooy to Eurovision this year and he’s originally from Suriname. His song also includes some lines in Sranan Tongo!
Kenny B is also popular in NL and born in Suriname! Must be a very musically gifted country ♡
Yu no man broko mi, mi na afu sensi. (I hope I spelled it right).
And a wonderful song it is! I’m very happy Jeangu is representing my country with his beautiful message. The Netherlands is more than just the white population so Dutchies with a different background deserve to be heard and should represent the country more often.
The nineties techno group of 2 unlimited (Ray and Anita) are also from Surinamese decent
@@speerboom that's right my friend
Yeah! Yu no man broko mi! Great song, hope it does well.
Greetings from Australia, learnt about this country from the movie Wan Pipel
Suriname has changed alot Wan Pipel is not more relevant to use as reference
@@franklynvrij470 why not it's the only movie with class
@@tahirghoerahoe8246 I agree that it is a movie with class. The time period the movie was made in
- Discrimination among certain group's was huge. Nowadays its otherwise
- the culture has really changed allot anno 2021
- the state of the country also
Where or how did you see the movie...? Really interested about that...? I live in Suriname, so that’s why I’m asking. Looking forward to your reply...
How tf u evn hear bout that movie😂😂
Surinamese Dutch is basically a heavy accent. Funnily enough many Surinamese creole words made it into modern Dutch informal language. Patta, skeer and jonkoe to name a few. I work with a lot of Surinamese folks. According to them Dutch is spoken by everyone, I don't think it is viewed as a 'oppressive' language since, well, they are independent. They can make Sranan the only official language if they want.
Surinamese independence is a very interesting topic, as is Suriname as a whole. While they are independent, Dutch influence is HUGE. Apart from the language, there is a huge diaspora in the Netherlands. Many people in Su have family in NL. Most people going on vacation from Su go somewhere within the Dutch kingdom, be it to NL proper or the Dutch Caribbean. Surinamese students can go to Dutch universities for the same cost as Dutch students as opposed to other foreigners who pay much more. In some ways the country is in an unofficial Dutch commonwealth.
Independence in 1975 wasn't uncontroversial, since many people there did not want Su to be independent at all. However Colonialism was not cool anymore in the seventies and so the Dutch basically tossed them to the side. The country isn't doing particularly well and official relations between the last Su president and the Dutch government were bad to say the least, relations are now improving again and I hope this has a positive effect on the country.
Oh and there are as many culinary influences as there are linguistic ones. Surinamese food is fantastic.
It's not seen as an oppressive language btw.
Netherlands is just something we grew up with and is part of our daily lives and sranang tongo.
Ja ik kan gewoon horen of iemand SU is
@@Wasbever_14 En wij kunnen horen als een Surinamer uit Nederland, een Nederlander is...lol. Hebben ander accent dan wij hier in Su
@@SheldonY14 haha
Hey - from/in Suriname here. You are correct with regards to the relationship of Sranan and Dutch, although it is not the elite only anymore. Anyone who has gone to school will know and speak Dutch, since schooling is exclusively in Dutch. The older people and those who dropped out in elementary school and work in the mostly unofficial industry rarely speak Dutch but will usually understand it more or less. Sranan is indeed the language which everyone if not speaks, then definitely understands. It is now an official language with grammar rules, spelling, and a dictionary. It is an incredibly simple language with no past tense or future tense - you simply add a word to indicate the past: no distinctions between ongoing or finished events, etc. You have to describe what you mean instead of being able to use specific grammar rules to indicate this. Did you know that Suriname was traded for the island of Manhattan?
Culturally and the ethnically Suriname is part of the Caribbean.
ligt Suriname aan de Caraïbische zee of aan de oceaan?
@@michielvdvlies3315 aan de oceaan maar qua cultuur is Suriname Caribbisch
Sranan is surinames creole
As a Venezuelan i wish i could learn and interact more with our fellow mainland Caribbean neighbors... Sad that language barriers and weird national conceptions haven't allowed us to more sharing and friendship between sibling peoples
@@MiguelHernandez-tl3hj i have Brazilian and Dominican family members. Thanks to our diversity in culture, etnicity and languages, we Surinamese people can comunicate with the rest of the world. There is a small Venezuelan diaspora here in Suriname🇸🇷. We Surinamese love to be friends with the rest of the world.
"but javanese how did a language from the other side of the pacific..."
*me who is dutch*
K O L O N I S A T I E
K O L O N I S A T I E
Geldgierigheid door Nederland. Jk.
@@kishenbinda7226 dat is een andere manier om het te zeggen ja.
If Javanese understand your languages, they will storm your comment 😂
@@andriwahyudani1302 to truly understand they need to see why dutch people sometimes write "Colonised" in places, its a meme from here ua-cam.com/video/TFgfrv7AfWw/v-deo.html
Thanks to explain about history of language in Suriname, especially about the arrival of the Javanese people who influenced their language. Btw, salam sedulur Jowo 🇸🇷 saka wong Jowo 🇮🇩
Salaam from Suriname....as my grandparents were from java indonesia
Salaam from Suriname....as my grandparents were from java indonesia
Javanese suriname is Very Proud to they Country 🇸🇷🇸🇷
But i think not all Javanese in Suriname fluent Javanese
@@mfra959 yup, because it's mixed with other local cultures & languages in that country.
@@mfra959 .....nowadays japanese language is not 100% the same as how the javanese from java speaks....the elder generations speaks them still....but the generation now don't even understand the simplest word ....because all the diversities here and the main lamguage is dutch...thus for this reason its slowly losing its roots ....
I really interested for Surinamese Javanese,greetings from an Indonesian Javanese
It's not the same though
@@SantomPh yeah,although our language had some differences,but still Javanese indeed
It’s basically seen as slang in Indonesia. Compared to the different forms of politeness in the asian language, especially Bahasa, Surinamese Javanese is the least polite form.
@@Meowsanforever Yeah,thanks for the info
The Javanese spoken is mostly ngoko with some other influences. Krama madya and inggil are not that common.
Fun fact: Sranan Tongo has started to make it's way into pop/rap scene in the Netherlands. I believe it is also heavily being used as slang even between the different people. Who knows, it might one day fulfill the same role as it did in Suriname: providing a way for people of different cultures to communicate with one another.
Similair to how patwa made its way into UK and Canada slang.
Nonsens, where did you heard this? You are totally wrong informed. . Only some (not all by far) people in 1 or 2 neighourhoods in Amsterdam, were a lot of negro Surinamese live, use it as a street slang. Rest of Netherlands it is never heard. The Hindustani, Chinese and Javaneze Surinamese don't even use it in Netherlands. And its influence in Dutch pop/rap music is very limited, almost non existent.
@@pv325 It's not true. It's used in ALL of the big cities, but came out of the randstad area. Sranan tongo itself is used by everyone, not just people of african descent. I am Surinamese, quit your bs.
@@MrAfusensi waarom praat je dan geen Nederlands als je van su ben lul hhahha en niet in Nederland ze moete die achterlijke creool afschaffen hhahah
@@pv325 de enige achterlijke hier, ben jij.
I am half Surinamese, Half Dutch. The Saran tongo language is used informally I'ts kinda comparable like how Scottish, Welsh or even Frisian are spoken in the UK and The Netherlands. With the key difference being that you don't see them written so much as a second language on signs and stuff like that.
Sranantongo.
Informally? Het is gewoon een taal hoor...
Fakka bro ik ben ook NL/SU
@@blabla.8739 informeel. ik ben geen surinamer maar worden bij regeringsinstanties niet alles in het Nederlands genotuleerd? alle vaardigingen worden dacht ik ook in het Nederlands geschreven dat maakt Nederlands de formele taal in SU
@@blabla.8739 Kijk op school werd mij altijd geleerd dat Sranantongo "straattaal" is, grof is, en we mochten het niet spreken. dat is natuurlijk jammer omdat het een deel is van Suriname en eigenlijk gewoon mooi is. Wat maakt sranantongo "Informeel"?
1. We krijgen het niet op school, leren het altijd achteraf en door het gewoon, te spreken. Niemand die de grammatica aan ons leert.
2. In alle officiele documenten die je haalt, staat het geschreven in het Nederlands. Haast alles dat je ziet of hoort om je heen staat in het nederlands (Reclames, nieuws, media etc.). Heel weinig komt het voor dat je een reclame in het sranan tongo ziet.
3. Ons officiele taal is letterlijk, Nederlands. alles daarbuiten zijn eigenlijk bij-talen als ik het zo mag noemen
Being a Suriname local and stumbling upon this video is very funny indeed
Lol
Your pronunciation was very good of those names. It was very surreal hearing those words spoken in a British accent. What a time to be alive
He mispronounced some.
No it wasn't but we love how we still tried
I visited Suriname a few years ago and it was quite an experience. The amount of languages I heard and different cultures there were was fascinating
Thank you jon bastion and name explain for doing my country ... i was born there but lived in the Netherlands from a very young age! right now I'm writing a sociological paper about how the kolonial switch still affects today. I'm so elated that this video was made at this moment. love love love ❤️
AAAAH i loved this soo much. It's always great to see my country in these kinds of videos.
Most kids here speak 3 languages (usually dutch, english and sranang and whatever tongue they may speak at home) I myself speak 5 languages sranang, dutch, english, spanish and portuguese.
Você fala português?
Abraços do Brasil
How great to see this! Thank you! Sincerely, a Dutch-born with parents from Suriname (Javanese & Indian)🤗
That worked out more than well I see
The Surinamese Dutch is pretty cool when you consider that it took it's own path of development. As a Dutchman, it took me a while to get used to some of the "old-fashioned" words that I heard during my five year tenure there. The grammatical structure of Surinamese Dutch is also increasingly influenced by creole and carribean English, which makes for some unusual sentence constructions. My personal favourite: Begin te gaan.
En als je wilt, hoef je niet te gaan ... haha ;-)
Begin te gaan naar een of ander rotishop, of ye gwa na mojotenti? 😜😂😜😂😜
Impressive Surinamese. But you still have a long way to go before you reach the top dogs, DRC who speak over 200 languages. Including Hebrew. Much of Africa is just broken in terms of languages. My country, Kenya has 55 languages and neighbours Tanzania 120 languages, same as the Indian subcontinent.
@@jomo2483 we do not even care about the top dogs. Btw the indian subcontinent has 400+
As a Surinamese I'd like to give some insight and some corrections:
0:15 = depending on who you ask, this map is either good or wrong. A Surinamese uses this map: i.pinimg.com/originals/9d/50/c9/9d50c9aebdd61e3be97323a73500f931.jpg. There is a border dispute with both Guyana and France (French Guiana). Read more about that here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borders_of_Suriname
8:11 = Dutch is the native language of 60% of the population. Yes, Sranantongo is spoken by almost everyone, but it has only around 20% of native speakers. The other 60% are the Dutch native speakers that speak Sranantongo as a second language and or mix it with Dutch. Dutch is seen as a formal language, while Sranantongo is seen as a informal language. The more formal the situation, the more Dutch in someone's speech, the less formal the situation, the more you will hear Sranantongo. Dutch is mainly heard in the capital and the area around it, which is also where 70% of the nation lives.
10:44 = Sarnami Hindustani is not an export language. It's a creole language. It was created here and it has mainly influences of Bhojpuri, other Indian languages, Dutch and Sranantongo. A native Hindi and Bhojpuri speaker might understand a lot of it, but not everything. Sarnami is also not spoken by all the 150.000 Indo-Surinamese as native language though. Many of them speak Dutch as native language and either Sarnami or Sranantongo as second or third.
11:00 = The Netherland's didn't rule over that area. It was the British Raj. The Dutch made a deal with the Brits to bring Indians to Suriname, because the British were doing it too. Our neighbor Guyana also has Indians as does Trinidad and many other Caribbean countries.
11:34 = It's not Javanese, it's Surinamese Javanese. A creole language of Suriname. Like Sarnami it has influences of Dutch and Sranantongo. It also has words that sound Javanese, but are not found in standard Javanese of Indonesia. There are not 100,000 speakers as Suriname has only 73,000 Javanese. Of that number only 12.967 speak it; 5.531 are native speakers and 7.436 second speakers. The Javanese in Suriname mainly speak Dutch and Sranantongo.
I hope the following is a little more clear now.
Note: Just because a language has some outside influence it doesn't become a creole a creole is mixture of languages... Sure Surinamese Javanese and Sarnami are different from their cousins in Indonesia and India but they are not different enough to be considered creoles...
@@ind-m-20 They are considered creole languages. If I use your theory I can say the same about Guyanese Creole, Trinidadian Creole and Jamaican Creole. Heck even Haitian Creole. They have similarities with English and French, but they aren’t English and French.
Yet they are classified as Creoles. Similarly Sranantongo is an English based Creole. I can also say it's just a version of English, but it isn’t, because it classifies as a Creole.
Sarnami and Surinamese Javanese meet the requirements to classify as Creoles. Linguist in Suriname and the Netherlands also classify it as such. The reason why this guy referred to it as an export language, is because there is not enough information available in English about these languages. Read all information about these languages in Dutch and you'll see that it is classifies as a creole.
@@SheldonY14 Well its not considered creoles by linguists for reason for example Hindi/Urdu has a lot of persian influence yet it isn't considered a creole, English has a lot of French influence yet it isn't considered a creole so influence isn't the only factor in making a language a creole
@@ind-m-20 I think it's imporatant to know how a creole language gets created. And why the other languages you mentioned are not Creoles. When people from many areas come together (factors such as slavery and/or indenture laborers) and they can't understand each other and have a need to communicate, they create this language called a pidgin language. When the next generation takes over that language, as their native language, it's called a creole. This video explains it in 5 minutes more perfectly: ua-cam.com/video/qqJI7SdS9Gg/v-deo.html
In this case Sarnami was created the same way. People from all over the Indian subcontinent coming into Suriname in a period of 30+ years, with the majority speaking Bhojpuri and others some other languages. To understand each other, they had to create a common language to communicate with each other (taking Dutch, Sranantongo and Bhojpuri/Indo-Aryan words)...that's what you call a pidgin language. The next generation being born, now learns that pidgin language instead of the language their parents spoke in India. Because that language is now the native language of that new generation, it's no longer called a pidgin, but a creole language. So Sarnami started out as a pidgin and became a creole language.
The same thing also happend to Surinamese-Javanese. People mainly from central Java, but also other parts of Indonesia coming together and have a need to understand each other. They create a common pidgin language, from Dutch, Sranantongo, Javanese and other languages in Indonesia. This is taught to their children who will now speak this as a native language, making it a creole.
@@SheldonY14 Caribbean creoles are not like the European languages at all. I speak one and understand another
♫ It’s time to learn Geography ♫ NOW!
what
“Hey I’m your host Barby, and welcome to another episode of..”
Speaking of, the Suriname episode is coming soon!
twitter.com/geographynow
ua-cam.com/video/756qYWcT5t8/v-deo.html
NOWWW
This just makes me so happy.big up sranang brada nanga sisa😘🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷
Speaking of Suriname, hello from Indonesia fellow brothers and sisters
Indonesia also had a huge variety of living languages, there's 700 of them
Anyway, great and insightful video as always!
🇸🇷 💓🇮🇩 Aku cinta Indonesia!!
As a surinamese person proud that we are featured. I speak sranan tongo and other languages as well. I don't live in Suriname anymore but i never forget where i came from
I looked at the thumbnail and went ohh wait that's my country. Thank you for doing this❤🇸🇷
Having lived 3 years in Suriname, I encountered also several other cultures and languages than you summed up.
As a starter, there are still descendants of Portuguese Jews (from Brazil) as wel as Jews from early Colonization by Dutch, of whom still speak a remnant of Hebrew.
Further there are descendants of Libanese immigrants, who speak a form of Arab.
Also there are descendants of immigrants of Cabo Verde, which speak still a dialect of Portuguese.
Then there are descendants of early Dutch settlers who speak a very Surinamised Dutch, called "Boeroe" (boers meaning Farmers), whitch is not unlike (South-) Afrikaans.
The "Hindustani" have alse still many speakers in "Hindi" (from India) as well as "Urdu" (the language now of Pakistan).
The "Javanese" speak themselves more (inter-related) languages, like Soendanese and Madurese, and some languages from other Indonesian Islands, though there are only a few speakers still alive.
But then the Chinese: there are many languages in China, of which some are still spoken in Suriname.
And I might have forgotten some also.
Still even more so a record!
In Suriname spreken de indiase expats hindi. Sarnami wordt gesproken door de hindustanen.
I'm south-east Asian that moved to Suriname and learned Dutch there. Than moved to Netherlands since I already learned how to speak their language. Here in Netherlands in street slang ""Suriname" often gets shorted to "Su".
Welcome to our beautifull country my friend!
Which part of South-east Asia if I may ask?
This is 'su' true. 😂 Born and raised here. But I don't like the surinamese language.
@@gsw8459 @hk
@@NexuJin Honk Kong
I'm a Patreon Saint. Yay!
Thank you for recommending us!!!
Suriname 🇸🇷 🇸🇷 🇸🇷
We approve of this video.
If you are Surinamese or have lived in Suriname for a few years you are automatically multi lingual.
Nah, I was to lazy
Whaaaaaat I’m half Surinamese. I was born in Holland where we have a huge diaspora. I speak Dutch and can understand Sarnami. However my dad who was born there speaks Dutch, Sranang Tongo, and Sarnami (Daughter language of Bhojpuri of the Indo-Surinamese population)
You're a blacka jantje
Niet alleen bhojpuri
Bro what are bhojpuris doing in Latin America???
@@sayantanpaul626 South America*
@@sayantanpaul626 So basically during the Britsh Raj in India, slavery of Africans was abolished which lead to a shortage of labor on sugarcane fields and coffee plantations. To make up for this loss, the British, along with mainly the French and the Dutch started “importing” labor from one of the poorest regions in India. Mainly from UP and Bihar. Our ancestors got shipped to various parts of the world including Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Fiji, even to Africa. Most notably Kenya and Uganda. 200+ years have passed and now we’re our own distinct ethnic group collectively known as Indo-Caribbeans/Indo-Fijians/Indo-Africans :) Our language is known as Caribbean-Hindi or Sarnami/Hindoestaans as we call it in Suriname and Holland.
Edit: Suriname isn’t located in “Latin-America” since it’s not a Spanish-speaking country like Guyana and Belize but they are of course in South America where most of the Spanish-speak pop. live.
Oi lad
The relationship between Dutch and sranan is : we just put that stuff in the blender and talk....that's it there is no divide between elites and non elites using a specific language . we just mix that stuff most of the time
Fakka broer
Of fawaka
@@Wasbever_14 Fawaka*
@@apeman9238 nefo jih lul na ala 2 klo wis wasi beest
@@isaiah3457 say deh yu e du so? A pa fi no boel yu noh? No yu e frustreer. Nefo go nyang pi yere, no kon lul tap traman edeh. Waardeloos figuur yu.
@@apeman9238 ie aksi ie pa foe vertaal sranantongo klo dot khoelie
9:55 is it 70,000 like you said or 7,000 like you wrote on screen?
As a boomer who grew up with colonial era maps, I can testify that when it was a Dutch colony, the final silent E was not used. It was added only after independence.
That's strange, because the name of the place while under the Dutch was Dutch Guiana, just like Guyana was British Guiana or Belize in Central America was British Honduras.
@@sion8 Come to think of it, I may have seen both “Dutch Guiana” and “Surinam.” They may have been alternate names. But there was a time when “Surinam” was spelled without the final E.
@@allanrichardson1468
It still is in Spanish, but that's because it would sound weird with that ⟨E⟩, unlike in English.
@@sion8 Interesting. To me it the silent E would also be out of place in English, since it rhymes with “Mom” and not with “name.” In French the silent E would make it rhyme with “Mom,” however.
If I had to do business there, I would check it out with the US State Dept. I do know a family that came from there. I’ll ask them and get back on here. Thanks.
@@allanrichardson1468
Ah, sure, no problem.
Thank you for doing an episode about Suriname! I was fortunate enough to spend New Years in Paramaribo a few years ago and immediately fell in love with Suriname. Such an interesting and beautiful country. Everyone I interacted with spoke very good English, but walking around the markets at night it was really interesting to hear Surinamese Dutch as well as other languages being spoken there. Although the book focuses on Guyana you should read "Bastard Tongues" by Derek Bickerton, it goes into great detail on the African/ Guiana creoles across that area. Incredibly fascinating.
the dutch had indonesia
its reflected in surinamese food
Yup: Bakmi, Saoto (Soto), Dawet (🇸🇷: pink version & 🇮🇩: black version), etc.
That also explains the Javanese
@@kakfafadillahe ja dat is allemaal lekker
Ofa I'm from Suriname and I'm thankful you made a video about my country. Heel feel dank en blessie mi brada tek eng rustig jere, adios.XD
Something I've noticed (being from Suriname) is that more and more (young/ gen z/ gen Alpha) people are developing an accent. I have it and a lot of my friends do too. It kinda sounds like a Dutch accent, but we got it from speaking too much english. We now pronounce our Rs less clearly and our Ls a little different. To be completely honest I think one day in the far future English will be spoken more than dutch and surinames/ any other languages in Suriname.
I thought I was the only one who noticed. It's called a "gehemelte-r". The rolling-r that the older generation has is disappearing. Though, if they government does take action in the education system, Dutch could still be preserved and spoken for many generations to come.
I really love how you try your best to pronounce the names👍😊. It's really nice to see this as a recommendation! Born and raised in Suriname! 😉
Suriname is an example of how many people can live together in harmony ❤🇸🇷
With a massmurderer and convicted drug dealer as president lol (Desi Bouterse)
@@DutchMolenaar de huidige heet Chan Santokhi.
@@DutchMolenaar desi Bouterse me bil
Together in harmony? Or are the maroons discriminated.
@@DutchMolenaar lol
Suriname are amazing, speach dutch and English and have a lot of Indians.
🇳🇱🇳🇱🇸🇷🇸🇷
Javanese here. 🙏🙏😂
We have a lot of races I'm mixed Indigenous native, African (black) and Indian ❤🇸🇷
I work with someone from Indigenous, Chinese and Indian and I mistook her for a Javanese bc she kinda looks like a Javanese woman. For real.
What are Indians doing in Latin America?????
Tanzania's national languages included Swahili, English, French, German and over 120 ethinic languages.
Thanks for telling people about us. There's a lot more to tell and learn about Suriname.
Surinamese here! loved the video, some of the facts are even new to me, haha!
About the language: The most schools are in Dutch and teach exclusively in Dutch like (96% of them). Surinamese people who don't speak Dutch generally haven't had basic education. However this may be just about 10% of the population or less. The majority of the population (90%) lives in urban areas, but the rest are scattered throughout the (mostly) untouched nature that accounts for roughly 90% of the country! Sranan Tongo is very easy to learn because it doesn't have a lot of words (Approx. 340!), so often this language eliminates the language barrier for people that don't speak Dutch in the country. If you meet a Surinamese person, it's most likely they'll understand you the best in Dutch!
About Dutch in the Netherlands vs Suriname : Surinamese and the Dutch understand each other perfectly! The only problem can be the accent, but it's not hard to get past that. Grammatically both are identical. Generally Surinamese and the Dutch understand each other for about 99% because of how we sometimes address certain objects or actions.
Amazing explanation. As a fellow Surinamese I agree with what you said.
Bro are your parents Indian or something?
Your surname is Ganpat and you look very Indian!!!
@@sayantanpaul626 I am Indian! Hahaha. But you can day I'm a "Dutch Indian". From 1873 there were alot of Indian immigrants that came from (then called) British-India. This was when suriname was a British colony. Buuut later the Dutch colonized Suriname, and after the independence in 1975 some moved to the Netherlands and other's stayed in Suriname (like my (great) grandparents)
One thing i would like to add. The Dutch had some land in India but the indentured servants that came here, which I am a descendant from, came from British India. The Dutch asked the British for some manpower and the Brits said, I know a place with lots of people.
That explains why they speak Hindustani or Bhojpuri in Surinam. The Dutch had forts on the coast of Kerala (where they speak Malayalam) and colonised Ceylon between the Portuguese and the British.
Am I the only one who used to misread "Suriname" as "surname", and wondered why there was a country named after last names
Yep
Yep
Yea i get that a lot when people ask where I'm from and try to pronounce it lol
♥️💯🇸🇷 Suriname 🇸🇷♥️💯🔥
I live in Suriname 🇸🇷 best country ever
And I'm a saramakaan and proud 👏🏾💯❤️
God: "Ok, and now to Suriname. How many languages do you want?"
Suriname: NO, BUT ALSO YES
"NEE, MAAR OK WEL
A creole is not specific to america, but rather refers to any pidgin language that becomes a native language. There are even theories that English is a creole language, and many Creoles came about across the world as a result of imperialism.
Have you read Bastard Tongues by Derek Bickerton? He focuses much of that book on the creoles spoken in the Guianas. Very fascinating .
there is a movement to call the Creole spoken in Haiti simply Haitian and not Hatian Creole
I'm from suriname, and i can speak : dutch, English, javaanese, Spanish And Portuguese(cause of school), and a little bit of hindu. and we got a ton of cultures in here, there's even a mosque build next to a synagogue which is freaking awesome
Je bedoelt Sarnami Hindustani.
Piye kabare?
I never thought that someone actually would talk about my country on UA-cam 🥰 l gotta share this
Just in time for Geography Now, who I think has its next episode about Suriname.
Nope, Sri Lanka, then Sudan and South Sudan. Suriname will only come after these 3.
@@FairyCRat Yeah
And now, it's time to next episode after Sudan & South Sudan
Beautiful video..love it🇸🇷👏 Like the different languages we also have different religions what also make us unique. A beautiful place where we live in harmony with each other 🙏🌍
I'm Dutch with afro-Surinamese roots. Many people of my age don't really speak Sranan Tongo here in the Netherlands. Our parents and/or grandparents moved to the Netherlands and there are many of them who didn't teach their children Sranan. It was forbidden to speak Sranan tongo during the colonized times. As result people are proudly dutch-Surinamesre, but their level or Sranan Tongo is very low. There are many initiatives by organisations to help the next generation of the Surinamese diaspora in the Netherlands with learning S.T. language is part of your heritage.
Can I get your WhatsApp number..
I will to know you
Iya wi e leri suma tu fu taki Sranan : info@verenigingaaneen.nl
Fact about my country: The last TWO speakers of the Mawayana language live in the village of Kwamalasamutu in the south of Suriname. It was spoken in the south of Suriname and north of Brazil. After these people pass away the Mawayana will be extinct.
I'm arawak and i can talk a little bit of my own language and also Dutch and many others. Suriname really does have many cultures and it's so amazing.
Je moet meer arawaks spreken, laat het niet uitsterven.
🇸🇷‼️ To Us Alone Bushinenge (maroon) of Suriname. We have many languages 7 & 7 : there seven contemporary Afro-Surinamese and a bit of European Creole languages: Sranan tongo, Saamaka, Matawai, Okanisi, Kwiïnti, Aluku and Pamaka. 7 other older ones that some of us also practice are: Amanfu, Kumanti, Akoopina, Loanga, Ampuku, Papa and Anklibenda, ancestral African languages. saamaka, Pamaka, Aluku, Sranan, Okanisi, Matawai, Kiïnti. and the oldest Amanfu, Kumantie, Papa, Loanga, Anklibenda, Akoopina, Ampuku THESE ARE LANGUAGES PRACTICED ALREADY MORE THAN 343 - 500 YEARS OLD. I am extremely proud of what we have, I myself speak 7 of them with other languages from elsewhere like French, English and Créole guyanaise.
So with the rest of the other communities in the country we are unique for a population of around 630,000 inhabitants on a territory covered 90% by the primary Amazonian forest.
I wasn't paying much attention to the name of this video, and for a second i unsarstood it as "surnames' varieties in origins " (i don't know how that end ended up there either), and now i'm curious on the variety in surnames origins XD
Omggg!!! Reallyyy a video about our country❤❤🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷 I'M FROM SURINAME AND IT IS A FACT THAT IT IS A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY AND WE HAVE MANY LANGUAGES❤❤🤗🤗🤗🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷 btw i live in SURINAME and i speak Hindoestani also know as Surinami❤❤🤗🤗 ok greeting from suriname🇸🇷❤❤🤗🤗🤗🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷
"Street language" in the Netherlands is heavily influenced by Tamazight (Berber language from Nothern Marocco) and Sranantongo (from Suriname).
Pattas - shoes
Doekoe - money
Taataa - Dutch people
All come from Sranantongo for example.
En als je zei dat het Sranantongo was heb je alle termen fout geschreven.
Patta = from portugese sapata. Tata is congolese for father. We are mis using it. Know before you speak.
@@avonbarksdale2268 Tata is also father in sranan tongo but that's not where the slang for Dutch people comes from. It's from p'tata (potatoes) which at some point got it's p dropped from the slang word.
@@MrAfusensi Dat is wat ze jou zeggen ja. Wanneer die oudere bidden naar “Nana A Tata” zal je ze zeggen ze hebben het van het woord P’tata ja. 😂 Tata is congolees en Wij creolen in Suriname komen meerendeels van Loango Congo streek / Angola.
@@avonbarksdale2268 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣👌
Pe den sranan mang f'mi de? Iets om trots op te zijn! Loved this video
I see my country i click.
Suriname 🇸🇷🇳🇱
yeah...we all do! Can't help ourselves!
Very educational and well presented. Shared with my family in and from Suriname
Groeten van jullie Europese broertjes 🇳🇱🇸🇷❤️
Groeten terug 🇸🇷🤝🇳🇱
Thanks for the great vid about my country. Respect and love from suriname
Really nice to see my country get more exposure
I recommend "Lexicon Valley," a podcast by John McWhorter. He's a professional linguist who has done a lot of research on creole languages in Suriname. He covers a range of linguistic topics in a quirky way that is accessible to non-specialists.
Yes, I recently discovered his podcast. It's very well done.
3:48 'in 3000 BC they didn't care much for borders like wo do' that's what you think. For the most part, tribes make up very pronounced borders along the lines of geographical features such as rivers, valleys or mountains.
Yeah, but they weren't precise like we have them now where we can measure them to the micrometer! People back then only defended what they thought was most vulnerable via fortifications and left the rest to chance if it wasn't too much of a burden, which is why they left it to geography to stop people or at least to a trickle.
@@sion8 well, he said they didn't care much, not that they didn't care AS much.
@@mysteriousDSF
Oh, he is still right. It is with the advent of the modern passport that everyone becomes super serious about borders.
Travel for most of human history didn't require one as one could get anywhere one wanted to as long as one had the means. Today, we have visas and migration control is very tight and so most border be precise.
Another interesting fact about Warao is that it's one of the few languages which uses object-subject-verb word order. However, OSV has found notability in English; it's the word order that Yoda speaks in
Suriname often sending their javanese suriname as diplomat in indonesia as it can make relation between the two country became closer and closer
Also, if you are javanese suriname and never tracking your relatives in java, it's better to start doing so, as alot of javanese suriname already find their relatives in indonesia
Psst... If you are javanese suriname and you are single, finding your relatives in java might be a good idea, as you may have lots of beautiful cousin to choose
Wtf incest 😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@apeman9238 not if the cousin comes from your mom's brother or one of your grandma's sister grandchild
@@thegrandlord2914 as a Surinamese i would like a javanese Surinamese girl (allways beautiful) but i am not that found of hindustani girls.
@@apeman9238 psst... Indonesian javanese has mixed with other ethnic which makes them even more beautiful. Some indonesian javanese even have orientalish face
@@thegrandlord2914 btw. Whay do every indonesian i saw commenting on a video about Suriname, only care about the javanese people of Suriname? And that guy Raymond Sapoen is politician that needs to work on his popularity guy (i saw indonesian news say that he was president of suriname or somthing). And javanese people here in Suriname are only 14% of the population, the largest are the Hindustanies (like myself) people often think that i am Javanese instead of Hindustani.
i can't give you ratio perse, but dutch is often used in formal settings while sranantongo is used in informal settings so most people speak both depending on the situations and who they are speaking to
officially we are taught in dutch but most of media, at least when it comes to movies and series, are just in english, no dutch subtitles. all official media is in dutch however. we are taught english in our 8th year of school all the way till the end of highschool. we are also taught spanish in our 8 year but after our 9th year it becomes optional
Suriname 🇸🇷 Well I am Dutch but have a SU mother
Hi, I am from Suriname and I speak, Dutch, English, Sranan-tongo, hindi and Sarnami
Suriname is sure intresting and a treasure. 💡
Im seeing this an hour after submitting my schoolwork on Suriname 😀
The Dutch didn't seize it but they exchanged it with the British the British got new York
They did in 1667 to which the British took it again and then they exchanged it with New York.
@@SheldonY14 i know, but then it wasn't recognized as a Dutch colony when the exchanged happened it became official.
@@siriestichotkan2198 However, control was exercised by the Dutch. So the government and administration style was Dutch oriented. So in practice it was under Dutch control since 1667. Many historians in Suriname recognize it as such and in school during history class we learn it as such.
Thanks for presenting suriname international. I'm from suriname and i speak 7 languages 😊😊😊😊 2 i learn in school ( english and spanish)
From home ( sranan tongo, dutch,japanese, aucaans is one of the ndyuka language, french) my mom was half black half japanese my dad is black. But they speak many language.🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷
I suppose you mean *Javanese* instead of Japanese.
Suriname's variety of languages is a reminder about the country's fascinating history and culture.
Hii, greatings from Suriname 🇸🇷 In these covid times it is good to see something other than covid... Thank you for making a video of the languages in Suriname... Some things not accurate though but it's a start ☺
I would say i hope he does the languages of Papua New Guinea. But because that has over 800 languages i think that may be a long video
oooh mercy!!!
Thanks for making this vdo. The thought recently crossed my mind to suggest Suriname as it's indeed an interesting country with interesting people and the many languages.
I'm a second generation Amsterdammer (lastly I consider myself Dutch) from Surinamese descend. The fact that I was born and raised in Amsterdam whilst my parents spoke solely Dutch to me and my siblings was, as already mentioned, due to the erroneous idea that we as children were thought to have lingual difficulties in NL. As a matter of fact thus very situation opened up my interest for languages at an early age.
I taught myself the basics in English through the adult courses on telly. I then already discovered similarities between SrananTongo (~ng~ sounds as in 'ring') which sped my skill.
In answer of your question: this made me speak seven languages; NL, DE, FR, ES, CAT, ST and EN.
Step Back has a great video about the Maroons
Linguistic treasure wow.... We Surinamers appreciate your time taken for all your input to make such great video... Haha... It's really fascinating that foreigners see out beloved Suriname like a treasure! Where are you from? I speak Sranang tongo, sarnami, Dutch(our main language) English and little Spanish
Damn, thats awesome
And yet one language so they can all understand each other❤
Wi na Wan ; we are 1
I live and was born in Suriname so I hoped you would say Good things about my country
hope u can explain about language in Curacao.
Haha Curaçao would be cool
Papiamento/Papiamentu. Kon ta bai swa.
Definitely! What an interesting language Papiamento is
I am dutch and moved to Suriname a couple years ago. In the Netherlands I grew up with some basic words in Sranantongo, but when I moved it felt like I had to learn all over again. It’s been 10 years now and I can understand it perfectly but it’s hard for me to speak😂 Most people from the city at least understand dutch, even if they don’t speak it, but most people from the interior have problems with/ do not speak or understand dutch, since it is more of a city (and surrounding areas) thing. But it’s a minor effort to learn Surinamese, it is very easy, that’s why most new immigrants start by learning sranantongo instead of dutch or English. Any dutch, English, Spanish or Portuguese speaking person has an advantage in learning the language 😌
Hope this made some things clear lol.
Wat je in Nederland over Sranan geleerd had is rommel. Vandaar je het weer opnieuw moest leren.
I'm so sad that I don't speak any of my country's languages. We migrated and my mom thought it was best not to speak speak to us in Dutch so that we can learn English, bad idea
Wouldn't have done any good, no use for it
@@LAKD that's your opinion, but I'm trying to learn Dutch, it's important to me
@@michellaflavius1790 heel goed. Als t voor jou belangrijk voelt dan is t dat. Veel succes met leren
we can teach you how to speak Sranan ..online or in class : info@verenigingaaneen.nl
The Arawak people also leave in the northernmost part of Colombia! Their traditional knitted (don't know if it's the correct word) bags are very popular all around the country
My ansasteres are from Java but the funny part is i can't speak Java only my parens . Because we learn a nother type of lenguages that is Nederlands.😒
I'm Javanese Indonesian, sadly I also can't speak Javanese because my parents never taught me Javanese and quite a lot of children today can't speak Javanese;"(
English has also had a huge influence on our speach in Suriname, we even create content in perfect english. For example, if i start speaking english, you would think i'm from the US, while deeply knowing i ain't never yet visited the US😅
Sranan Tongo plays a major role in Dutch and Belgian slang used by teens and rappers as well! Very interesting country and languages.
Sranantongo language from the Netherlands is made up
@@apeman9238 as with literally every other language
@@vansradjmadho8365 if you look at that way yeah. But how are we going to communicate if fhere was no language.
@@apeman9238 just throw some gangsigns ✌️
@@vansradjmadho8365 ✌ means peace.
🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷 love from suriname to you all land of love 🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷
Fun fact: there's more native speakers of German than, dutch in south America
Consider also doing a video on Guyana- only British speaking country in South America!
Meanwhile in my country there is drama because we have 3.
Usa ?
Belgium?
@@mosef312 Yes.
Kan nog steeds niet begrijpen waarom je in België geen regering kan vormen... oorzaak: tien voor taal...😁
@@dirtmanrock5428 Om dat de politiekers kinderachtig zijn en niet met elkaar willen saamen werken en andere meningen hebben het is niet echt door de taal.
Never expected somebody talking about this. :D
Haha. Lol im creol. And my dad is javanese..🖐. A boeng
@@bdjojo4416 ai
@@whoshalva9482 me noh ben denki. Tak tra soemah. Ey play roblox.
As a Dutch man, I can only say one thing about Suriname:
G E K O L O N I S E E R D !
Jajaja 🇳🇱🇸🇷 ookal ben ik half SU
@@Wasbever_14 GEWEEST!
Nu doet heel de wereld dat met Nederland 😄
@L M weet Baudet dat zijn naam ezel in het frans betekent?
Greetings from Suriname 🇸🇷❤
Odi odi
Slamet isoh☀️
Zag deze video plotseling in me recommendations vanochtend