Sranan Tongo

Sranan Tongo (lit. 'Suriname tongue', also Sranantongo, Sranan, Surinaams) is the English-lexified creole of Suriname and the country's main inter-ethnic lingua franca, with ~600K speakers. Although English is its primary lexifier (reflecting 17th-century English colonization 1651-1667 before Dutch took over), substantial substrate from West African Gbe (Fon, Ewe), Akan and Kongo languages distinguishes it from Caribbean English creoles, plus heavy Dutch and Portuguese loans from later layers. Sranan, formerly stigmatized as 'Negerengels' under colonial rule, is now widely used in music, poetry (Trefossa, Dobru), parliament and informally throughout Suriname, despite Dutch retaining sole official status.