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English is the official language of Guyana, which is the only South American country with English as the official language. [1] [2] The Umana Yana in Georgetown; the name means "Meeting place of the people" in Waiwai. Guyanese Creole (an English-based creole with African, Indian, and Amerindian syntax) is widely spoken in Guyana. [1]
Indo-Guyanese or Guyanese Indians, are Guyanese nationals of Indian origin who trace their ancestry to India and the wider subcontinent. They are the descendants of indentured servants and settlers who migrated from India beginning in 1838, and continuing during the British Raj .
Guyanese Creole (Creolese by its speakers or simply Guyanese) is an English-based creole language spoken by the Guyanese people.Linguistically, it is similar to other English dialects of the Caribbean region, based on 19th-century English and has loan words from West African, Indian-South Asian, Arawakan, and older Dutch languages.
Nickerian-Berbician Hindustani is also mutually intelligible with the Guyanese Hindustani spoken in the rest Guyana, however unlike Suriname, Indians in Guyana have mostly adopted Guyanese English Creole as their first language and it is spoken mostly by the elderly, Hindu priests, and Indian immigrants from Suriname. [8] [20]
Even as the only English-speaking country in South America, the majority of people in Guyana speak Guyanese Creole informally. Standard English, i.e. British English spelling and pronunciation, is used for all business and education and is typically consistently spoken by members of the upper and upper-middle class. [12]
English is the official language of Guyana and is used for education, government, media, and services. The vast majority of the population speaks Guyanese Creole, an English-based creole with slight African, Indian, and Amerindian influences, as their first language. [64]
English is the main language, and Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America, although many people in neighboring Suriname also speak English. British English is taught in school and used in Government and business. Guyanese creole, a pidgin of 17th-century English, African and Hindi words, is used at home and on the street.
Standard Indian English. Indian English: the "standard" English used by government administration, it derives from the British Indian Empire. Butler English: (also Bearer English or Kitchen English), once an occupational dialect, now a social dialect. Hinglish: a growing macaronic hybrid use of English and Indian languages. Regional and local ...