Surinamese Dutch (
Dutch:
Surinaams-Nederlands) is the form of
Dutch spoken in
Suriname, a former
Dutch colony. Dutch is spoken as a mother tongue by about 60% of the population, most of them being bilingual with
Sranan Tongo,
Saramaccan and other languages. Nevertheless, Dutch is the sole official language of the country. Surinamese Dutch is easily intelligible with other forms of Dutch. Furthermore, as opposed to other languages that have different forms in the Americas (e.g.,
American English vs.
British English) the regulation and thus standardised spelling of the Dutch language is done through a joined Dutch-Belgian-Surinamese organisation and thus has no regional differences regarding spelling. Suriname has been an associate member of this
Nederlandse Taalunie since 2005. Therefore many typical Surinamese words were added to the official
Wordlist of Standard Dutch, known as the "Green Booklet" (
Groene Boekje).
The only known words exclusive to Surinamese Dutch are
okseltruitje, bacove, cellulair, wiet, zwamp, roti, kouseband, schaafijs, bobo and
buitenvrouw. Surinamese Dutch has been heavily influenced by other languages spoken by residents and also by common street slang.
History of Surinamese Dutch
Dutch was introduced in what is now Suriname when
Paramaribo and its environs became a Dutch colony. The remainder of Suriname, however, remained in
British hands. Only after the Dutch had lost
New Netherland (including present-day
New York City) to the British...
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