Surinamese Dutch

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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