Fogo Creole

Characteristics

• The progressive aspect of the present is formed by putting stâ before the verbs: stâ + V.
• The sound that originates from Portuguese is represented by instead of. Ex. coraçã instead of coraçõ “heart”, mã instead of mõ “hand”, razã instead of razõ “reason”.
• The sound switches to when it is at the end of syllables. Ex. ártu instead of áltu “tall”, curpâ instead of culpâ “to blame”, burcã instead of vulcõ “volcano”.
• The sound disappears when it is at the end of words. Ex.: lugá’ instead of lugár “place”, midjô’ instead of midjôr “better”, mudjê’ instead of mudjêr “woman”.
• The diphthongs are in general pronounced as vowels. Ex.: mã’ instead of mãi “mother”, nã’ instead of nãu “no”, pá’ instead of pái “father”, rê’ instead of rêi “king”, tchapê’ instead of tchapêu “hat”.
• The pre-tonic sound is velarized near labial or velar consonants. Ex.: badjâ “to dance” pronounced, cabêlu “hair” pronounced, catchô’ “dog” pronounced.

  Vocabulary

Grammar

Phonology

Alphabet