Annobonese Creole

The Annobonese language, called by its speakers Fá d'Ambô, is spoken by 9,000 in the Annobon and Bioko Islands off the coast of Equatorial Guinea, mostly by people of mixed African, Spanish, and Portuguese descent..

Annobonese is a Portuguese Creole. It is called Falar de Ano Bom or annobonense in Portuguese language, and annobonés in Spanish.

Origins

The language was spoken originally by the descendants of marriages between Portuguese men and African women slaves imported from other places, especially from São Tomé and Angola, and threfore descends from a mixture of Portuguese and Forro.

Language features

Annobonese is analogous to Forro. In fact, it must be derived from Forro as it shares the same structure (82% of its lexicon). After Annobón passed to Spain, the language gained some words of Spanish origin (10% of its lexicon), although it is difficult to be sure, given the similarity between Spanish and Portuguese. Today, the Spanish language is the official language of the island. Portuguese is used as liturgical language.

External links

• Fá d'Ambô Ethnologue report on Fá d'Ambô.