Venezuela

Unadapted borrowing from Spanish Venezuela.


Sranan

→ Dutch: Sranan

→ English: Sranan

Sranám-kondre da hási-tére: tide a wai so, tamara a wai so.

1855, Hendrik Charles Focke, Neger-Engelsch woordenboek [Negro English Dictionary], Leiden: P.H. van den Heuvell:

Suriname is like a horsetail: today it's blown this way, tomorrow it's blown that way.

Now di Sranan e meki en biri / ala tra biri kan tan tiri

c. 1955, Eddy Vervuurt, “Lied [Parbo-Mambo]”performed by Orkest Eddy Vervuurt and Big Jones:

Now that Suriname is making its own beer / all other beers can keep quiet

gwe foe Afobaka, go na hé / dan te na sibiboesi krin joe kra / fas joe roetoe tap tafra-bergi lek wan boa / opo wan makti kankantri-sten / gi na njoen Sranan brokodé

1970 March 11, P. Marlee, “Lees: Sranan, moks'alesi”, in Vrije Stem: onafhankelijk weekblad voor Suriname, page 1:

away from Afobaka, go upwards / until a cloudburst cleanses your soul / fasten your roots on the table mount like a boa / raise a mighty cotton tree voice / for the dawn of the new Suriname

Mi luku a grontapu nanga en gudu / Nowan kondre mi feni pe mi sa tan / Mi kan teigi yu fu tru, mi gudu / Nowan kondre mi lobi leki mi Sranan

1975, Sonora Paramarera, “Kondre Nomroe Wan”, in Lobi Dee:

I look at the world and its riches / I find no country where I'll live / I can truly tell you, my darling / I love no country like my Suriname

Atleba ten no sa de moro ini Sranan / Den bakra, den ben hori wi na baka / Den de bow den kondre kon na fesi / Meki wi e pina

1975, Mighty Botai, “Sranang Kong Fri”, in Onafhankelijkheid (Srefidensi) Suriname:

The period of toiling will be no more in Suriname / The Dutch, they held us back / They built up their country successfully / Made us suffer

Opo mi pikin, opo. J'o tron wan Stari. Wan Stari d'e brenki ini a Firmamenti. En m'o gi joe wan kondre. Wan heri kondre nanga foeroe libisma. En a kondre disi sa nen A njoen Republiek Sranan!

1981, Thea Doelwijt, Prisiri stari. De pretster. Wan komedi-pré gi pikin. Een theaterspel voor kinderen [The star of joy. A theatre play for children], Paramaribo: Eldoradoboek, →ISBN, page 60:

Rise, my child, rise. You will become a star. A star that shines in the firmament. And I will give you a country. A whole country, with many people. And this country will be called: the new Republic of Suriname!


Chili

Unadapted borrowing from Dutch Chili, derived from Spanish Chile.


foto

Aukan: foto

Saramaccan: fóto

From English fort, from Middle French fort (“strong”). Originally, this word meant "fort" and specifically referred to Fort Zeelandia, but since Fort Zeelandia and Paramaribo are closely connected, the meaning was transferred to the latter. Nowadays, it can refer to any town.

na fotto dem no habi da muffe so menni; da Djutongo: ma nuffe plantasi habi hem.

1783, C. L. Schumann, “bringi”, in Neger-Englisches Wörterbuch [Negro English Dictionary] (in German), archived from the original on 2023-02-08:

In the city, they don't have [use] this word so much; it's Saramaccan. But enough plantations have [use] it.

nomo mi doro na pranasi so pram, wantem mi seni hem go na foto.

1856, Heinrich Wullschlägel, Deutsch-negerenglisches Wörterbuch. Nebst einem Anhang, negerenglische Sprüchwörter enthaltend [German-Negro English dictionary. Containing, in addition to an appendix, Negro English proverbs] (in German), Löbau: J.U. Duroldt, page 138:

I had barely arrived at the plantation, when I sent him into town immediately.

Ala pikinnengre / te we go na foto / unu mu luku den bon / nanga den strati tu

1960, Big Jones And His Kawina Band, “Ala Pikin Nengre”, in Suriname:

All you kids / when we go into town / have a look at the trees / and the streets too

Ef mi ben sab pe joe grebi de, / mi gran afo, di krodong tjari / kon na Sranan, / so farawe fjoe eegi doti, / biten tédei, Manspasidei / psa hondro jari di keti koti, / mi ben sa saka libi foto, / mi ben sa pari mi eegi boto / f'kon saka kiendie na joe sei.

1974 June 29, Fred W. Omskirk Sr., “Manspasi”, in Vrije Stem: onafhankelijk weekblad voor Suriname, page 1:

If I knew where your grave was, my grand ancestor, whom forced labour / brought to Suriname / so far away from your own native soil, / early today, Emancipation Day / hundred years after the chains were broken, / I would have left the city, / I would have paddled my own boat / to come and kneel by your side.

(informal) Synonym of Paramaribo (the capital city of Suriname)


Kofi

a male given name from Akan, feminine equivalent Afiba, given to a male born on a Friday


Aga

→ Dutch: Agga

The Hague (a city, the administrative capital of the Netherlands)


Sranang

[sɾɑ̟ˈnɑ̟̃ŋ]


winti

winti, a Surinamese religious tradition based on practices from African religions


Franskondre

[fɾã̠ˈnskʊ̞̃ndɾɪ̞]

[fɾɑ̟̃ˈnskɔ̝̃ndɾe̝]

France (a country in Western Europe and South America)


Masragado

[ma̠sɾa̠ˈɡa̠dʊ̞]

[mɑ̟sɾɑ̟ˈɡɑ̟dɔ̝]


Sranan Tongo

[sɾa̠ˈna̠n ˈtʊ̞ŋʊ̞]

[sɾɑ̟ˈnɑ̟n ˈtɔ̝ŋɔ̝]


Ekwador

[ˈɪ̞ː(i̯)kwa̠dʊ̞ɾ]

[ˈe̝ː(i̯)kwɑ̟dɔ̝ɾ]


Damsko

→ Dutch: Damsko

Amsterdam (a city and municipality of North Holland, Netherlands; the capital city of the Netherlands)


Anansi

[ɑ̟ˈnɑ̟̃nsi]

From anansi, from Akan ananse (“spider”), Twi Akan ananse (“spider”), Awutu ananse (“spider”), Abron ànãnzi (“spider”).

(mythology) Anansi (trickster spider in West African and Caribbean folklore)


Paragwai

[ˈpɑ̟ɾɑ̟ɡwɑ̟i̯]


Gayana

[ɡɑ̟ˈjɑ̟nɑ̟]

From English Guyana, from an Amerindian language, probably Cariban or Lokono, said to be a word referring to the land's waters.


Sranantongo

[sɾa̠nã̠ˈntʊ̞ŋʊ̞]

[sɾɑ̟nɑ̟̃ˈntɔ̝ŋɔ̝]

Sranantongo na wan fu den Sranan tongo.

Sranan Tongo is one of the languages of Suriname.

Tide mamantin, wan bigi soema kon aksi mi, iffoe mie no kan taki wan pikien sani na ini Sranang tongo, bikasi alla soema no verstan alla sani fini fini.

1950 January 23, Gerard van der Schroeff, “Einde van de koloniale voogdij. (Radiorede van de heer G. van der Schroeff) [The end of colonial tutelage. Radio address by Mr G. Van der Schroeff]”, in De West, page 5:

This morning, an elderly person came to ask me if I could say something in Sranan Tongo, because not everybody understood everything in detail.


Blanda

[ˈblɑ̟̃ndɑ̟]

Possibly an unadapted borrowing from Dutch Blanda, from Malay Belanda, from Javanese ꦮꦭꦤ꧀ꦢ (walanda), from Portuguese Holanda (“Holland”), from Old Dutch holt lant (“woodland”).

Sabiman koemoto na Blanda / A tjari vaja peng / Voe skrivie en voe kosie / Lee nanga troe de moksie / Na Staten deng wanie go / Biedjie sjeng de waktie deng

1962 September 29, Pa-Lempa, “Van Week tot Week. De Daverende Dingen Dezer Dagen [From Week to Week. The Thrilling Things of These Days]”, in Nieuw Suriname, page 2:

Experts came from Netherlands / Carrying a fiery pen / To write and to cuss / Lies and truths are being mixed up / They want to go to Parliament / A big disgrace awaits them

Datra feni wan kundu na en bobi. A taki kan de na takrusiki. Gitá musu fu go na Blanda fu du a oparasi.

1990, Ismene Krishnadath, Lijnen van liefde [Lines of love], 5th edition, Paramaribo: Publishing Services Suriname, published 2011, page 54:

The doctor found a lump in her breast. He said it could be cancer. Gitá has to go to the Netherlands to have the operation.

Kingdom of the Netherlands
Kingdom of the Netherlands#English

(dated) Netherlands (the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located primarily in Western Europe bordering Germany and Belgium)


Amba

a female given name from Akan, masculine equivalent Kwami, given to a female born on a Saturday


Yaw

a male given name from Akan, feminine equivalent Yaba, given to a male born on a Thursday


Santa Yeye

[ˈsã̠nta̠ ˈjɪ̞jɪ̞]

[ˈsɑ̟̃ntɑ̟ ˈje̝je̝]


bakra

From Efik mbakara or Ibibio mbakara. Compare Belizean Creole bakra, Jamaican Creole bakra, Nicaraguan Creole bakra, Guyanese Creole English bakra, English bakkra, English buckra, and Gullah buckra.

Alternative letter-case form of Bakra (“Dutch person”)


Bakratongo

[ba̠kɾa̠ˈtʊ̞ŋʊ̞]

[bɑ̟kɾɑ̟ˈtɔ̝ŋɔ̝]


Bolifia

Possibly coined by a Jehovah’s Witnesses translation team, from Spanish Bolivia; likely influenced by Dutch Bolivia.

coinage

(rare, literary) Bolivia (a country in South America)


Doisritongo

[dʊ̞i̯sɾiˈtʊ̞ŋʊ̞]

[dɔ̝i̯sɾiˈtɔ̝ŋɔ̝]


Franstongo

[fɾã̠ˈnstʊ̞ŋʊ̞]

[fɾɑ̟̃ˈnstɔ̝ŋɔ̝]


Bakrakondre

[ba̠kɾa̠ˈkʊ̞̃ndɾɪ̞]

[bɑ̟kɾɑ̟ˈkɔ̝̃ndɾe̝]

Nanga da njoen smokoscipi voe bakrakondre mie de senie jou foe dem pikien bakra na Sint Nikolaas verjari die seksie Hondro nestie baskuto voe potie switie sanie na inie hesie mie sa senie moro.

1884 October 26, Algemeen Handelsblad (advertisement), Amsterdam, page 4:

With the new steamship to the Netherlands I'm sending you for the Dutch children, on Saint Nicholas's birthday, six hundred nests of baskets for putting sweets into[.] I'll send more soon.


Fedi

Death, Grim Reaper (personification of death)


Yaba

a female given name from Akan, masculine equivalent Yaw, given to a female born on a Thursday


Krowâsia

[kɾɔ̝ˈwɑ̟ːsiɑ̟]

Possibly coined by a Jehovah’s Witnesses translation team, ultimately from Medieval Latin Croātia.

Nanga moni di sma poti na ini a Kownukondre zaal fonsu, hondrohondro Kownukondre zaal ben bow na ini Bulgaria, Krowâsia, Masedonia, Moldafia, Rosiakondre, nanga Serfia nanga Montenegro.

2003 May, “Wrokoman fu difrenti kondre na grontapu e bow Kownukondre zaal na ini wan tu kondre fu Europa [Workers of different countries of the world are building Kingdom Halls in some European countries]”, in Wi Kownukondre diniwroko, Selters-Taunus: Wachtturm-Gesellschaft (Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses), page 3:

With money that people put into the Kingdom Hall fund, hundreds of Kingdom Halls were built in Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Russia, and Serbia and Montenegro.

Balkan Peninsula
Balkan Peninsula#English

Southeast Europe
Southeast Europe#English

(rare, literary) Croatia (a country on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe)


Kwasi

→ Translingual: Quassia

a male given name from Akan, feminine equivalent Kwasiba, given to a male born on a Sunday


Bergi

From Dutch Belg, ultimately from Latin Belgae.

Oh ma fu sanede mi mu dede / gudu, ma fu sanede mi mu dede / San de na kondre mi no feni ete (sanede mi mu dede) / san de na Doisri mi no fanga ete (sanede mi mu dede) / san de na Swego mi no sabi ete (sanede mi mu dede) / san de na Bergi mi no kisi ete (sanede mi mu dede)

1974, Lieve Hugo, “Na Foe Sang Edè”, in Lieve Hugo – King Of Kasèko:

Oh but why do I have to die / darling, but why do I have to die / What is in the country I haven't found yet (why do I have to die) / what is in Germany I didn't catch yet (why do I have to die) / what is in Sweden[?] I don't know yet (why do I have to die) / what is in Belgium I didn't get yet (why do I have to die)

Belgium (a country in Western Europe that has borders with the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France)


Bergi

a settlement and former plantation in Brokopondo, Suriname


Dyako

From Dutch diaconessenhuis (“Protestant hospital”).

bor

Diakonessenhuis, a hospital in Paramaribo


Wiwirikampufesa

Calque of Dutch Loofhuttenfeest, itself a calque of Hebrew חג הסוכות (ḥaḡ has-sukkōṯ). Equivalent to wiwirikampu (“hut made of foliage”) + fesa (“feast”).


didibrikondre

Compound of didibri (“devil”) + kondre (“country, realm”)


Ingrissei

[ĩˈŋɾisːɪ̞i̯]

[ĩˈŋɾisːe̝i̯]

Literally, “the English side”, compound of Ingris (“English”) + sei (“side”). Compare Franssei (“French Guiana”).

(informal) Guyana (a country in South America)


Franssei

[ˈfɾã̠nsːɪ̞i̯]

[ˈfɾɑ̟̃nsːe̝i̯]

Literally, “the French side”, compound of Frans (“French”) + sei (“side”). Compare Ingrissei (“Guyana”).

French Guiana
French Guiana#English:_Q3769

administrative region
administrative region

(informal) French Guiana (an overseas department and administrative region of France in South America)


Kayana

[kɑ̟ˈjɑ̟nɑ̟]

From French Cayenne, either from French cayenne (“army barracks”), or, as a variant of Guiana, from an Amerindian language, probably Cariban or Lokono; in which case a doublet of Gayana.

Cayenne (the capital city of French Guiana department)


Franskayana

[fɾɑ̟̃nskɑ̟ˈjɑ̟nɑ̟]

Compound of Frans (“French”) + Kayana (“Cayenne, Guiana”).


Brasyon

Brazil (a large Portuguese-speaking country in South America)


Argentinia

Possibly coined by a Jehovah’s Witnesses translation team, from Spanish Argentina, from Latin argentum (“silver”) + the feminine of the adjectival suffix -īnus, in reference to the Río de la Plata ("silver river"); likely influenced by Dutch Argentinië.

Wan toe jari pasa kaba, den ben tapoe na wroko foe Jehovah Kotoigi ini Argentinia, en a no kisi toe jari pasa kaba den ben teki boen foeroe boekoe foe den tapoe na edekantoro foe den ini Buenos Aires en ooktoe 250 Nieuwe Wereldvertaling foe den Santa Boekoe ini Spanjoro tongo.

1980 May 1, “Na disiten bron foe na bijbel e misi hen marki [Modern-day bible burning is missing its mark]”, in A waktitoren, Selters-Taunus: Wachtturm-Gesellschaft (Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses), page 5:

A few years ago already, they stopped the work of the Yehovah's Witnesses in Argentina, and not even two years ago, they took a good number of their books at their head office in Buenos Aires as well as 250 [copies] of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in Spanish.

(rare, literary) Argentina (a country in South America)


Doisrikondre

[dʊ̞i̯sɾiˈkʊ̞̃ndɾɪ̞]

[dɔ̝i̯sɾiˈkɔ̝̃ndɾe̝]

Compound of Doisri (“German”) + kondre (“country”).

com+

Germany (a country in Central Europe, formed in 1949 as West Germany, with its provisional capital Bonn until 1990, when it incorporated East Germany)


Potogisitongo

[pʊ̞tʊ̞ɟisiˈtʊ̞ŋʊ̞]

[pɔ̝tɔ̝jisiˈtɔ̝ŋɔ̝]

Compound of Potogisi (“Portuguese”) + tongo (“language”).


Potogisikondre

[pʊ̞tʊ̞ɟisiˈkʊ̞̃ndɾɪ̞]

Compound of Potogisi (“Portuguese”) + kondre (“country”).


Arabiatongo

[a̠ɾa̠bia̠ˈtʊ̞ŋʊ̞]

[ɑ̟ɾɑ̟biɑ̟ˈtɔ̝ŋɔ̝]

Compound of Arabia (“Arabia”) + tongo (“language”).


Wrokomandei

[wɾʊ̞kʊ̞ma̠nˈdɪ̞i̯]

[wɾɔ̝kɔ̝mɑ̟nˈde̝i̯]

Compound of wrokoman (“worker, labourer”) + dei (“day”).

compound+

May Day, Labour Day (the first day of May, a worldwide workers' holiday)


Mama Sranan

[ˈmɑ̟mɑ̟ sɾɑ̟ˈnɑ̟ŋ]

Na disi wawan de un trutru Manspasi: / firgit' fosten kodya, bigin opo pasi / fu meki mama Sranan waka go doro / pe toekomst de wakt' un, son opo na syoro, / wan dei di Sranan sa kon breiti, kon krin, / te nowan sa prefuru fu kosi un skin.

c. 1950, Albert Helman, Kot'singi [Tale-interrupting song], quoted in Adyosi / Afscheid, Stichting Instituut ter Bevordering van de Surinamistiek, published 1994, page 62:

This alone is our true Emancipation: / forget the cudgels of old, begin to open up roads / to allow Mother Suriname to march forward / to where the future awaits us, the sun rises at the shore, / a day that Suriname will rejoice, will be purified / when no one will dare to curse our skin colour.

Ini 1974 te kon miti a srefidensi foe Sranan (1975), a Doe-Theater pré: Libi Span ini na ati joe^([sic – meaning foe]) Sranan - wan totaal-theater-pré, pe singi, pokoe, dansi nanga pré moksi kon na wan, èn pe den someni koeltoeroe foe Sranan ben e begi foe a krakti foe Mama Sranan.

1981, Thea Doelwijt, Prisiri stari. De pretster. Wan komedi-pré gi pikin. Een theaterspel voor kinderen [The star of joy. A theatre play for children], Paramaribo: Eldoradoboek, →ISBN, page 114:

In 1974 until the independence of Suriname (1975), the Doe-Theater performed: Life's Exciting in the Heart of Suriname - a total-theatre play where song, music, dance and theatre mixed together, and where Suriname's many cultures invoked the strength of Mother Suriname.

A national personification of Suriname as a woman or a mother goddess


Sneisikondre

Compound of Sneisi (“Chinese”) + kondre (“country”).

[snɪ̞i̯siˈkʊ̞̃ndɾɪ̞]


Sneisikondre

Compound of Sneisi (“Chinese”) + kondre (“village”), so named because the village sprang up around a shop run by a Chinese immigrant.

[snɪ̞i̯siˈkʊ̞̃ndɾɪ̞]


Doisri

From Dutch Duitser. Compare Japanese ドイツ (Doitsu, “Germany”).


Republiek Sranan

Republic of Suriname
Republic of Suriname#English:_Q1049

(rare, literary) Republic of Suriname (official name of Suriname, a country in South America)


Pareisi

Paris (the capital and largest city of France)


akama-yaw

[ɑ̟ˈkɑ̟mɑ̟jɑ̟w]

Alternative letter-case form of Akama-yaw (“Death”)


Bagansiyapiyapi

Possibly from Malay Bagansiapiapi, which was an important fishing port of the then-Dutch East Indies in the 1920s and 1930s; reminiscent of bagasi (“luggage; stuff”) and yapiyapi (“monkey”).

(figuratively) Timbuktu, Outer Mongolia, Faroffistan (any proverbially distant or remote place)


Akama-yaw

[ɑ̟ˈkɑ̟mɑ̟jɑ̟w]

Possibly from Akan [Term?]; by surface analysis, Akama + Yaw (“day name of a man born on a Thursday”)

surf

akama-yaw (alternative)
Akamajaw (alternative)

Now Akamajaw sref' / kon sèis en bro-t'té / kot'trowe gi doti! / ènhèn!!

1984, Edgar Cairo, “Woron [Worm]”, in Lelu! Lelu! Het lied der vervreemding, Haarlem: In de Knipscheer, →ISBN, page 380:

Now the Grim Reaper himself / came to scythe the rope of his breathing away / for it to fall on the ground! / Well, well!

Death, Grim Reaper; the personification of death in the Afro-Surinamese Winti belief system


Kodyo

a male given name from Akan, feminine equivalent Adyuba, equivalent to English Cudjoe, given to a male born on a Monday


Kwamina

a male given name from Akan, feminine equivalent Abeniba, given to a male born on a Tuesday


Kwaku

a male given name from Akan, feminine equivalent Akuba, given to a male born on a Wednesday


Kwami

a male given name from Akan, feminine equivalent Amba, given to a male born on a Saturday


Kwasiba

a female given name from Akan, masculine equivalent Kwasi, given to a female born on a Sunday


Adyuba

[ɑ̟ˈd͡ʒubɑ̟]

a female given name from Akan, masculine equivalent Kodyo, given to a female born on a Monday


Abeniba

a female given name from Akan, masculine equivalent Kwamina, given to a female born on a Tuesday


Akuba

a female given name from Akan, masculine equivalent Kwaku, given to a female born on a Wednesday


Afiba

a female given name from Akan, masculine equivalent Kofi, given to a female born on a Friday


Kresneti

Possibly a blend of Krestes (“Christ”) + neti (“night”).

blend

Di Kresneti kisi, Nana ben seni en pikin / na ini a grontapu fu krin wi ala siki / A no ben kon leki wan kownu, ma leki wan mofinawan / na ini wan pina-oso, na ini na sabana / Kon meki wi begi, begi da Anana / Kon meki wi begi, begi da Anana

1978, “Di Krisneti Kisi”, in Kerstmis in Suriname, performed by Alberto en het gemengd koor "Gloria":

When Christmas occurred, God sent his son / into the world to cleanse all our illnesses / He didn't come as a king, but as a poor man/ into a hut in the desert / Come let us pray to the Creator / Come let us pray to the Creator


kresneti

Alternative letter-case form of Kresneti (“Christmas”)


Krestes

[ˈkɾɪ̞stɪ̞s]

From Dutch Christus, from Late Latin Christus, from Koine Greek Χριστός (Khristós), calque of Biblical Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ.


Anana

Ellipsis of Anana Kedyaman Kedyanpon, possibly from Twi Akan [Term?].

name of the creator god and supreme being of the Afro-Surinamese Winti belief system

God, Creator (the single male god of the Abrahamic religions)


Bimre

pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

pronunciation spelling of Bemre (“Bijlmermeer”)


Porifoto

[pʊ̞ɾ(i)ˈfʊ̞tʊ̞]

[pɔ̝ɾ(i)ˈfɔ̝tɔ̝]

Compound of pori (“rotten”) + foto (“city”), a partial pseudo-calque of Dutch Rotterdam, with Dutch Rotte (“Rotte River”) misinterpreted as Dutch rot (“rotten, spoiled”).

compound+

Rotterdam (a city and municipality of South Holland, Netherlands).


Bemre

Bijlmermeer (a borough of Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands)