Hindustani, Caribbean

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A language of Suriname

ISO 639-3
hns
Population

150,000 in Suriname (1986). Population total all countries: 165,600. Ethnic population: 160,000 (2003).

Location

Coastal. Also in Guyana, Netherlands, Trinidad and Tobago.

Language Status

5 (Developing).

Classification
Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Eastern zone, Bihari
Dialects

Sarnami Hindustani (Aili Gaili, Sarnami Hindi), Trinidad Bhojpuri. More similar to Bhojpuri [bho] than Hindi [hin]. Similar dialect to Trinidad-Tobago.

Language Use

All domains, except education. All ages. Positive attitudes. Also use Sranan [srn] or Dutch [nld].

Language Development
Literacy rate in L1: Below 1%. Literacy rate in L2: 50%–75%. Poetry. Magazines. Newspapers. New media. Radio programs. Films. TV. Videos. Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 1997–2010.
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Hindustani, Caribbean
Writing
Latin script.
Other Comments

Based on Bhojpuri [bho], with influences from Awadhi [awa], and loans from Sranan [srn], Dutch [nld], and English [eng]. Hindu, Muslim, Christian.

Also spoken in:

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