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Ethnologue: Languages of the World
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Ethnologue > Web version > Country index > Africa > São Tomé e Príncipe

Languages of São Tomé e Príncipe

See language map.
[See also SIL publications on the languages of São Tomé e Príncipe.]
Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, República Democrática de São Tomé e Príncipe. 153,000. National or official languages: Portuguese, Sãotomense, Principense. Literacy rate: 50%–74%. Immigrant languages: Fang (13,800). Also includes languages of Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique. Information mainly from S. Graham and T. Graham 1998; J. Holm 1989; G. Lorenzino 1999; P. Maurer 1995. The number of individual languages listed for São Tomé e Príncipe is 4. Of those, all are living languages.
Angolar

[aoa] 5,000 (1998 SIL). São Tomé Island south tip, São João dos Angolares area; some south of Caué area. Alternate names: Ngola.  Dialects: Substratum largely Kwa [kwb] and Western Bantu; quite distinct from creoles of Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Gambia, and Cape Verde. The 33% of the Angolar lexicon not shared with São Tomense [cri] is largely of Bantu origin, apparently Kimbundu [kmb] of Angola, with some from Koongo [kng] and Bini [bin]. Lexical similarity: 70% with São Tomense, 67% with Principense [pre], 53% with Fa D’ambu [fab].  Classification: Creole, Portuguese based 
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Portuguese

[por] 2,580 in Sao Tome e Principe (1993).  Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Ibero-Romance, West Iberian, Portuguese-Galician 
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Principense

[pre] 200 (1999 SIL). Ethnic population: 1,558. Príncipe Island. Alternate names: Lun’gwiye, “Moncó”.  Dialects: Substratum largely Kwa [kwb] and Western Bantu; quite distinct from creoles of Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Gambia, and Cape Verde. Lexical similarity: 77% with Sãotomense [cri], 67% with Angolar [aoa], 62% with Fa D’ambu [fab].  Classification: Creole, Portuguese based 
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Sãotomense

[cri] 69,900 (1999 SIL). São Tomé Island except south tip. Alternate names: São Tomense.  Dialects: Substratum largely Kwa [kwb] and Western Bantu languages; quite distinct from the creoles of Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Gambia, and Cape Verde. Lexical similarity: 77% with Principense [pre], 62% with Fa D’Ambu [fab] (Annobonese), 70% with Angolar [aoa].  Classification: Creole, Portuguese based 
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