The Kriol dictionary remains the highlight thus far of the Belize Kriol Project's outputs, which began in 1991 with the first attempts at the creation of an orthogrpahy (spelling system). For much more on the Belize Kriol Project, which is the language arm of the National Kriol Council of Belize, please click on the MENU icon above: Kriol Langwij (Language).

YOU can read and write Kriol!

 First Edition 2001

Revised 2002

Third Edition 2005

Revised 2009

Revised 2010

  Composition: Naomi Glock

Illustrations: SIL International

Language assistants: Lorna Wade, Stephanie Flores

Advisors: The Belize Kriol Project Orthography     

     Committee; Paul & Cindy Crosbie

Reviewing teachers: Alma Eiley, Shannon Gillett,

    Leroy Green, Luwani Westby, Yvette Roberson,

   Yvette Holland, Enrique Pech, Melba Marin Velasquez,  

    Silvaana Udz [Silvana Woods], Myrna Manzanares

Any comments or inquiries should be directed toward:

The Belize Kriol Project

P.O. Box 2120

Belize City, Belize

         Copyright ã 2010 The Belize Kriol Project

                        Printed in Belize 

SINGLE CONSONANTS

 These single consonants look and sound like the English consonants:

         b as in baaboon                    d as in daag                            f as in feda

         g as in goat                h as in harikayn                         j as in jekit

        k as in konks                       l as in lag                              m as in mengo

 • tr = chr as in chree (tree, three), chros (trust)

A Mini-Contrastive Analysis

 of Belize Kriol Grammar and English Grammar

For more on the grammar of Kriol, refer to:

Decker, Ken. The Song of Kriol: a Grammar of the Kriol Language of Belize.Belize Kriol Project. 2006.

Present Tense                                         Conditional Tense

BK:     Ih laik eet kaan.                           BK:     Ah wuda mi gaan, bot Ah neva gat nof moni

Eng:     He/she likes to eat corn.          Eng:   I would have gone, but I didn't   have enough

                                                                                  money.                                             

(Note: The Kriol verb does not mark singularity/plurality.)                

Past Tense                                        The Primary Equative Verb “to be”

BK:     Ah mi eet rais ahn beenz.                                BK:     Ih da wahn faama.                        

Eng:     I ate rice and beans.                                        Eng:    He is a farmer.          

(Note: “Mi” also functions as the first person possessive which in English is “my.”                                                NOTE

Future Tense                                                                  “Da” has several other functions.

BK:     Ah wahn eet mi rais ahn beenz.                   such as the prepositions which in English are:  

Eng:     I will eat my rice and beans.                        “to” and “at”  and the demonstrative

(Note: “Wahn also functions as the indefinite                          adjective which in English is “that.”

article, which in |English is “a.”                                                           Examples:

Imminent Future Tense                                          BK:  Ah gwain da (di) dakta.

BK:     Ah gwayn (gwain) da tong.                                    Eng:  I am going to the doctor.

Eng:     I’m going to town.                                                    BK:  Ah deh da  di dakta.

                                                                                                  Eng: I am at the doctor’s (office).

Present Progressive Tense                                      BK:  Da buk da fu hihn.

BK:     Ah di eet mi rais ahn beenz.                                   Eng:  That book is his.

Eng:     I am eating my rice and beans.                                  

(Note: “Di” also functions as the definite                                The Equative Verb in Future Tense

 article, which in  English is “the.”)                                   BK:     Ah waahn bee wahn teecha                                                                                                        Eng:     I want to be a teacher.

Past Progressive Tense                                                   The Locative Verb

BK:     Dehn mi-di daans aal nait.                           BK:     Ah deh  rait ya./ Ih deh rait ya.

Eng:     They were dancing all night.                    Eng:     I am right here./ He/she is right here.

Completive Tense                                                Example of a Passive Construction

BK:     Ah don eet mi rais ahn beenz.                                     BK:     Di wud mi chap.

Eng:     I already ate my rice and beans.                             Eng:     The wood has been chopped.

(This also correlates to English’s Present Perfect Tense:

I already have eaten my rice and beans.)                                                 

  Progressive Completive                                                          Past Habitual Tense

 BK: Ah don di eet mi rais ahn beenz.                        BK:  Ah yoostu goh da di vilij evri week

 Eng: I already am eating my rice and beans.   Eng:  I used to go to the village every week.                                                                    

 Past Habitual (completed) Tense      

 BK:  Ih doz  sok ih finga. 

Eng:  He/she always used to suck his/her finger.

Past Completive Tense                                                       

BK:     Ah mi-don eet mi rais ahn beenz.                              

Eng:     I already had eaten my rice and beans.                      

        (This correlates to English’s Past Perfect Tense)