Torres-Strait Creole (Yumplatok)

Torres-Strait Creole is an English-based creole spoken by about 25,000 people on a number of the Torres Strait islands between Australia's Cape York Peninsula and New Guinea, and in northern parts of Cape York in Queensland in Australia, and also in south western parts of Papua New Guinea. Torres-Strait Creole is widely used as a language of trade and has similarities to Solomon Islands Pijin, Papua New Guinea's Tok Pisin and Vanuatu's Bislama.

This language is also known as also Torres Strait Pidgin, Celine, yongpapa, frinupsu Yumplatok, Torres Strait Brokan/Broken, Cape York Creole, Lockhart Creole, Papuan Pidgin English, Broken English, Brokan/Broken, Blaikman, or Big Thap.

There are six main dialects of Torres-Strait Creole: Papuan, Western-Central, TI, Malay, Eastern, and Cape York. The differences between them are mainly in pronunciation, vocabulary and influence from other local languages.

Torres-Strait Creole alphabet

Torres-Strait Creole alphabet

Torres-Strait Creole pronunciation

Torres-Strait Creole pronunciation

Download a chart of the Torres-Strait Creole alphabet and pronunciation (PDF, in German)

Information about the Torres-Strait Creole alphabet and pronunciation compiled by Wolfram Siegel

Sample text (Lord's Prayer)

Padha blo mipla, yu we yu stap dhe antap lo eben,
Nem blo yu mipla mas mekem oliwan,
Bambai basalaya blo yu i mas kam,
Òl i mas meke laik blo yu iya lo apaguwa, òlsem òl i mekem we eben.
Gibi dhamba blo tide pò mipla,
Pigibi òlgedha nugud pasen blo mipla, òlsem mipla pigibi nugud pasen blo dhempla we òl i meke nugud pasen pò mipla.
No libi mipla go pò laik pò nugud thing,
Kasa dhasòl lego mipla prom nugudwan,
Waze basalaya i blo yu, 'ne pawa,'ne glòri,
Amen.

Sample video in and about Torres-Strait Creole

Information about Torres-Strait Creole | Tower of Babel

Links

Information about Torres-Strait Creole
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torres_Strait_Creole
http://www.ethnologue.com/language/tcs
http://austlang.aiatsis.gov.au/php/public/language_profile_all.php?id=732
http://www.gabtitui.com.au/
http://www.langlxmelanesia.com/Intro Creole Language of Torres Strait.pdf

Creole languages

Betawi, Bislama, Cape Verdean Creole, Chavacano, Chinook Jargon, Dominican Creole French, Fanagalo, French Guianese Creole, Guadeloupean Creole, Guinea-Bissau Creole, Haitian Creole, Jamaican, Kituba, Manado Malay, Mauritian Creole, Nagamese, Ndyuka, Norfuk, Nubi, Palenquero, Papiamento, Pijin, Réunion Creole, Sango, Saramaccan, Seychelles Creole, Sierra Leonean Creole, Singlish, Sranan, Saint Lucian Creole, Tok Pisin, Torres-Strait Creole

Languages written with the Latin alphabet

Page last modified: 23.04.21

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