Cristão

Classification and related languages

Creole -

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Portuguese-based

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Kristang is very close to Malay in its grammatical construction, but its vocabulary is 95% derived from Portuguese. Conversely, it is safe to say that most western nouns in the Malay dictionary are derived form Portuguese, such as "sekolah" ("escola" for school) and "meja" ("mesa" or table). Portuguese nouns such as "Cartas" (meaning "letter") have made their way into langauges as far north as Laos and Cambodia, as well as Indonesia.

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Although vernacular Kristang is based on Malay grammar and has many Malay words in it, it could be understood by speakers of Portuguese, and Cape Verdean Kriolu.

Related Topics:
Malay - Portuguese - Cape Verde

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The most related creoles are Patuá, and the Indo-Portuguese Creoles of India and Sri Lanka. The extinct creoles of Indonesia, and the East Timor are also directly related.

Related Topics:
Patuá - India - Sri Lanka - Indonesia - East Timor

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In linguistics, a creole is defined as a mother tongue learnt at home as compared to a patois which is picked up in the streets. A counter-argument could be said that kristang 'was' a patois that was also picked up by non-native Portuguese speakers along its trade routes to facilitate communication.

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However, their language is not taught in schools, although in there are still some church services in Portuguese. For the Saint Peter festivities in 2005, one of the three main summer festivities in Portugal, a Portuguese TV network went to the Portuguese neigbourhood in Malacca, and the reporter could easily talk with some elderly, although they have gained their own accent.

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