The roots of Liberia run down from its historical name as Christopolis and later was renamed Monrovia after the American president , James Monroe and his colony made this change happen.
Liberia is known for its many diversities in languages such as Kpelle, Bassa, Grebo, Dan, Kru, Mano, Loma, and Mandingo (spoken by the Malinke). According to SIL International’s Ethnologue: Languages of the World, there are 31 established languages in Liberia (Eberhard, Simons, & Fennig, 2020). Of these, 27 are indigenous and four are non-indigenous. Further, two are institutional, 18 are developing, and eight are vigorous while two are in trouble and one is dying.
2.57 million Liberians out of a total population of 4.81 million speak English (Eberhard et al., 2020). There are 74,000 Liberians who speak English as their first language (L1), and 2.5 million who speak it as a second language (L2).
English is the official language in Liberia. Within the English spoken language are 5 other varieties of them which are interesting to note: they are Standard Liberian English; Kru Pidgin English; Liberian Kreyol language (Vernacular Liberian English); Merico language ; Caribbean English.
Standard Liberian English
Standard Liberian English is American English. The language transcends from African American ancestors from the United States and the Caribbean who immigrated to Liberia in the nineteenth century. This variety takes their roots from African American Vernacular English from the southern part of the United States. One critical angle is pronunciation. Pronunciation tends to drop the final consonant of words ending in consonants, so that “Jared” sounds just like “Jerry”. “Th” is often pronounced like a “T”, and so “theory ” becomes “teory”, and “Thought ” becomes “tought”. At the end of a word, “th” is often pronounced as an “F” (i.e., ‘bath’ becomes “baf”, and “with” becomes “wif”)
Kru Pidgin English
Kru Pidgin English is a language that is yet distinctive, and was spoken historically by Krumen. These were individuals, most often from the Klao Madingoes and Grebo ethnic groups, who worked as sailors on ships along the West African coast and also as migrant workers and domestics in such British colonies as the Gold Coast (Ghana) and Nigeria. The Krumen tradition dates back to the end of the eighteenth century. With the end of the British colonial presence in West Africa in the mid-twentieth century, however, the tradition came to an end, and with it the ongoing use of Kru Pidgin English.
Liberian Kreyol
Liberian Kreyol language also known as the Vernacular Liberian English. In linguistics, a creole or Kreyol is a type of natural language that developed historically from a pidgin and came into existence at a fairly precise point in time. It is an English-based pidgin spoken in Liberia. The Liberian version of West African Pidgin English is a combination of the Americo-Liberian and the Caribbean slaves Settler English.
Merico Language
This is an English-based creole language spoken until recently in Liberia by Americo-Liberians, descendants of the Settlers, freed slaves and African Americans who emigrated from the Southern United States between 1819 and 1860. When closely looked at how it is spoken, the merico language is distinguished from Liberian Kreyol and from Kru, and connected to Gullah and Jamaican Creole. The original Settlers numbered 19,000 in 1860. By 1975 the merico language was partly decreolized and restricted to informal settings.
Caribbean English
Caribbean English is a variety of the English languages spoken in the Caribbean and Liberia and many other countries. Caribbean English is influenced by the English-based Creole varieties spoken in the region, but they are not the same. In the Caribbean, there is a great deal of variation in the way English is spoken. Scholars generally agree that although the dialects themselves vary significantly in each of these countries, they primarily have roots in British English and West African languages.
In conclusion, amongst these versions of English spoken in Liberia, the one significantly identified as a second language to the standardized English and a lingua franca of the country is Liberian Kreyol.
