Sierra Leone: English Based Creoles
In Sierra Leone, there are many different languages, but only several are commonly used.
Krio, which is an English based Creole, is the first language of 10% of the population, but it is spoken and understood by approximately 90% of the population. English, while the country's official language, is limited to the approximately 48% of Sierra Leoneans that are literate. Another language is Mende, the lingua franca and main language of the southern portion of the country, spoken by approximately 30% of the Sierra Leoneans. Similar to Mende, Temne is the lingua franca and main language of the north, spoken by about 25% of the Sierra Leoneans. Finally, Bengali was recently named an official language of the state to commemorate the Bengali troops …show more content…
In Sierra Leone, clothing is used as a representation of social status. If someone is wearing European or Western clothing, they are regarded as someone of a high social class. Commonfolk generally wear traditional clothes bought from markets called “junks”. Due to the large Muslim population, religious clothing is also a staple among the citizens of Sierra Leone.
The most commonly eaten food in Sierra Leone is rice, being eaten at nearly every meal and prepared in many different ways with many different sauces, including those made from peppers, peanuts, beef, chicken and beans. A wide variety of fruits and seafoods are often eaten as snacks throughout the day.
Sierra Leoneans are common practitioners of the arts, commonly starting to learn them from a young age. Commonly practiced arts are storytelling, basket making, woodcarving, and fabric design. Some Sierra Leonean authors have written critically acclaimed books, such as The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar by Syl Cheney-Coker.
Due to Sierra Leone’s large religious population, many Christian and Muslim traditions carry into real life, such as attendance of mosques and churches.
Sierra Leone has several non-religious holidays they celebrate. On the twenty-seventh …show more content…
They also celebrate New Year’s Day on the first of January, Labor Day on the first of May, and National Day on the ninth of August.
In Sierra Leone music is practiced either through singing or playing instruments such as the drums, skills taught from when a child is very young. Dancing is another skill taught at a young age, which leads to the musical arts being widely accessible to the citizens.
Around Sierra Leone’s capital of Freetown, houses are typically wooden. Outside of
Freetown, however, houses are traditionally made of clay and earth, with a thatched roof. These houses are either built by creating a wooden structure and painting it with clay, or making the house out of clay and earth bricks, and the houses may be either round or rectangular.
In Sierra Leone, the gender roles are as such: while men do the physically intense work women must do everything else, including farming, cooking, cleaning, and caring for children. Women are considered lesser to men in Sierra Leone due to their lower education and literacy rates, as well as their fewer rights. That is the diverse culture of Sierra Leone, from its clothing and food to men and women’s roles in
Krio, which is an English based Creole, is the first language of 10% of the population, but it is spoken and understood by approximately 90% of the population. English, while the country's official language, is limited to the approximately 48% of Sierra Leoneans that are literate. Another language is Mende, the lingua franca and main language of the southern portion of the country, spoken by approximately 30% of the Sierra Leoneans. Similar to Mende, Temne is the lingua franca and main language of the north, spoken by about 25% of the Sierra Leoneans. Finally, Bengali was recently named an official language of the state to commemorate the Bengali troops …show more content…
In Sierra Leone, clothing is used as a representation of social status. If someone is wearing European or Western clothing, they are regarded as someone of a high social class. Commonfolk generally wear traditional clothes bought from markets called “junks”. Due to the large Muslim population, religious clothing is also a staple among the citizens of Sierra Leone.
The most commonly eaten food in Sierra Leone is rice, being eaten at nearly every meal and prepared in many different ways with many different sauces, including those made from peppers, peanuts, beef, chicken and beans. A wide variety of fruits and seafoods are often eaten as snacks throughout the day.
Sierra Leoneans are common practitioners of the arts, commonly starting to learn them from a young age. Commonly practiced arts are storytelling, basket making, woodcarving, and fabric design. Some Sierra Leonean authors have written critically acclaimed books, such as The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar by Syl Cheney-Coker.
Due to Sierra Leone’s large religious population, many Christian and Muslim traditions carry into real life, such as attendance of mosques and churches.
Sierra Leone has several non-religious holidays they celebrate. On the twenty-seventh …show more content…
They also celebrate New Year’s Day on the first of January, Labor Day on the first of May, and National Day on the ninth of August.
In Sierra Leone music is practiced either through singing or playing instruments such as the drums, skills taught from when a child is very young. Dancing is another skill taught at a young age, which leads to the musical arts being widely accessible to the citizens.
Around Sierra Leone’s capital of Freetown, houses are typically wooden. Outside of
Freetown, however, houses are traditionally made of clay and earth, with a thatched roof. These houses are either built by creating a wooden structure and painting it with clay, or making the house out of clay and earth bricks, and the houses may be either round or rectangular.
In Sierra Leone, the gender roles are as such: while men do the physically intense work women must do everything else, including farming, cooking, cleaning, and caring for children. Women are considered lesser to men in Sierra Leone due to their lower education and literacy rates, as well as their fewer rights. That is the diverse culture of Sierra Leone, from its clothing and food to men and women’s roles in