r/Suriname • u/NaturalNo9902 • 15d ago

Question how can i get better at sranan tongo/find resources?

hi!! i (20f) live in the US, but my moms side of the family is surinamese. I was wondering if anyone had any resources for getting better at speaking sranan tongo? i ask my mom for help but she doesnt really like speaking it with me for some reason, but i wanted to get better at speaking it before visiting family. i've been working on my dutch but there are far more resources for that

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u/Strong_Ant2590 14d ago edited 13d ago

Your mom might not like speaking the language because until the 80's it was forbidden to speak the language in schools in Suriname and seen as "uncivilised" due to the influence of Dutch Colonialism. Like you, me and others grew up with parents who weren't allowed to speak the language and it might bring up complicated feelings in doing so. My grandmother for example only spoke the language with her siblings. As a result, my mom learned it by being around and hearing them talk. But my grandmother and mother would never speak Sranan tongo around me, even though we were living in the Netherlands at the time I was born. My mom used to tell me she would get popped with a cane by the nuns at her school (this was in the 70s) if they heard her speak the language.

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u/NaturalNo9902 14d ago

I never actually considered that could be why. my mom was born in '74, so right around independence, but she usually acts as if its crass so i guess she also picked up that viewpoint. she also spent some time in the orphanages there as a kid so it tracks

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u/Fine-Discussion-7368 10d ago

yea and don't forget that they were raised by ex-slaves that got beaten for speaking their own language

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u/CCLie89 15d ago

There are several children’s books like ‘mijn eerste woordjes in het sranan’. They are Sranan translated to Dutch though. The website is not working. But this is the author https://www.instagram.com/stimofo.strips/.

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u/NaturalNo9902 14d ago

tysm i appreciate it !!

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u/Gordonsoeto1 15d ago

Living in the US born in Suriname, as a 22 yo you have live there to learn it ngl.

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u/Practical-Charm 15d ago

32f in the US too, my mom didn't teach me either. I just started following a bunch of surinamese Instagram pages. Its helped.

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u/AdBoring9227 12d ago

I can help you. I used to give Sranang Tongo lessons. I've got a book a digital dictionary that can help but it's in Dutch.

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u/NaturalNo9902 12d ago

omg! please send i would appreciate it so much🙏

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u/AdBoring9227 12d ago

Send me a pm and I'll contact you via WhatsApp

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u/Lilly_5 11d ago

There is a page online, and watch the movies on YouTube.

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u/NoeNoe42 10d ago

I have a teacher but he is located in the Netherlands. I dont think with time zones this is an option for you.......