ENGLISH CREOLE IN AFRICA

This West African bauxite mine is owned by the Swiss multinational Alles Swiss. But English is the day to day language operations.

“We’re going to finish very soon this mine phase” “We will be closing the road, this road that is now used by public transport…”

Most of the people here are speaking English quite fluently maybe it is not a classical English but it is English, so it is the only *mean of communication. There is quite a high turnover in our company. That means after four, five, or six year* the people are leaving the company. Who will replace them? Nobody knows.

The German may be replaced by an English; an English maybe replaced a German so we have to use a language which is common for everybody and this language is, of course, English.

The mine workers here speak six different African languages so they talk Creole English to each other.

“Before you move the vehicle and when you move the vehicle…”