Liberian English

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (September 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (September 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article needs attention from an expert in Liberia or Linguistics. The specific problem is: How are words spelled in Liberian English?. WikiProject Liberia or WikiProject Linguistics may be able to help recruit an expert. (September 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Liberian English refers to the varieties of English spoken in Liberia. Four such varieties exist:

• Standard Liberian English, the Liberian variety of International English. It is the language taught in secondary and tertiary institutions. It is used in oratory and by newsreaders.
• Liberian Settler English the language of the descendants of the 16,000 African Americans who immigrated to Liberia in the nineteenth century
• Kru Pidgin English the language of Kru migrant workers and mariners. It is now moribund.
• Liberian Kreyol the creolized variety spoken by most Liberian speakers of English. It is the Liberian descendant of the West African Pidgin English that developed all along the West African coast in the eighteenth century. It has been significantly influenced by Liberian Settler English (^[1]).

Prior to the twenty-first century, Liberians referred to all these varieties simply as "English." In the present century, however, the term "Kolokwa" (from the English word "colloquial") has become widely used.