Kriol is an English-based creole language spoken in the Top End and Kimberley regions of Northern Australia. It is spoken mainly in remote communities by Australian Aboriginals. It is distinct from Torres Strait Creole and Aboriginal English. Australian Kriol is also the largest spoken language that is exclusively spoken in Australia. According to the 2011 census, it was said to have 4,000 native speakers, that being said, the numbers are largely believed to be underrepresented as the census data struggles to accurately capture high levels of multilingualism in remote Aboriginal communities meaning the numbers could be as high as 40,000 speakers.
A problem facing many communities in Northern Australia is that creole-speaking children are treated as though they speak English, but speak it so badly; and so they do not receive education in English as a second language. On the other hand, because they are not regarded as having a native mother tongue, they are denied access to education in their traditional language.
Common signs
; OPEN : obin ; CLOSED : klos ; ENTRANCE : parralais ; EXIT : goat ; PUSH : bujum ; PULL : pul/bulum ; TOILET : toilet ; MEN : olmenolmen ; WOMEN : olgolgamen ; FORBIDDEN : nomo ladim
; Hello. : Alo. () ; Hello. (informal) : Gude. () ; How are you? : ? (?) ; Fine, thank you. : . () ; What is your name? : ? (?) ; My name is ______ . : ______ . (_ _____ ._) ; Nice to meet you. : . () ; Please. : plij. (pli-dj) ; Thank you. : teingkyu. (tei-ng-k-yoo) ; You're welcome. : . () ; Yes. : Ye. () ; No. : No. () ; No (none, no more). : Nomo. () ; Excuse me. (getting attention) : . () ; Excuseme. (begging pardon) : . () ; I'm sorry. : . () ; Goodbye : . () ; Goodbye (informal) : . () ; I can't speak Kriol [well]. : Mi no tok Kriol [gud]. ([ ]) ; Do you speak English? : Du yu tok Inglis? (?) ; Is there someone here who speaks English? : ? (?) ; Help! : Help! (!) ; Look out! : ! (!) ; Good morning. : . () ; Good evening. : . () ; Good night. : . () ; Good night (to sleep) : . () ; I don't understand. : . () ; Where is the toilet? : ? (?)
; Leave me alone. : . (.) ; Don't touch me! : ! (!) ; I'll call the police. : . (.) ; Police! : ! (!) ; Stop! Thief! : ! ! (! !) ; I need your help. : . (.) ; It's an emergency. : . (.) ; I'm lost. : Ai am buj. (.) ; I lost my bag. : . (.) ; I lost my wallet. : . (.) ; I feel sick. : Ai filim jik. (.) ; I've been injured. : . (.) ; I need a doctor. : . (.) ; Can I use your phone? : ? (?)
; 1 : wan () ; 2 : tu () ; 3 : thri () ; 4 : fo (ph-o) ; 5 : faib () ; 6 : siks () ; 7 : seben () ; 8 : eit (ei-t) ; 9 : nain (nein) ; 10 : ten (ten) ; 11 : leben (leb-n) ; 12 : twelbala () ; 13 : () ; 14 : () ; 15 : () ; 16 : () ; 17 : () ; 18 : () ; 19 : () ; 20 : () ; 21 : () ; 22 : () ; 23 : () ; 30 : () ; 40 : () ; 50 : () ; 60 : () ; 70 : () ; 80 : () ; 90 : () ; 100 : () ; 200 : () ; 300 : () ; 1,000 : () ; 2,000 : () ; 1,000,000 : () ; 1,000,000,000 : () ; 1,000,000,000,000 : () ; number _____ (train, bus, etc.) : () ; half : () ; less : () ; more : (__)
; now : nau (na-oo) ; later : () ; before : () ; morning : () ; afternoon : () ; evening : () ; night : ()
; one o'clock AM : () ; two o'clock AM : () ; noon : nun (n-un)/dina (dee-na) ; one o'clock PM : () ; two o'clock PM : () ; midnight : midnait (_ mid-neight_)
; _____ minute(s) : () ; _____ hour(s) : _____ awa(s_ () ; _____ day(s) : _____ dei(s) () ; _____ week(s) : _____ wik(s) () ; _____ month(s) : _____ mans (mant if singular) () ; _____ year(s) : ()
; today : tudei () ; yesterday : yestadei () ; tomorrow : tumara () ; this week : () ; last week : () ; next week : ()
; Sunday : Sandei () ; Monday : Mandei () ; Tuesday : Tyusdei () ; Wednesday : Wensdei () ; Thursday : Thesdei () ; Friday : Fraidei () ; Saturday : Sadadei (__)
; January : Jenyuweri () ; February : Februweri () ; March : Matj () ; April : Eiprul () ; May : Mei () ; June : Jun () ; July : Julai () ; August : Ogis () ; September : Septemba () ; October : Oktoba () ; November : Nobemba () ; December : Disemba ()
The time and date is usually written the same way as it is in the rest of Australia, with usually with either the Mmm DD YYYY or DD Mmm YYYY format with both the 12 and the 24 hour clock being used.
; black : blek (bl-eck) ; white : wait (wei-t) ; grey : grei (gr-ay) ; red : red (read) ; blue : blu (blu) ; yellow : yela (ye-lla) ; green : grin (gr-i-n) ; orange : arinj (å-riñ-j) ; purple : pepul (pep-ool) ; brown : braun/bran (br-awn)
; How much is a ticket to ___? : () ; One ticket to _, please. : () ; Where does this train/bus go? : () ; Where is the train/bus to ___? : () ; Does this train/bus stop in _? : () ; When does the train/bus for _____ leave? : () ; When will this train/bus arrive in ___? : ()
; How do I get to _____ ? : () ; ...the train station? : () ; ...the bus station? : () ; ...the airport? : () ; ...CBD? : () ; ...the youth hostel? : () ; ...the _____ hotel? : () ; ...the American/Canadian/British consulate? : () ; Where are there a lot of... : () ; ...hotels? : () ; ...restaurants? : () ; ...bars? : () ; ...sites to see? : () ; Can you show me on the map? : () ; street : () ; Turn left. : () ; Turn right. : () ; left : lef (le-f) ; right : raitwan (ra-i-t-waan) ; straight ahead : () ; towards the _____ : () ; past the _____ : () ; before the _____ : () ; Watch for the _. : () ; intersection : () ; north : Noth () ; south : sauth () ; east : sangidap/is () ; west : sangodan/wes () ; uphill : () ; downhill : (__)
; Taxi! : (__) ; Take me to ___, please. : () ; How much does it cost to get to _? : () ; Take me there, please. : ()
; Do you have any rooms available? : () ; How much is a room for one person/two people? : () ; Does the room come with... : () ; ...bedsheets? : () ; ...a bathroom? : () ; ...a telephone? : () ; ...a TV? : () ; May I see the room first? : () ; Do you have anything quieter? : () ; ...bigger? : () ; ...cleaner? : () ; ...cheaper? : () ; OK, I'll take it. : () ; I will stay for _____ night(s). : () ; Can you suggest another hotel? : () ; Do you have a safe? : () ; ...lockers? : () ; Is breakfast/supper included? : () ; What time is breakfast/supper? : () ; Please clean my room. : () ; Can you wake me at _? : () ; I want to check out. : ()
; Do you accept American/Australian/Canadian dollars? : () ; Do you accept British pounds? : () ; Do you accept euros? : () ; Do you accept credit cards? : () ; Can you change money for me? : () ; Where can I get money changed? : () ; Can you change a traveler's check for me? : () ; Where can I get a traveler's check changed? : () ; What is the exchange rate? : () ; Where is an automatic teller machine (ATM)? : ()
; A table for one person/two people, please. : () ; Can I look at the menu, please? : () ; Can I look in the kitchen? : () ; Is there a house specialty? : () ; Is there a local specialty? : () ; I'm a vegetarian. : () ; I don't eat pork. : () ; I don't eat beef. : () ; I only eat kosher food. : () ; Can you make it "lite", please? (less oil/butter/lard) : () ; fixed-price meal : () ; a la carte : () ; breakfast : () ; lunch : () ; tea (meal) : () ; supper : () ; I want _. : () ; I want a dish containing _. : () ; chicken : () ; beef : () ; fish : () ; ham : () ; sausage : () ; cheese : () ; eggs : () ; salad : () ; (fresh) vegetables : () ; (fresh) fruit : () ; bread : () ; toast : () ; noodles : () ; rice : () ; beans : () ; May I have a glass of _? : () ; May I have a cup of _? : () ; May I have a bottle of _? : () ; coffee : () ; tea (drink) : () ; juice : () ; (bubbly) water : () ; (still) water : () ; beer : () ; red/white wine : () ; May I have some _? : () ; salt : () ; black pepper : () ; butter : () ; Excuse me, waiter? (getting attention of server): () ; I'm finished. : () ; It was delicious. : () ; Please clear the plates. : () ; The check, please. : ()
; Do you serve alcohol? : () ; Is there table service? : () ; A beer/two beers, please. : () ; A glass of red/white wine, please. : () ; A pint, please. : () ; A bottle, please. : () ; _____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer), please. : () ; whiskey : () ; vodka : () ; rum : () ; water : woda (wo-da) ; club soda : () ; tonic water : () ; orange juice : () ; Coke (soda) : () ; Do you have any bar snacks? : () ; One more, please. : () ; Another round, please. : () ; When is closing time? : () ; Cheers! : (__)
; Do you have this in my size? : () ; How much is this? : () ; That's too expensive. : () ; Would you take _? : () ; expensive : () ; cheap : () ; I can't afford it. : () ; I don't want it. : () ; You're cheating me. : () ; I'm not interested. : (..) ; OK, I'll take it. : () ; Can I have a bag? : () ; Do you ship (overseas)? : () ; I need... : () ; ...toothpaste. : () ; ...a toothbrush. : () ; ...tampons. : . () ; ...soap. : () ; ...shampoo. : () ; ...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen) : () ; ...cold medicine. : () ; ...stomach medicine. : ... () ; ...a razor. : () ; ...an umbrella. : () ; ...sunblock lotion. : () ; ...a postcard. : () ; ...postage stamps. : () ; ...batteries. : () ; ...writing paper. : () ; ...a pen. : () ; ...English-language books. : () ; ...English-language magazines. : () ; ...an English-language newspaper. : () ; ...an English-English dictionary. : () ; is your bill not right? : Yor bill not riet? () (you won't ever need to use this phrase, but you might hear it)
; I want to rent a car. : () ; Can I get insurance? : () ; stop (on a street sign) : () ; one way : () ; yield : () ; no parking : () ; speed limit : () ; service station : () ; petrol : () ; diesel : ()
; I haven't done anything wrong. : () ; It was a misunderstanding. : () ; Where are you taking me? : () ; Am I under arrest? : () ; I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen. : () ; I want to talk to the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy/consulate. : () ; I want to talk to a lawyer. : () ; Can I just pay a fine now? : ()