Comprehensive bibliography of texts in or about Virgin Islands Dutch Creole
by Cefas van Rossem
In works about the Virgin Islands, often a paragraph or chapter is devoted to Virgin Islands (VI) Dutch Creole and its written sources. Often the writers of these works did not have the chance to see these sources themselves as they were sometimes kept in libraries or archives inaccessible to them.
This has led to minor and major mistakes in the references, which were often copied and passed on in later publications by others. None of the previous works, bibliographical or not, are complete in this sense. As we had the chance to check references to most existing sources of VI Dutch Creole first-hand, we were able to discover many of the mistakes, and in some cases, discover hitherto unknown sources. Though probably no bibliography will ever be complete, we have attempted here to compose as exhaustive and correct a bibliography as possible. Even though we do not hesitate to point out mistakes in other bibliographies, we acknowledge wholeheartedly the fact that we stand on the shoulders of our predecessors. These fundamental works guided us, and gave us the opportunity to connect loose ends and find out about the correct references. At some future time the Moravian materials in the archives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (USA) and possibly other collections as well should be studied in more detail.
Please, to download the bibliography in pdf here
Baas! Da mi wief ben da. Em no doe niemetal voor mi. Em no kook pot, em no soek hout, em nogie mi water voor wasch mi hand en mi voet.
Vertaling: Baas! Dit hier is mijn vrouw. Zij doet niets voor mij. Ze kookt geen eten, ze sprokkelt (zoekt) geen hout, ze geeft me geen water om mijn handen en voeten te wassen.
(Verzonnen dialoogje uit een boek over de grammatica van het Creol uit 1777, waarin slaaf zich beklaagt bij missionaris)
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