Alternate Names: Forro, Santomense, São Tomense
Dialects: None known. Substratum largely Kwa , and Western Bantu languages; quite distinct from the creoles of Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Gambia, and Cape Verde. Lexical similarity: 77% with Principense ,, 62% with Fa d’Ambu , (Annobonese), 70% with Angolar ,.
Status Notes: De facto language of provincial identity in São Tomé Island except south tip.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 69,900 (1999 SIL).
Language Use: The language of social identity in most São Tomé social networks for age 30 and above. Forros, the emancipated, are a distinct ethnolinguistic group from the Angolares. Also use Portuguese [por]. Used as L2 by Angolar [aoa], Principense [pre].
Language Development: Literacy rate in L2: 50% Portuguese.
Typology: Tonal.
Nation of Origin: São Tomé e Príncipe
Other Comments: Tonal, although 90% of lexicon of Portuguese , origin.