Liberian English

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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.