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38-469: Miskito creole is nearly identical to, and hence mutually intelligible with, Belizean Creole , and retains a high degree of intelligibility with all other Central American English creoles. It is also sometimes classified as a dialect of Jamaican Patois creole but this classification has been disputed. It does not have the status of an official language in Nicaragua, but it is a recognized language in

76-428: A Sandinista-dominated assembly, the constitution was not a revolutionary document. It established a democratic system of government with a mixed economy based on a separation of powers that could guarantee civil liberties . There was some discontent with parts of the new system. Early objections were raised that the executive branch was too strong, that property rights were not adequately protected, and that some of

114-474: A certain percentage of the vote. In 1985 the National Assembly had ninety-six members and in 1990, ninety-two. Terms are for six years, to run concurrently with the president's term. The National Assembly has significant powers, and its cooperation is essential for the smooth functioning of the government. Under the constitution, representatives to the National Assembly propose legislation, which

152-607: A single prestige variety in Modern Standard Arabic . In contrast, there is often significant intelligibility between different North Germanic languages . However, because there are various standard forms of the North Germanic languages, they are classified as separate languages. A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but

190-656: Is being quickly replaced with Spanish with fewer and fewer people speaking it. Mutually intelligible In linguistics , mutual intelligibility is a relationship between different but related language varieties in which speakers of the different varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. Mutual intelligibility is sometimes used to distinguish languages from dialects , although sociolinguistic factors are often also used. Intelligibility between varieties can be asymmetric; that is, speakers of one variety may be able to better understand another than vice versa. An example of this

228-411: Is commander in chief of the military , has the power to appoint all ministers and vice ministers of his or her cabinet, and proposes a national budget. The executive shares legislative powers that allow him or her to enact executive decrees with the force of law in fiscal and administrative matters, as well as to promulgate regulations to implement the laws. The president assumes legislative powers when

266-463: Is made law by a simple majority of the representatives present if the National Assembly has a quorum . The National Assembly can override a presidential veto by quorum. The constitution also gives the National Assembly the power "to consider, discuss and approve" the budget presented by the president. The National Assembly chooses the seven members of the Supreme Court from lists provided by

304-573: Is that of a tropical rainforest with an average rainfall of 448 centimeters and temperatures that range 26.4 °C ( 79 °F ) and up. African slaves were shipwrecked on the Mosquito Coast as early as 1640, which started the interaction between them and the local Miskito population. The modern-day Creoles' ancestors came as escapees from shipwrecked slave ships to the Nicaraguan Caribbean coast from Africa between

342-648: Is the capital of the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region , where a large amount of inhabitants of the city are Spanish -speaking Nicaraguans from the Pacific Coast. Most of the creole speakers are located along the banks of the large rivers and lagoons that surround the area. Inland, the language is spoken in the "mining triangle" which compromises Siuna , Bonanza and Rosita on the Prinzapolka River . On

380-442: Is the case between Afrikaans and Dutch . It is generally easier for Dutch speakers to understand Afrikaans than for Afrikaans speakers to understand Dutch. (See Afrikaans § Mutual intelligibility with Dutch ). In a dialect continuum , neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but differences mount with distance, so that more widely separated varieties may not be mutually intelligible. Intelligibility can be partial, as

418-436: Is the case with Azerbaijani and Turkish , or significant, as is the case with Bulgarian and Macedonian . However, sign languages , such as American and British Sign Language , usually do not exhibit mutual intelligibility with each other. Asymmetric intelligibility refers to two languages that are considered partially mutually intelligible, but for various reasons, one group of speakers has more difficulty understanding

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456-630: The varieties of Chinese , and parts of the Romance , Germanic and Slavic families in Europe. Terms used in older literature include dialect area ( Leonard Bloomfield ) and L-complex ( Charles F. Hockett ). Northern Germanic languages spoken in Scandinavia form a dialect continuum where the two furthermost dialects have almost no mutual intelligibility. As such, spoken Danish and Swedish normally have low mutual intelligibility, but Swedes in

494-576: The Öresund region (including Malmö and Helsingborg ), across the strait from the Danish capital Copenhagen , understand Danish somewhat better, largely due to the proximity of the region to Danish-speaking areas. While Norway was under Danish rule , the Bokmål written standard of Norwegian developed from Dano-Norwegian , a koiné language that evolved among the urban elite in Norwegian cities during

532-723: The 17th and the late 18th centuries. The escapees went to the jungles and soon formed relations with the local Indigenous tribes and intermarried . The Coast was officially under British protection from 1740 to 1787 according to the Treaty of Friendship and Alliance with the Miskito Kingdom and remained under British influence until the late 19th century. While they were here, the African population renewed and transformed ita culture and traits by taking elements of its African culture and mixing it with European culture along with

570-575: The 1987 Sandinista Constitution gave extensive new powers and independence to the National Assembly , including permitting the Assembly to override a presidential veto with a simple majority vote and eliminating the president 's ability to pocket veto a bill. Both the president and the members of the unicameral National Assembly are elected to concurrent five-year terms. The Nicaraguan Constitution promulgated on January 1, 1987 provided

608-709: The Coast as laborers. However, following the 1894 formal annexation of the Miskito Kingdom by Nicaragua, an increasing number of Spanish-speakers migrated to the area. The 1987 Constitution of Nicaragua granted autonomy to the Zelaya Department as two autonomous regions of the North and the South Caribbean Coast . The autonomous status has allowed for the promotion and the development of

646-459: The National Assembly is in recess. The president has extraordinary powers during national emergencies, including the powers to suspend basic civil liberties and to prepare and approve the national budget. The president's term was set at six years by a decree promulgated in January 1984, during the period when the country had no constitution. The 1987 Constitution reaffirmed a six-year term for

684-725: The Pacific coast, there are small numbers of speakers in Corinto , Puerto Sandino , and the Nicaraguan capital of Managua . A smaller portion of the population stays in large towns along the northern Caribbean coast of Nicaragua , as well as other neighboring Central American countries. Rama Cay Creole is a variety of the language spoken by the Rama people on Rama Cay , an island in the Bluefields Lagoon. The environment

722-542: The Supreme Court justices appoint judges to the lower courts. Supreme Court justices can only be removed constitutionally "for reasons determined by law". In National Assembly-approved 1990 reforms to the Organic Law of Tribunals, the Chamorro government enlarged the Supreme Court's membership from the constitutionally mandated seven justices to nine, as a way of breaking what was perceived as Sandinista domination of

760-575: The autonomous regions where it is spoken. Speakers of Miskito Coast Creole are primarily persons of African , Amerindian , and European descent in the towns and on the offshore islands of the Miskito Coast. The main concentration of speakers is around Bluefields , and a smaller portion in Puerto Cabezas , Prinzapolka , Bilwi , Pearl Lagoon , the offshore Corn Islands , as well as other smaller communities in both regions. Bluefields

798-422: The context of the communication. Classifications may also shift for reasons external to the languages themselves. As an example, in the case of a linear dialect continuum , the central varieties may become extinct , leaving only the varieties at both ends. Consequently, these end varieties may be reclassified as two languages, even though no significant linguistic change has occurred within the two extremes during

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836-491: The court. Those seven members had been appointed to their six-year terms in December 1987, and their terms were to expire in 1993. In 1990 President Chamorro also dismissed the court's Sandinista-appointed head and replaced him with one of her own choosing. The evaluation of this act depended on one's political point of view. According to Nicaraguan analysts, the nine-member court decided that it would take decisions only on

874-419: The dialects themselves, with the standard Shtokavian dialect , and with other languages. For example, Torlakian, which is considered a subdialect of Serbian Old Shtokavian , has significant mutual intelligibility with Macedonian and Bulgarian . Constitution of Nicaragua The Constitution of Nicaragua was reformed due to a negotiation of the executive and legislative branches in 1995. The reform of

912-518: The differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated varieties may not be. This is a typical occurrence with widely spread languages and language families around the world, when these languages did not spread recently. Some prominent examples include the Indo-Aryan languages across large parts of India , varieties of Arabic across north Africa and southwest Asia, the Turkic languages ,

950-401: The extinction of the central varieties. Furthermore, political and social conventions often override considerations of mutual intelligibility. For example, the varieties of Chinese are often considered a single language, even though there is usually no mutual intelligibility between geographically separated varieties. This is similarly the case among the varieties of Arabic , which also share

988-599: The final step in the institutionalization of the Sandinista regime and the framework under which the Chamorro government would take office. It was the ninth constitution in Nicaraguan history. The Sandinistas' revolutionary mythology and aspirations were glorified in the preamble, and the Nicaraguan Army was constitutionally named the Sandinista People's Army . Yet, even though drafted and approved by

1026-476: The language was vague and subject to widely differing interpretations. These objections continued to be an issue under the Chamorro government. The constitution provides for a strong executive branch , although the legislative and judicial branches retain significant powers of their own. Under the constitution, the president has broader powers than does the president of the United States. The president

1064-726: The languages of the Caribbean Coast and as of 1992, there was an education in English and Spanish, as well as education in indigenous languages. By the late 20th century, the coast was becoming more integrated economically and socially. The Creole people have now become a minority in the areas in which they had previously predominated. Many Creoles now speak mostly Spanish as well as creole and consider themselves to be only Nicaraguan. There are many Creoles who have now intermarried with mestizos even though many Creoles still protest on how they lost their political and economic power to

1102-801: The later years of the union. Additionally, Norwegian assimilated a considerable amount of Danish vocabulary as well as traditional Danish expressions. As a consequence, spoken mutual intelligibility is not reciprocal. Because of the difficulty of imposing boundaries on a continuum, various counts of the Romance languages are given. For example, in The Linguasphere register of the world's languages and speech communities , David Dalby lists 23 languages based on mutual intelligibility: The non-standard vernacular dialects of Serbo-Croatian ( Kajkavian , Chakavian and Torlakian ) diverge more significantly from all four normative varieties of Serbo-Croatian. Their mutual intelligibility varies greatly between

1140-577: The local Indian tribes which created a new culture. In 1787, the British abandoned their claims on the Mosquito coast in a treaty that was put forth. Slaves who ran away or who were abandoned had made their own African communities at Bluefields. Many escaped slaves from other islands had also come over to the area to settle down. Great Britain signed the Treaty of Managua which gave a portion of an area to

1178-687: The mestizos. The Creoles of Nicaragua are said to be an Afro-Caribbean population that are mixed with Europeans, Africans and Amerindians . Their culture is influenced by West African and British roots along with mestizos and miskito. Some food that is used in their cooking consists of coconut (in its many forms), taro root , yuca , manioc and other elements such as wheat flour and other processed foods. They have their own musical style which can be compared to West Indian calypso. Very little literature has been produced in Nicaraguan Creole. The most regarded author has been June Beer , who

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1216-417: The natives there and allowed it to be self-governed. That allowed for the African communities to grow and flourish. Their culture became solid after it had gained economic, political and social control over the Mosquito Coast. The people in the communities then began to start calling themselves Creoles. In the mid-19th century, more English- or Creole-speaking laborers, primarily from Jamaica, were brought to

1254-607: The non-hard-of-hearing people of the United Kingdom and the United States share the same spoken language. The grammar of sign languages does not usually resemble that of the spoken languages used in the same geographical area. To illustrate, in terms of syntax , ASL shares more in common with spoken Japanese than with English . Almost all linguists use mutual intelligibility as the primary linguistic criterion for determining whether two speech varieties represent

1292-749: The other language than the other way around. For example, if one language is related to another but has simplified its grammar , the speakers of the original language may understand the simplified language, but not vice versa. To illustrate, Dutch speakers tend to find it easier to understand Afrikaans as a result of Afrikaans's simplified grammar. Sign languages are not universal and usually not mutually intelligible, although there are also similarities among different sign languages. Sign languages are independent of spoken languages and follow their own linguistic development. For example, British Sign Language and American Sign Language (ASL) are quite different linguistically and mutually unintelligible, even though

1330-452: The president and has the authority to "officially interpret the laws", a prerogative that gives the National Assembly judicial powers. Under the 1987 constitution, the Supreme Court is an independent branch of government, whose members are selected for six-year terms by the National Assembly from lists submitted by the president. From among those members, the president selects the head of the Supreme Court. The constitution also provides that

1368-438: The president. The 1987 constitution replaced the bicameral Congress, which had existed under previous constitutions, with a unicameral National Assembly. The makeup of the National Assembly, first established under the 1984 decree and confirmed by the 1987 constitution, consists of ninety members directly elected by a system of proportional representation plus any unelected presidential or vice presidential candidates who receive

1406-476: The same or different languages. A primary challenge to this position is that speakers of closely related languages can often communicate with each other effectively if they choose to do so. In the case of transparently cognate languages recognized as distinct such as Spanish and Italian, mutual intelligibility is in principle and in practice not binary (simply yes or no), but occurs in varying degrees, subject to numerous variables specific to individual speakers in

1444-634: Was a poet, and artist. As an advocate for Nicaraguan Creole, In 2008 she was honored with an annual literary award bearing her name, the June Beer Literary Prize in Mother Tongues (Premio Literario Internacional en Lenguas Maternas “June Beer”), which is awarded to authors who produce works in indigenous or Creole languages. The Nicaraguan Creole English language is spoken as a primary first language by only 35,000 to 50,000 Creoles, Nicaraguan Garifuna, and some Miskitos. The language

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