Annobonese Creole is a Portuguese creole known to its speakers as or (, "Annobón speech"). It is spoken on the Annobón and Bioko Islands off the coast of Equatorial Guinea, mostly by people of mixed African, Portuguese and Spanish descent. It is called or in Spanish.
The attitude in Equatorial Guinea towards this language is positive. It is taught in special courses in the former capital city of Malabo.
History
Annobonese originated sometime during the 16th century as an offshoot of Forro Creole, while this stage of Annobonese is unattested remaining linguistic traces show this. The creole language was spoken originally by the descendants of intermixing between Portuguese men and African women slaves imported from other places, especially from São Tomé and Angola, and therefore descends from Portuguese and Forro, the creole of the freed slaves of São Tomé. The government of Equatorial Guinea financed an Instituto Internacional da Língua Portuguesa (IILP) sociolinguistic study in Annobón, which noticed strong links with the Portuguese creole populations in São Tomé and Príncipe, Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau.
The language was first attested in an article called Negerportugiesische von Annobom. Sitzungsberichte der philosophisch (Negro Portuguese by Annobom. Meeting reports of the philosophical). Which was written by Hugo Schuchart in 1888.
The Annobonese population was relatively isolated from the outside world, as their island was too small to a major trade center and wasn't near any major trade routes. After Annobón island was taken over by the Portuguese the language absorbed very little influence from Spanish. Though Spanish influence would gradually influence it as Annobón became further integrated.