ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Post-creole speech continuum

Imagine a ladder with different steps starting from the bottom and going up. Now, let's say each step represents how someone speaks. This is what we call a "speech continuum."

In some parts of the world, there are different languages and dialects spoken. This can make it hard for people to understand each other if they don't speak the same way. However, in some places, when two different languages or dialects come together, they may mix and form a new way of speaking. This is what we call a "creole."

Now, let's imagine that this new way of speaking - the creole - is on one of the steps of the speech continuum ladder. But, just like with any language or dialect, there can be differences in how people speak the creole depending on things like where they live, who they talk to, and how they learned the language.

This is where the "post-creole speech continuum" comes in. It's a way to show that there are different levels of the creole language, with some people speaking it more similarly to one of the original languages that formed the creole, and some people speaking it more similarly to the creole itself.

So, going back to the ladder, we can imagine that the creole itself is on one step, and then as we move up, we might hear people speaking a variation that's a little closer to one of the original languages, and then another variation that's a little closer to the creole, and so on.

Overall, the post-creole speech continuum is just a way to recognize that there are different ways of speaking a creole language, and that those differences can be important for understanding how people communicate with each other.