Sierra Leone's linguistic landscape is shaped by three overlapping layers: the indigenous Niger-Congo languages of the interior, the English-based Krio creole of the coast, and standard English introduced by British colonial rule. Temne, spoken mainly in the north, and Mende, the dominant language of the south and east, are the two largest indigenous languages and together account for the majority of the rural population. Krio, however, is the true national tongue: an English-based creole that emerged from a unique community of freed enslaved Africans, Black Loyalists from Nova Scotia, and 'recaptives' liberated from slave ships by the British Royal Navy after 1807, who settled in Freetown. Krio blends English grammar and vocabulary with elements of Yoruba, Igbo, Temne, and other languages, and is spoken as a first or second language by over 97% of Sierra Leoneans. English is the official language of government and education. Sierra Leone gained independence in 1961.
