French-based creole of the Antilles
Antillean Creole
|
---|
|
Native to
| French Antilles
(esp.
Guadeloupe
,
Martinique
),
Dominica
,
Grenada
,
Saint Lucia
,
Haiti
,
Trinidad and Tobago
[1]
|
---|
Native speakers
| (13 million cited 1998?2001)
[2]
|
---|
| |
---|
|
ISO 639-3
| Variously:
gcf
?
Guadeloupean Creole
/
Martinican Creole
acf
?
Saint Lucian
/
Dominican Creole
scf
? San Miguel Creole French (Panama)
|
---|
Glottolog
| less1242
|
---|
Linguasphere
| 51-AAC-cc (varieties:
51-AAC-cca to -cck)
|
---|
IETF
| cpf-029
|
---|
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|
This article contains
IPA
phonetic symbols.
Without proper
rendering support
, you may see
question marks, boxes, or other symbols
instead of
Unicode
characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see
Help:IPA
.
|
Antillean Creole
(also known as
Lesser Antillean Creole
) is a
French-based creole
that is primarily spoken in the
Lesser Antilles
. Its grammar and vocabulary include elements of
French
,
Carib
,
English
, and
African languages
.
[3]
Geographical situation
[
edit
]
There are two main geographical and linguistic groups in the
Antilles
or
Caribbean Islands
: the
Greater Antilles
and the
Lesser Antilles
. Intercomprehension between these two groups is possible, but despite a large proportion of shared vocabulary and largely similar grammatical functioning, it is limited by varying key vocabulary and different words for basic grammar. Nevertheless, it's easy to begin to understand each other completely, as long as one of the two has a basic knowledge of the other's language.
Antillean Creole is spoken natively, to varying degrees, in
Haiti
,
Saint Lucia
,
Grenada
,
Guadeloupe
,
Iles des Saintes
,
Martinique
,
Saint-Barthelemy
(St. Barts),
Dominica
,
French Guiana
,
Trinidad and Tobago
, and
Venezuela
(mainly in
Macuro
,
Guiria
and
El Callao Municipality
). It is also spoken in various Creole-speaking immigrant communities in the
United States Virgin Islands
,
British Virgin Islands
, and the
Collectivity of Saint Martin
. Antillean Creole has approximately thirteen million speakers and is a means of communication for migrant populations traveling between neighboring English- and French-speaking territories. Since French is a Romance language, French Antillean Creole is considered to be one of Latin America’s languages by some linguists.
In a number of countries (including Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, Trinidad, Brazil (
Lanc-Patua
) and Venezuela) the language is referred to as
patois
.
[4]
It has historically been spoken in nearly all of the
Lesser Antilles
, but its number of speakers has declined in
Trinidad and Tobago
and
Grenada
. Conversely, it is widely used on the islands of
Dominica
and
Saint Lucia
; though they are officially English-speaking, there are efforts to preserve the use of Antillean Creole, as there are in Trinidad and Tobago and its neighbour,
Venezuela
. In recent decades, Creole has gone from being seen as a sign of lower socio-economic status, banned in school playgrounds,
[5]
to a mark of national pride.
Since the 1970s, there has been a literary revival of Creole in the French-speaking islands of the Lesser Antilles, with writers such as
Raphael Confiant
and
Monchoachi
employing the language.
Edouard Glissant
has written theoretically and poetically about its significance and its history.
History
[
edit
]
Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc
was a French trader and adventurer in the
Caribbean
who established the first permanent French colony,
Saint-Pierre
, on the island of
Martinique
in 1635. Belain sailed to the Caribbean in 1625, hoping to establish a French settlement on the island of
St. Christopher
(St. Kitts). In 1626, he returned to
France
, where he won the support of
Cardinal Richelieu
to establish French colonies in the region. Richelieu became a shareholder in the
Compagnie de Saint-Christophe
, created to accomplish that with d'Esnambuc at its head. The company was not particularly successful, and Richelieu had it reorganised as the Compagnie des Iles de l'Amerique. In 1635, d'Esnambuc sailed to Martinique with 100 French settlers to clear land for
sugarcane
plantations
.
After six months on Martinique, d'Esnambuc returned to
St. Christopher
, where he soon died prematurely in 1636, leaving the company and Martinique in the hands of his nephew,
Jacques Dyel du Parquet
, who inherited d'Esnambuc's authority over the French settlements in the Caribbean. Dyel du Parquet became governor of the island. He remained in Martinique and did not concern himself with the other islands.
The French permanently settled on Martinique and Guadeloupe after being driven off
Saint Kitts and Nevis
(
French
:
Saint-Christophe
) by the British.
Fort Royal
(now Fort-de-France) on Martinique was a major port for French battle ships in the region from which the French were able to explore the region. In 1638, Dyel du Parquet decided to have
Fort Saint Louis
built to protect the city against enemy attacks. From Fort Royal, Martinique, Du Parquet proceeded south in search for new territories, established the first settlement in
Saint Lucia
in 1643 and headed an expedition that established a French settlement in
Grenada
in 1649.
Despite the long history of British rule, Grenada's French heritage is still evident by the number of French
loanwords
in
Grenadian Creole
and the French-style buildings, cuisine and placenames (
Petit Martinique
,
Martinique Channel
, etc.)
In 1642, the
Compagnie des Iles de l'Amerique
received a 20-year extension of its charter. The king would name the governor general of the company, and the company would name the governors of the various islands. However, by the late 1640s,
Cardinal Mazarin
had little interest in colonial affairs, and the company languished. In 1651, it dissolved itself, selling its exploitation rights to various parties. The Du Paquet family bought Martinique, Grenada and Saint Lucia for 60,000
livres
. The sieur d'
Houel
bought
Guadeloupe
,
Marie-Galante
,
La Desirade
and the
Saintes
. The
Knights of Malta
bought
Saint Barthelemy
and
Saint Martin
and then sold them in 1665 to the
Compagnie des Indes occidentales
, formed one year earlier.
Dominica
is a former French and British colony in the
Eastern Caribbean
, about halfway between the French islands of Guadeloupe (to the north) and Martinique (to the south).
Christopher Columbus
named the island after the day of the week on which he spotted it, a Sunday (Latin:
dies Dominica
), on 3 November 1493. In the 100 years after Columbus's landing, Dominica remained isolated. At the time, it was inhabited by the
Island Caribs
, or Kalinago people. Over time, more settled there after they had been driven from surrounding islands, as European powers entered the region.
In 1690, French woodcutters from Martinique and Guadeloupe begin to set up timber camps to supply the French islands with wood and gradually become permanent settlers. France had a colony for several years and imported slaves from
West Africa
, Martinique and Guadeloupe to work on its plantations. The Antillean Creole language developed.
France formally ceded possession of Dominica to Great Britain in 1763. The latter established a small colony on the island in 1805. As a result, Dominica uses
English
as an official language, but Antillean Creole is still spoken as a secondary language because of Dominica's location between the French-speaking departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique.
In
Trinidad
, the Spanish possessed the island but contributed little towards advancements, with
El Dorado
being their focus. Trinidad was perfect for its geographical location. Because Trinidad was considered underpopulated, Roume de St. Laurent, a Frenchman living in Grenada, was able to obtain a Cedula de Poblacion from
King Charles III of Spain
on 4 November 1783.
Trinidad's population jumped to over 15,000 by the end of 1789, from just under 1,400 in 1777. In 1797, Trinidad became a British crown colony, despite its French-speaking population.
Origin of creole
[
edit
]
Antillean Creole began as the pidgin "baragouin" in 1635.
[6]
It was spoken by French settlers, the Africans they enslaved, and Aboriginal peoples that resided on the islands.
[6]
It originated in the Guadeloupe and Martinique areas of the Lesser Antilles.
[7]
It was not until 1700, when there was an increase in African influences, that this pidgin transitioned into the creole that it is today.
[6]
The formation of this creole was influenced by many different dialects and languages. These include dialects of French, other European languages, Carib (both Karina and Arawakan), and African languages.
[7]
Due to the influences from its origins, this creole has some distinctive linguistic features. Features of French included in Lesser Antillean Creole include infinitive forms of verbs, the use of only the masculine noun forms, oblique pronouns, and its subject to verb word order.
[6]
Features from African languages include their verbal marking system as well as providing a West-African substrate.
[6]
Other features of this creole also include doubling to emphasize a sentence, the word "point" to inflect the negative, and the non-distinguished adverbs and adjectives.
[6]
The language emerged in a context of plantation slavery in the
French Antilles
. Due to differing native tongues, it was difficult for French settlers to communicate with the enslaved Africans and vice versa, as well as for slaves of different ethnic origins to communicate between each other. As a result, they were forced to develop a new form of communication by relying on what they heard from their colonial enslavers and other slaves. According to Jesuit missionary Pierre Pelleprat, French settlers would change their way of speaking to a simpler form to be more accommodating to the enslaved people.
[6]
For example, to say "I have not eaten" settlers would say "moi point manger" even though the proper French translation is "Je n'ai pas mange".
[6]
This simpler form of French, along with linguistic influences from other languages, eventually evolved into Antillean Creole.
Phonology
[
edit
]
Consonants
[
edit
]
- ^a
This sound occurs on islands where the official language is English in certain loanwords e.g
radio
/?adjo/
.
- The uvular r
/
?
/
only occurs on islands wherein French is an official language. Otherwise, where the uvular r would occur where other dialects use
/
w
/
. Furthermore, this sound is usually pronounced as a
velar fricative
and is much softer than the European French
⟨r⟩
.
[
clarification needed
]
Vowels
[
edit
]
Orthography
[
edit
]
Consonants
|
Antillean Creole orthography
|
IPA
|
Examples
|
English approximation
|
b
|
b
|
b
agay
|
b
ow
|
ch
|
?
|
ch
o
|
sh
oe
|
d
|
d
|
d
ous
|
d
o
|
dj*
|
d?
|
dj
e
|
job
|
f
|
f
|
f
ig
|
f
estival
|
g
|
?
|
g
och
|
g
ain
|
gy*
|
?
|
gy
e
|
|
h
|
h
|
h
en
|
h
otel
|
j
|
?
|
j
edi
|
mea
s
ure
|
k
|
k
|
k
le
|
s
k
y
|
ky*
|
c
|
ky
e
|
|
l
|
l
|
l
iv
|
c
l
ean
|
m
|
m
|
m
achin
|
m
other
|
n
|
n
|
n
ot
|
n
ote
|
ng
|
ŋ
|
bildi
ng
|
feeli
ng
|
p
|
p
|
p
ase
|
s
p
y
|
r*
|
?
|
r
ezon
|
between
g
o and lo
ch
|
?
|
r
adyo
|
r
adio
|
s
|
s
|
s
is
|
s
ix
|
t
|
t
|
t
out
|
t
o
|
tj*
|
t?
|
tj
e
|
church
|
v
|
v
|
v
yann
|
v
ent
|
z
|
z
|
z
ero
|
z
ero
|
Semivowels
|
w
|
w
|
w
i
|
w
e
|
y
|
j
|
p
y
e
|
y
es
|
|
Vowels
|
Antillean Creole orthography
|
IPA
|
Examples
|
English approximation
|
a
(or a before an n)
|
a
|
a
b
a
ko
p
a
n
|
br
a
|
e
|
e
|
al
e
|
h
ey
|
e
|
?
|
f
e
t
|
f
e
stival
|
i
|
i
|
l
i
de
|
mach
i
ne
|
o
|
o
|
zwaz
o
|
roughly like l
ow
|
o
|
?
|
dey
o
|
s
o
rt
|
ou
|
u
|
n
ou
|
y
ou
|
Nasal vowels
|
an
(when not followed by a vowel)
|
a
|
an
pil
|
No English equivalent;
nasalized
[
a
]
|
en
(when not followed by a vowel)
|
??
|
mw
en
|
No English equivalent;
nasalized
[
?
]
|
on
(when not followed by a vowel)
|
o
|
t
on
t
on
|
No English equivalent;
nasalized
[
o
]
|
|
There is some variation in orthography between the islands. In St. Lucia, Dominica and Martinique 'dj' and 'tj' are used whereas in Guadeloupe 'gy' and 'ky' are used. These represent differences in pronunciations. Several words may be pronounced in various ways depending on the region:
- 'heart'
- ke
/
k
?
/
- kye
/
c
?
/
- tje
/
t?
?
/
The letter 'r' in St. Lucia and Dominica represents the English
/
?
/
whereas in Guadeloupe and Martinique it represents the more French-like sound
/
?
/
.
Grammar
[
edit
]
Personal Pronouns
Person
|
Pronoun
|
Alternate
|
Weak
Form
|
English
|
1sg
|
mwen
|
an, man, mon
1
|
m, ng, n
2
|
I, me
|
2sg
|
ou
|
-
|
w
3
|
you
|
3sg
|
i
|
li
4
|
y
3
|
he, she, it
|
1pl
|
nou
|
-
|
n
3
|
we, us
|
2pl
|
zot
|
zo, hot, ho
|
z
3
,h
3
|
you
|
3pl
|
yo
|
ye
|
y
3
|
they, them
|
- Mon is used in Dominica and in Grenada #man is used in Martinique. An is used in Guadeloupe, but less so in the latter.
- m, ng, and n are contracted forms of mwen which occur before certain verb particles: Mwen pa → m'a, mwen ka → ng'a or n'a mwen kay → ng'ay or n'ay
- w and y occur after a vowel: Nonm-lan we i → Nonm-lan we'y, Koumonon ou? → Koumonon'w?
- li occurs after consonants: Ou konnet i? → Ou konnet li?
Personal pronouns in Antillean Creole are invariable so they do not inflect for case as in European languages such as French or English. This means that mwen, for example, can mean I, me or my; yo can mean they, them, their etc.
Possessive Adjectives
English
|
General
|
Guadeloupe
|
Iles des Saintes
|
my
|
mwen
|
an-mwen
|
an-mwen
|
your
|
ou/ w
|
a-w
|
ow
|
his, her, its
|
li/ y
|
a-y
|
ey
|
our
|
nou
|
an-nou
|
an-nou
|
your
|
zot
|
a-zot
|
a-zot
|
their
|
yo
|
a-yo
|
a-yo
|
Possessive adjectives are placed after the noun; kay mwen 'my house', manman'w 'your mother'
'ou' and 'li' are used after nouns ending in a consonant and 'w' and 'y' after nouns ending in a vowel. All other possessive adjectives are invariable.
Kaz ou - Your house, Kouto'w - Your knife
Madanm li - His wife, Sese'y - Her sister
Indefinite article
[
edit
]
The indefinite article is placed before the noun and can be pronounced as
on, an, yon, yan
. The word
yonn
means "one".
On chapo, Yon wavet
An moun, Yan toti
Definite article
[
edit
]
This exemples doesn't work for
Guadeloupe Creole
where article are always "la", and for
haitian creole
whose article are more similar but have "nan" in addition.
In Creole, there are five definite articles (la, lan, a, an, nan) which are placed
after
the nouns they modify, in contrast to French. The final syllable of the preceding word determines which is used with which nouns.
If the last sound is an
oral consonant
and is preceded by an
oral vowel
, it becomes
la
:
Antillean Creole
|
French
|
English
|
kravat-
la
|
la cravate
|
the tie
|
liv-
la
|
le livre
|
the book
|
kay-
la
|
la maison
|
the house
|
If the last sound is an
oral consonant
and is preceded by a
nasal vowel
, it becomes
lan
:
Antillean Creole
|
French
|
English
|
lamp-
lan
|
la lampe
|
the lamp
|
nonm-
lan
|
l'homme
|
the man
|
silans-
lan
|
le silence
|
the silence
|
If the last sound is an
oral vowel
and is preceded by an
oral consonant
, it becomes
a
:
Antillean Creole
|
French
|
English
|
kouto-
a
|
le couteau
|
the knife
|
peyi-
a
|
le pays
|
the country
|
mi-
a
|
le mais
|
the corn
|
If a word ends in a
nasal vowel
, it becomes
an
:
Antillean Creole
|
French
|
English
|
van-
an
|
le vent
|
the wind
|
chyen-
an
|
le chien
|
the dog
|
pon-
an
|
le pont
|
the bridge
|
If the last sound is a
nasal consonant
, it becomes
nan
, but this form is rare and is usually replaced by
lan
:
Antillean Creole
|
French
|
English
|
machin-
nan
|
la voiture
|
the car
|
machin-
lan
|
moun-
nan
|
les gens
|
the people
|
moun-l
an
|
fanm-
nan
|
la femme
|
the woman
|
fanm-
lan
|
Note that in Guadeloupean Creole there is no agreement of sounds between the noun and definite article and
la
is used for all nouns
Demonstrative article
Like the definite article this is placed after the noun. It varies widely by region.
Region
|
Demonstrative
|
Example
|
English
|
St.Lucia
|
sala
sa'a
|
motoka
sala
|
that/this car
|
Guadeloupe
|
lasa
|
boug
lasa
|
that/this guy
|
Martinique
|
tala/taa
|
tab
tala/taa
|
that/this table
|
Verb Tenses
Creole
|
Negative
|
Tense
|
|
|
|
|
ø
|
pa
|
Preterite/ Present Perfect
|
I vini
|
He came
He has come
|
I pa vini
|
He didn't come
He hasn't come
|
ka
|
pa ka
pa'a
|
Present Progressive
|
Mwen ka pale
Ng'a pale
|
I am speaking
|
Mwen pa ka pale
Mwen pa'a pale
M'a ka pale
|
I wasn't speaking
|
ke
|
pe ke
|
Future
|
Ou ke ay/ale
|
You will go
|
Ou pe ke ay/ale
|
I won't go
|
kay
|
pa kay
|
Immediate Future
|
Mwen kay ale
Ng'ay ale
|
I'm going to go
|
Mwen pa kay ale
M'a kay ale
|
I am not going
|
te
|
pa te
|
Past/ Past Perfect
|
Nou te di
|
We said
We had said
|
Nou pa te di
|
We didn't say
We hadn't said
|
te ka
|
pa te ka
|
Progressive Past
|
Zot te ka manje
|
Y'all were eating
|
Zot pa te ka manje
|
Y'all were not eating
|
te ke
te'e
|
pa te ke
|
Conditional
|
Yo te ke enmen
Yo te'e enmen
|
They would like
|
Yo pa te ke enmen
Yo pa te'e enmen
|
They would not like
|
te kay/ke
|
pa te kay/ke
|
Conditional
|
An te kay/ke pran
|
I would take
|
An pa te kay/ke
|
I would not go
|
soti
|
|
'have just'
|
Man soti rive
|
I've just arrived
|
Man pa soti rive
|
I have not just gone out
|
te soti
|
|
'had just'
|
Albe te soti soti
|
Albert had just gone out
|
Albe te soti soti
|
Albert had not just gone gone out
|
ja
|
p'oko
po'o
|
'already'
|
Se timanmay-la ja fe
|
The children already did
|
Se timanmay-la p'oko fe
Se timanmay-la po'o fe
|
The children have not already done
The children had not yet done
|
te ja
|
potoko/pokote
|
|
Ho/zot te ja koumanse
|
Y'all had already started
|
Ho/zot potoko/pokote koumanse
|
Y'all had not already started
Y'all had not started yet
|
Verbs in Creole are invariable and unlike French or English have no inflection to distinguish tenses. A series of particles placed before the verb indicate tense and aspect. There is no Subjunctive mood.
Vocabulary
[
edit
]
The vocabulary of Antillean Creole is based mostly on French, with many contributions from West African languages, Spanish, English and Amerindian languages.
Varieties
[
edit
]
Dominican Creole French
[
edit
]
Dominican Creole French
is the generally-spoken language in
Dominica
.
[8]
Its mutual intelligibility rate with other varieties of Antillean Creole is almost 100%. Its syntactic, grammatical and lexical features are virtually identical to that of Martinican Creole, but like its Saint Lucian counterpart, it has more English loanwords than the Martinican variety. People who speak
Haitian Creole
can also understand Dominican Creole French. Even though there are a number of distinctive features, they are mutually intelligible.
Like the other
Caribbean
Creoles, Dominican French Creole combines a syntax of African and Carib origin with a vocabulary primarily derived from French.
Saint Lucian Creole French
[
edit
]
Saint Lucian Creole French
is commonly spoken in
Saint Lucia
. Its syntactic, grammatical and lexical features are virtually identical to that of Martinican Creole.
Like the other
Caribbean
creoles, Saint Lucian French Creole combines a syntax of African and Carib origin with a vocabulary primarily derived from French. The language can be considered to be mutually intelligible with French creoles of the Lesser Antilles and is related to
Haitian Creole
, which has nonetheless a number of distinctive features.
It is still widely spoken in Saint Lucia. In the mid-19th century, migrants took the language with them to Panama, where it is now moribund.
Grenadian Creole French
[
edit
]
Historically, French, or French Creole, was the language of the large majority of the inhabitants, enslaved Africans and estate owners. Though the new British administrators spoke English, French was still predominant.
Grenadian Creole French
is a variety of Antillean Creole French.
[9]
In Grenada and among Grenadians, it is referred to as
Patois
or
French
Patois
. It was once the
lingua franca
in Grenada and was commonly heard as recently as 1930 when children in some rural areas could speak it. In the 21st century, it can be heard only among elderly speakers in a few small pockets of the country. They are becoming fewer and fewer because unlike
St. Lucia
and
Dominica
, which lie close to the French islands of
Martinique
and
Guadeloupe
, Grenada does not have Kweyol-speaking neighbours to keep the language alive.
Additionally, the language is not taught in schools.
Trinidadian French Creole
[
edit
]
Trinidadian French Creole
is a French Creole (
Patois
) of Trinidad spoken by descendants of the French Creole migrants from the
French Antilles
.
The
Cedula of Population
of 1783 laid the foundation and growth of the population of
Trinidad
. French planters and the Africans they enslaved, free coloureds and mulattos, from the French Antilles of Martinique, Grenada, Guadeloupe and Dominica, migrated to Trinidad during the
French Revolution
. The immigrants establishing local communities of
Blanchisseuse
, Champs Fleurs,
Paramin
, Cascade,
Carenage
,
Laventille
, etc. Trinidad's population, which numbered less than 1,400 in 1777, soared to over 15,000 by the end of 1789.
In 1797, Trinidad became a British crown colony, with a French-speaking and Patois-speaking population. Today, Trinidadian French Creole can be found spoken in regional pockets among the elders, particularly in the villages of
Paramin
and
Lopinot
.
Example vocabulary
[
edit
]
- Hello
? Bonjou
(from "bonjour")
pronounced
[bon?u]
.
- Hello
? Sa i di-a
(more casual)
pronounced
[sa
i
di
a]
.
- Please
? Souple
(shortened version of "Si ou ple / Si'w ple")
pronounced
[suple]
.
- Thank you
? Mesi
(from "merci")
pronounced
[m?si]
.
- Thank you very much
? Mesi an pil
pronounced
[m?si
??
pil]
, Mesi an lo
pronounced
[m?si
??
lo]
, or Mesi an chay'
pronounced
[m?si
??
?aj]
.
- Excuse me
? Eskize mwen
(from "excusez-moi")
pronounced
[?skize
mw??]
.
- Rain is falling
? Lapli ka tonbe
pronounced
[lapli
ka
t??be]
, or Lapli ka bat'
(stronger)
pronounced
[lapli
ka
bat]
, Lapli ap tonbe
(
Haitian
)
pronounced
[lapli
ap
t??be]
.
- Today is a nice day
? Jodi-a bel
pronounced
[??di
a
b?l]
- How are you ?
? Ka'w fe?
(
Guadeloupe
)
pronounced
[ka
u
f?]
, Sa'w fe?
(
Martinique
)
pronounced
[sa
u
f?]
, Sa kap fet?
(
Haitian
)
pronounced
[sa
kap
f?t]
-
often shortened to
"Sakafet'?"
pronounced
[sakaf?t]
.
- Brother, Sister
- Fre
pronounced
[fw?]
, Se
pronounced
[s?]
- Going to the beach
? Ay (o)bodlanme-a
pronounced
[aj
ob?dl??m?a]
- My place
- Akaz (an) mwen
(
Guadeloupe
)
pronounced
[akaz
??
mw??]
, Lakay mwen
(
Martinique
)
pronounced
[lakaj
mw??]
- I don't care
- Mpa kye
(
Haitian
)
pronounced
[mpa
kj?]
, Man san foute
(
FWI
)
pronounced
[m??
s??
fute]
- Girlfriend (or female relative)
- Manzel
pronounced
[m??z?l]
- Boyfriend (or male relative)
- Boug
pronounced
[bu?]
- (To) engage in a fight
- Goume epi moun
pronounced
[?ume
epi
mun]
Sample texts
[
edit
]
Below are samples of St. Lucian Creole French taken from a folktale.
[10]
Pwenmye ki pase se Konpe Kochon. I di, "Konpe Lapen, sa ou ka fe la?"
Konpe Lapen di'y, "De ti twou yanm ng'a (mwen ka) fouye bay ich mwen pou mwen bay ich mwen manje."
Konpe Kochon di, "Me, Konpe, ou kouyon, wi! Ou vle di mwen sa kay fe yanm?"
An English translation from the same source:
First to pass was Konpe Kochon (
Mister Pig
). He said, "Konpe Lapen (
Mister Rabbit
), what are you doing there?"
Konpe Lapen told him, "I am digging a few holes to plant yams to feed my children."
Konpe Kochon said, "But, Konpe, you're too foolish! You mean to tell me you can grow yams there?"
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Ethnologue codes Guadeloupean Creole French (spoken in Guadeloupe and Martinique) and Saint Lucian Creole French (spoken in Dominica and Saint Lucia) distinctly, with the respective ISO 639-3 codes:
gcf
and
acf
. However, it notes that their rate of comprehension is 90%, which would qualify them as dialects of a single language.
- ^
Guadeloupean Creole / Martinican Creole
at
Ethnologue
(18th ed., 2015)
(subscription required)
Saint Lucian / Dominican Creole
at
Ethnologue
(18th ed., 2015)
(subscription required)
San Miguel Creole French (Panama)
at
Ethnologue
(18th ed., 2015)
(subscription required)
- ^
Erland., Gadelii, Karl (1997).
Lesser Antillean french creole and universal grammar
. Department of linguistics.
ISBN
91-628-2793-6
.
OCLC
470438107
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005.
Languages of Dominica
.
Ethnologue: Languages of the World
, SIL International, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.
- ^
Guilbault, Jocelyne (1993).
Zouk: world music in the West Indies
. University of Chicago Press. p.
12
.
ISBN
978-0-226-31041-1
. Retrieved
2010-05-22
.
Henri Guedon.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Wylie, Jonathan (1995-01-01).
"The Origins of Lesser Antillean French Creole"
.
Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages
.
10
(1): 77?126.
doi
:
10.1075/jpcl.10.1.04wyl
.
ISSN
0920-9034
.
- ^
a
b
Gadelii, Karl Erland. (1997).
Lesser Antillean French Creole and universal grammar
. Department of Linguistics, Goteborg University.
ISBN
91-628-2793-6
.
OCLC
758345312
.
- ^
"The Creole Language of Dominica"
. Retrieved
31 March
2014
.
- ^
Ethnologue report for language code:acf
- ^
Konpe Lapen mande on fave = Konpe Lapen asks a favor: a Saint Lucian folk tale.
1985. Vieux-Fort, Saint Lucia: SIL. 10 p.
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