Trinidadian French Creole (also known as Patois or Patwa) is a French creole of Trinidad taken to Trinidad by French creole-speaking migrants from the islands such as Grenada, and the French Antilles, namely Guadeloupe and Martinique, and other French-colonised islands). All the creoles have slight differences in words, especially with regional dialects. Trinidad also has different ways to say or spell the same word in Creole.
History 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 Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe and Martinique, migrated to Trinidad during the French Revolution (5 May 1789 to 9 November 1799). The immigrants established communities in Arima, Blanchisseuse, Carenage, Cascade, Champs Fleurs, Laventille, Paramin, 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 large 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, Lopinot and Talparo. Other rural and fishing villages also have French Creole remnants. The language is facing a slow revival in some of these villages. The language was the lingua franca for parts of Trinidad for many decades in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The language is still spoken in Paramin, Blanchisseuse and other smaller villages, and there are efforts both online and in person (schools) to try preserve and revitalise it.
Singers such as Mighty Sparrow have sung in Trinidadian Creole (which is very similar to other Creoles, most notably Grenadian Creole French). Songs such as 'Gade Zinah' and 'Par Quiea Mweh (Pa Kwiyé Mwen)' are sung exclusively in Trinidadian French Creole.
Many Trinidadians went to Venezuela through the late 18th and 19th centuries, and took French and English Creole along with them and hence known as Venezuelan French Creole, which is also a dying language variety which has ongoing preservation efforts.
Grammar
Alphabet The Creole alphabet is very similar to the English and French alphabet. However, there are some differences. The first is the absence of the letters “C”, “Q”, “U” and “X”, and another difference is the inclusion of a few extra letters. The alphabet is as follows: +Letter in CreoleLetter in Creole word Creole word translationClosest English equivalent ABaTo giveAttackAnTanTime”Uh” (Nasal sound)BBazodiDazedBankChChapoHatShipDDoudouDarlingDumpDjDjabDevilJump (hard J)EPaimePaime (a Trinidadian dish)CheeseÉÉdéTo help”Eh” (with a rise in tone at the end)ÈLèWhenfestEnEnmenTo like/loveEnterFFou-fouCrazyFatGGangangGrandmother GreatHHòtòto-soTo liberally (too much)HimIItaliItalyUniverseJJanbéTo jump/cross overJapanKKlasClassKickLLanmouTo love (another word for “to Love”)LickMMakoNoseyMakeNNègBlack/black personNiceNgLanngTongue/LanguageSangOObliyéMustBotÒÒgannizéTo organiseDoorOnNonk/TontonUncleOnOuOuvéTo openYouPPaskiBecausePerchanceRRoroRow (uproar)RightSSiIfSatTTanbou/TambouDrumTrackTjTjèHeart”Tch”VVannTo sellVanWWouléTo rollWhatYYonnOneYesZZabòkaAvocadoZoom
Nouns and articles In Trinidadian French Creole the word 'yon/on' is added to the front of a noun as an indefinite article (so 'a' or 'an'). For example, 'yon kanot' means 'a boat' or 'on-chuval' means 'a horse'. There is no significant difference between 'yonn' or 'onn', although yonn is used more often.
The word for the definite article ('the') is added on the end of a word (as a suffix) instead of at the front like with 'Yonn'. So in Trinidadian, to say 'the boat' would result in 'kanot-a'. If the word ends in a vowel then '-la' is added instead of '-a' so instead of 'misyé-a' the correct form would be 'misyé-la' ('the gentleman'). There are also other forms of the definite article such as “-an” and “-lan” but they are not used as often.
The possessive is also added as a suffix, for example the phrase 'my house' would be 'lakay-mwen'. Adjectives usually come after the word they describe 'fanm-a bon' (the good woman), although sometimes Creole takes the English sentence structure and so the adjective can come before the word it describes, hence byen fanm-a could also be acceptable.
Negatives To make something negative then 'pa' — similar to the French — is placed before the verb. Sometimes the form 'si [verb] pa' is used. Examples are below: Mwen pa pale [or] mwen si pale pa
Verbs Most verbs end in “é” such as “chanté” and “manjé”, so they are similar to French, and there are also irregular verbs which end in other letters such as “vini” (to come) or “bizwen” (to need). The verbs do not change regardless of number or when the action takes place.
Sample Verbs
Alé: to go Ataké: Attack Bizwen: (Irregular) to need Chanté: to sing Degouté: to dislike Édé: to help Hayi: to hate Lanmou: to love Mové: to be malicious (can also be used as an adjective) Manjé: to eat
Gender French Creole does not have grammatical gender, but it has lexical gender. Some words of French origin can be gendered such as Moulat and Moulatwess (Mulatto male and Mulatto female). However, verbs, nouns and adjectives never change due to the gender of the speaker or person being mentioned.
Pronouns The pronouns of Trinidadian French Creole are the exact same as most other Creoles (with only small differences from the neighbouring Grenadian French Creole). +In EnglishIn CreoleExampleExample translationI/my/meMwenMwen ka kapab chou-chouI can whisperYouOuOu ka hayi You can hateHe/she/itI/LiI sé yonn-kounoumounouHe is an idiotWe/us Nou Nou ka enmen jwéWe like to play You (pl)ZòZò moun sé sòt You people are sillyThey/them/theirYoYo sé kamawad-mwenThey are my friends To form the possessive pronoun (words such as “yours” or “mine”) the relevant possessive pronoun is added to the word “sla” for example the word for “yours” is “sla-ou” (sometimes shortened to “sla’w”). For the plural form it is necessary to add “a” “an” or “la” after the word. For example, “yours” plural would be sla’w-a.
Tenses In Creole the verb does not change depending on who or when the action is being done, but the word before the verb does (ka/ké/té ka etc.). +Tense in Creole Example Example translation KaMwen ka aléI am going (present tense) No Tense marker (although sometime “Té” is used)Mwen aléI went (simple past tense)TéMwen té aléI had gone (pluperfect tense)Té ka Mwen té ka aléI was going/I used to go (imperfect tense)Ka aléMwen ka alé alé I am going to go (immediate future tense) Kay/kéMwen kay/ké aléI will go (simple future tense)
Sample vocabulary Most words in Trinidadian French Creole are derived from French. However, some come from other sources. The ones from different sourced are marked with a note below. Jouvé: daybreak of carnival Bakanal: raucous party (sometimes used to mean 'crazy') Dingolay: carefree dancing/to fall over Karnaval: Carnival Kaka: (vulgar) faeces (African-derived) Djab: devil Bondjé/bondyé: good god/good lord Mako: nosey Glo/dlo: water Mwen: me/I/myself Ou: you i/li: he/she/it Nou: we (plural) Zo: you (plural) Yé: they Manjhay/manjé: to eat Kwiyé/quieah: to call Obiyah/obeah: magic medicine Pou tchouwé/pou tjwé: to kill Chuval: horse Ninnin: riddle (African-derived) Wanga: magic charm (African-derived) Dou-dou (or du-du): darling/sweetheart Konne/konnet/konnen: to know Soti: to come from Balyé: broom Chanté: to sing
Sample sayings Some regularly used sayings in Trinidadian French-Creole:
Tonné ka fè pè mé zéklè ka tjwé: The thunder frightens, but the lightning smites (Thunder makes fear but the lightning kills) Makak konnèt ki bwa monté [or] Makak konnè ki bwa monté: Monkey knows which tree to climb Makak sav ki pyé-bwa i ka monté: Monkey knows which tree of wood it climbs (“Sav” is commonly used in French Guiana, Martinique and Guadeloupe but other islands also use it as well as “Konné”) Sé bouch kabwit ki ka wand kabwit: The goat betrays itself by its own voice (Is the mouth of the goat that betrays the goat). Sé yon-vole ki ka twapé lót: It takes a thief to catch a thief (Is a thief that captures another).
Food names taken from Trinidadian French-Creole
Trinidad is known for its diverse food. Some foods are habitually referred to using their French Creole names rather than in English, as the French Creole words have been borrowed by English and English Creole.
Callaloo is a dish with a mix of dasheen leaves, okra, crab and ham. This dish was originally part of the culture of French Creole life in Trinidad and other French-influenced islands, but now has a broader popularity and has been referred to as a "Trinidadian masterpiece". The word callaloo is found in other French Creole languages and in Portuguese, with a number of theories available as to the underlying etymology.
Pen mi (Pain Mi) or paime is a dish made of sugared cornflour mixed with other ingredients such as coconut, pumpkin, spices such as nutmeg among other ingredients, and made into a paste, then it is covered in banana leaves and cooked in boiling water (or steamed). Boiling water is known as “Bouya” in Trinidad and Grenada.
Doudou/Doudous mango (In English: Sweet-sweet mango): A type of Caribbean mango.
Zabwiko mango: Apricot mango
References