Variety of Antillean French Creole
Grenadian Creole is a variety of Antillean Creole .[ 2] In Grenada and among Grenadians, it is referred to as patois .
Following several unsuccessful attempts by Europeans to colonise the island due to resistance from resident Island Caribs , French settlement and colonisation began in 1649 and continued for the next century. On 10 February 1763, Grenada was ceded to the British under the Treaty of Paris . British rule continued until 1974 (except for a brief French takeover between 1779 and 1783). In 1921, a census of Grenada reported that the language was "slowly dying out" and was "only spoken among a small number of the adult population of the rural districts".[ 3] Today most of the population speaks Grenadian Creole English .
Sample Words and Expressions [ edit ]
bebé [French 'bébé']: A foolish person. Literally, 'baby'.[ 4]
bondjé [French 'bon Dieu']: 'Good God!'[ 4]
disabill [French 'dishabile']: Sloppy or run-down.[ 5]
dou-dou [French 'doux']: Darling or Sweetheart. A term of endearment.[ 4]
djoukoutou [French 'jusqu'à vous']: "Even someone as unimportant as you," used derisively. e.g. , "Djoukoutou Freddy and all going to that party." [ 4]
flambo [French 'flambeau']: A blazing torch made with wood, fabric, and kerosene.[ 4]
fet [French 'fête']: A party[ 4]
galé [French 'galeux']: Pejorative description of someone with a scabby rash or itchy skin disease. e.g. "Look at his arms--they galé!"[ 4]
ladjabless [French 'La Diablesse ']: A devil woman from Caribbean folklore.[ 6]
lougarou [French 'loup-garou ']: A werewolf.
shado beni [French 'chardon béni']: Eryngium foetidum , an herb used for cooking. Also known as recao or Mexican coriander.
soungoo [French 'sans goût']: a description of a person who is dispirited or lacking energy, e.g. "Why Jenny so soungoo? [ 4]
takté [French 'tacheté']: Spotted or speckled skin, referring to either people or fruit.[ 4]
tébé [French 'débat']: Strife and conflict between persons, spawned by gossiping.[ 4]
too-tool-bay [French 'totalement bête']: the state of being dazed and confused, as when "head over heels" in love, e.g. "Mary turned Desmond too-tool-bay." [ 6]
toot bagay [French 'tout bagage']: any and everything, e.g. "He pack up his house, toot bagay, and move to Sautiers." [ 4]
zagada [French 'lézard']: Ameiva ameiva , a ground lizard found in Grenada, South America, and other Caribbean islands.[ 7]
Phrases and Examples [ edit ]
Anmwé! Kay mwen pwi difé! - Help! My house on fire!
Ba boulé La Gwouyav. - Don't burn down Gouyave.
Ba di mwen sa. - Don't tell me that.
Ba li yon koul pyé! - Give him a kick!
Bagay la sé sla'w . - The thing is yours.
Ban mwen piti tak dlo pou mon bwè. - Give me a little bit of water for me to drink.
Bondjé senyè! - God lord!
Chantwèl sala sòti Gran Pouvwa. - This singer is from Victoria.
Denmen sé Vandwèdi. - Tomorrow is Friday.
Di yé mon wivé. - Tell them I arrive.
Dimanch pwochenn nou ké alé légliz. - Next Sunday we will go to church.
Éti ou ka alé? - Where you going?
Fanm la ka hélé. - The woman screaming.
Fi-a yé malévé kon manman yé. - The girl them rude as their mother.
Gadé mizè mwen. - Look at my misery.
Gwan fwè mwen té ka lwé yon lakay nan Labé avan I alé L'anglité. - My elder brother was renting a house in Grenville before he went to England.
I ba konn palé patwa. - He cannot speak patois.
I b'oko wivé. - She has not arrived as yet.
I ka fè cho. - It making hot.
Ich mwen apwann anglé nan lékòl. - My child learnt English in school.
Jenn fi-a yé pwan kouwi. - The young girl them start to run.
Jida yé ba vlé wè mwen. - Hypocrite them don't want to see me.
Jézi mò l'asou lakwa pou péché nou. - Jesus die on the cross for our sins.
Ki moun sa? - Who is that?
Kouman ou yé? - How are you?
Konpè Lapen épi Konpè Zayen sé bon kanmawad. Compere Rabbit and Compere Spider (Anansi) are good friends.
Kon sa mon touvé'y, kon sa mon ba'w. - Like that I found it, like that I give you.
La Gwinad mon lévé. - Grenada I grow up.
Lapli ka vini! - Rain coming!
Lè mon té on piti gason. Mon té ka jwé jwèt nan lawi-a. - When I was a little boy. I used to play games in the street.
Lougarou épi Soukouyan ka volé nan nwit. - Lougaroo and Soucouyan flying in the night.
Mama Maladi sé on denmou . - Mama Maladi is a demon.
Mété sèl ladan'y. - Put salt inside it.
Mété enpé sik adidan'y ban mwen. - Put a little bit of sugar in it for me.
Mon konn palé enpé Panyòl. - I can speak a little bit of Spanish.
Mon ka wété Lapèl. - I'm residing in Pearls.
Mouché Pierre épi fanm li dégouté fanmi mwen. - Mister Pierre and his woman dislike my family.
Moun Pawadi pè'y pas I sé on moro. - Paradise (village) people fear him because he is a "badman".
Nonk mwen alé Twinité lanné pasé - My uncle went to Trinidad last year.
Nonm sa yé sòti Babad. - This man them come from Barbados.
Nou ba sa tann ou! - We can't hear you!
Nennenn mwen di mwen sa. - My Godmother told me that.
Ou vòlò pasé mwen. - You thief more than me.
Ou sé on Salòpri. - You're a filthy bastard.
Parenn mon ja mouri. - My Godfather is already dead.
Papa li sété on béké épi manman li sété on nègess. - Her father was a white man and her mother was a negro.
Patwa sé lanng nou. - Patois is our language (tongue).
Pouki I vlé mayé salopri sala? - Why she want to marry this crook.
Sa ba vwé. - That not true.
Sa ki fè'w? - What do you?
Sa ki non'w? - What's your name?
Sa ki tann palé lòt. - He who hear tell the other.
Sa sa yé? - What that is?
Sé menm bagay . - Is the same thing.
Sla'w sé sla'w! - Yours is yours!
Tonnè ka woulé. Thunder rolling.
Toulé jou..nou ni pou alé nan la'ivyè pou benyen . -Everyday we have to go the river to bathe.
Tout moun konnen sa. - Everybody know that.
Wen mwen ka fè mwen mal. - My waist is hurting me.
Vini isi-a. - Come here.
Yé vini wè mwen. - They come to see me.
Yé vlé tchouyé mwen. - They want to kill me.
Yé kiyé'w piten pas ou ka pran nonm mayé. - They call you a whore because you are sleeping with married men.
^ Saint Lucian Creole (Grenada) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^ Ethnologue report for language code:acf
^ Holm, John A. (1988). Pidgins and Creoles: Volume 2, Reference Survey . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 376. ISBN 0521359406 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k La Grenade-Lashley, Marise (April 15, 2016). Mwen Ka Alé: The French-lexicon Creole of Grenada: History, Language and Culture . Aventine Press. p. 154. ISBN 978-1593309039 . Retrieved 22 August 2021 .
^ "A (Very) Private Resident's View of The Grenadian by Rex vs. Government of Grenada" . nowgrenada.com . Retrieved 23 August 2021 .
^ a b Hughes, Alister. "The Influences of French Creole on the Grenadian "Language" " . Montray Kréyol . Retrieved 22 August 2021 .
^ Crask, Paul (March 17, 2009). Grenada, Carriacou & Petite Martinique (First ed.). Bradt Travel Guides. p. 27. ISBN 978-1841622743 . Retrieved 23 August 2021 .
Marguerite-Joan Joseph, Lingering Effects of an Ancient Afro-Romance Language on Common Speech in the Caribbean Island of Grenada (2012)
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