16th edition

US$ 100.00

Ethnologue > Web version > Country index > Americas > Saint Lucia > Saint Lucian Creole French

Saint Lucian Creole French

A language of Saint Lucia

ISO 639-3: acf

Population	158,000 in Saint Lucia (2001). Population total all countries: 356,950.
Region	Also in Dominica, France, Grenada, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago.
Language map	Creole Languages of the Eastern Caribbean
Alternate names	Dominican Creole French, Grenadian Creole French, Kwéyòl, Lesser Antillean Creole French, Patois, Patwa
Dialects	Not intelligible with Standard French. All French creoles of the Caribbean are somewhat mutually inherently intelligible (Goodman 1964). Dominica dialect is virtually the same as Saint Lucia (97%–99% intelligibility).
Classification	Creole, French based
Language use	In the islands under French influence nearly all the population speaks Creole as L1, although there is a local variety of Standard French. In those under English influence, the Creole has less standing, and speakers have a low literacy rate. All domains. Some also use Standard French or English.
Language development	Literacy rate in L2: 36%. Newspapers. Radio programs. Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 1999.
Writing system	Latin script.
Comments	Christian.

Also spoken in:

Dominica

Language name	Dominican Creole French
Population	42,600 in Dominica (1998).
Language map	Creole Languages of the Eastern Caribbean
Alternate names	Kwèyòl, Lesser Antillean Creole French, Patois, Patwa
Language use	Most use English, especially youth. Standard French understood by no more than 10% of the population (Adler 1977).
Comments	Loanwords from Island Carib [crb] and Arawak [arw]. Christian.

Grenada

Language name	Grenadian Creole French
Population	2,300 in Grenada (2004), decreasing.
Region	Carriacou Island. On northern Grenada Island it is in scattered pockets, mainly in rural areas.
Language map	Creole Languages of the Eastern Caribbean
Alternate names	Lesser Antillean Creole French
Dialects	Patwa, Patois.
Language use	Few domains. Mainly older adults.
Comments	The same as, or similar to, that spoken in Saint Lucia (Alleyne n.d.).

Trinidad and Tobago

Language name	Trinidadian Creole French
Population	3,800 in Trinidad and Tobago (2004).
Region	Trinidad, Northern Range villages, island fishing communities, peninsular coastal settlements west of the capital (I. Hancock, ms.).
Language map	Creole Languages of the Eastern Caribbean
Alternate names	Lesser Antillean Creole French, Patois, Patwa
Language use	All ages.
Language development	Literacy, using Saint Lucian materials, taught to teachers and other adults in Paramin.
Comments	Fishermen.

Entries from the SIL Bibliography about this language:

Academic Publications

CROSBIE, Cynthia; CROSBIE, Paul; FRANK, David B.; FRANK, Lynn E., compilers. 1992. An overview of the work of the Summer Institute of Linguistics in St. Lucia.

CROSBIE, Paul; LEON, Emanuel; SAMUEL, Peter, compilers; EVANS, Mervin; FRANK, Mark; SAMMAN, David, illustrators; FRANK, David B., editor. 2001. Kwéyòl dictionary.  

FERREIRA, Jo-Anne S., author. 2009. "The history and future of Patuá in Paria: report on initial language revitalization efforts for French creole in Venezuela."

FERREIRA, Jo-Anne S.; HOLBROOK, David J., authors. 2002. "Are they dying? The case of some French-lexifier creoles."

FRANK, David B., author. 1990. The grammar of sentence conjunctions in St. Lucian French Creole.

FRANK, David B., author. 1990. The structural organization of St. Lucian French Creole narrative texts.

FRANK, David B., author. 1992. Clause versus sentence in St. Lucian French Creole: a paper presented at the Ninth Biennial Conference of the Society for Caribbean Linguistics, held in Cave Hill, Barbados, in August, 1992.

FRANK, David B., author. 1993. "Political, religious, and economic factors affecting language choice in St. Lucia."

FRANK, David B., author. 1998. Lexical challenges in the St. Lucian Creole Bible translation project: a paper presented at the Twelfth Biennial Conference of the Society for Caribbean Linguistics, held in Castries, St. Lucia, in August. 1998.

FRANK, David B., author. 1999. "The grammar of sentence conjunctions in St. Lucian French Creole."

FRANK, David B., author. 2002. "The language of the supernatural world in St. Lucia."

FRANK, David B., author. 2004. "TMA and the St. Lucian Creole verb phrase."

FRANK, David B., compiler. 1990. Six St. Lucian French Creole narrative texts with interlinear translation.

FRANK, David B.; SAMUEL, Peter, authors. 2000. Translating poetry and figurative language into St. Lucian Creole: a paper presented at the Thirteenth Biennial Conference of the Society for Caribbean Linguistics, held in Mona, Jamaica, in August, 2000.  

Vernacular Publications

Jou lavi nou. 1989.

Konpè Lapen mandé on favè = Konpè Lapen asks a favor: a Saint Lucian folk tale. 1985.

Li èk ékwi Kwéyòl. 1998.

Li èk ékwi Kwéyòl. 1998.

Mannyè ou sa li èk ékwi Kwéyòl. 1999.

Mwen vin wakonté sa baʼw. 1991.

Sé kon sa i fèt. 1989.