Saint Lucian Creole French

A language of Saint Lucia

ISO 639-3

acf

Alternate Names

Creole, Grenadian Creole French, Lesser Antillean Creole French, Patois, Patwa

Autonym

Kwéyòl

Population

158,000 in Saint Lucia (2001). Total users in all countries: 357,153.

Location

Widespread.

Language Maps

Creole Languages of the Eastern Caribbean

Language Status

5* (Developing). De facto language of national identity.

Classification

Creole, French based

Dialects

Not intelligible with standard French [fra]. 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).

Language Use

In French-influenced islands nearly all speak Creole as L1, although also a local variety of standard French [fra]. In English influence areas, Creole has less standing, and speakers have a low literacy rate. All domains. Also use English [eng], French [fra].

Language Development

Literacy rate in L2: 36%. Literature. Newspapers. Radio. Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 1999.

Language Resources

OLAC resources in and about Saint Lucian Creole French

Writing

Latin script [Latn].

Other Comments

Christian.

Also spoken in:

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Dominica

Language nameDominican Creole French

Population Full

42,600 in Dominica (1998).

Location

Widespread.

Alternate Names

Kwèyòl, Patois, Patwa

Status

6b (Threatened). De facto language of national identity.

Language Use

Parents are not encouraging children to speak the language, especially in the town areas (2017 T. Young). Some young people, all adults. Younger speakers shifting to English [eng]. Negative attitudes. Most also use English [eng], especially youth. Also use French [fra], understood by up to 10% of the population (Adler 1977).

Other Comments

Loanwords from Island Carib [car] and Arawak [arw]. Christian.

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Grenada

Language nameGrenadian Creole French

Population Full

3 in Grenada (Ferreira and Holbrook 2001), decreasing.

Location

Carriacou department: Carriacou island; Grenada island: northeast St. Andrew, St. Mark north of Victoria, and St. Patrick parishes. Scattered, mainly rural.

Alternate Names

Lesser Antillean Creole French, Patois, Patwa

Status

8b (Nearly extinct).

Language Use

Most speakers reported learning this as a second language as children in order to communicate with monolingual grandparents. Few domains. Elderly only. No speakers under the age of 60 in Grenada. All speakers in Carriacou were over the age of 50. A few individuals under age 50 in Carriacou could produce a few phrases or expressions (Ferreira and Holbrook 2001).

Other Comments

The same as, or similar to, that spoken in Saint Lucia (Alleyne n.d.). Christian.

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Trinidad and Tobago

Language nameTrinidadian Creole French

Population Full

3,800 in Trinidad and Tobago (2004).

Location

Trinidad: Diego Martin municipality, peninsular coastal settlements north of the capital.

Alternate Names

Lesser Antillean Creole French, Patois, Patwa

Status

5 (Developing).

Language Use

Used by all.

Language Development

Literacy, using Saint Lucian materials, taught to teachers and other adults in Paramin.

Other Comments

Non-indigenous.

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Ethnologue

Saint Lucian Creole French

Primary tabs

A language of Saint Lucia

Also spoken in:

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