Grenadian Creole
Encyclopedia
Grenadian Creole, is a term that may refer to either Grenadian Creole English or Grenadian Creole French.
Grenadian Creole English, is a Creole language
spoken in Grenada
. It is a member of the Southern branch of English-based Eastern Atlantic Creoles, along with Antiguan Creole
(Antigua and Barbuda
), Bajan Creole (Barbados
), Guyanese Creole (Guyana
), Tobagonian Creole, Trinidadian Creole (Trinidad and Tobago
), Vincentian Creole
(Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
), and Virgin Islands Creole
(Virgin Islands
). It is the native language of nearly all inhabitants of Grenada, or approximately 89,000 native speakers.
The older Grenadian Creole French. is considered to be the same language as Saint Lucian French Creole
. In Grenada, and among Grenadians, it is referred to as "Patois
" without any qualification of the term, or, alternatively, as French Patois. This French Patois, was once the lingua franka in Grenada, and could still be commonly heard as recently as 80 years ago. Then, even children in some rural areas could speak it. By the mid-Twentieth Century, mainly seniors, in some rural areas, could speak French Patois. In the Twenty-first Century, it can only be heard in a few small pockets of the society.
established friendly contact with the native Caribs. The British
took control of the island in the 18th century, and ruled until its independence in 1974. Despite the long history of British rule, Grenada's French heritage is still evidenced by the number of French loanword
s in Grenadian Creole.
Grenadian Creole English, is a Creole language
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
spoken in Grenada
Grenada
Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...
. It is a member of the Southern branch of English-based Eastern Atlantic Creoles, along with Antiguan Creole
Antiguan Creole
Leeward Caribbean Creole English, also known by the names of the various islands on which it is spoken is an English-based creole language spoken in the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean, namely the countries of Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat and Saint Kitts and Nevis.There are subtle differences...
(Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda is a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands...
), Bajan Creole (Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
), Guyanese Creole (Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
), Tobagonian Creole, Trinidadian Creole (Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
), Vincentian Creole
Vincentian Creole
Vincentian Creole is an English-lexified creole language spoken in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The number of speakers of Vincentian Creole is about 100 000. Vincentian Creole does not have the status of an official language.-See also:*Antiguan Creole...
(Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the Lesser Antilles chain, namely in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, which lie at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean....
), and Virgin Islands Creole
Virgin Islands Creole
Virgin Islands Creole, or Virgin Islands Creole English, is an English-based creole spoken in the Virgin Islands and the nearby SSS islands of Saba, Sint Eustatius and Saint Martin, where it has been known as Netherlands Antilles Creole English....
(Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
). It is the native language of nearly all inhabitants of Grenada, or approximately 89,000 native speakers.
The older Grenadian Creole French. is considered to be the same language as Saint Lucian French Creole
Antillean Creole
Antillean Creole is a creole language with a vocabulary based on French. It is spoken primarily in the Lesser Antilles. Its grammar and vocabulary also include elements of Carib and African languages. Antillean Creole is related to Haitian Creole, but has a number of distinctive features; they are...
. In Grenada, and among Grenadians, it is referred to as "Patois
Patois
Patois is any language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. It can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects, and other forms of native or local speech, but not commonly to jargon or slang, which are vocabulary-based forms of cant...
" without any qualification of the term, or, alternatively, as French Patois. This French Patois, was once the lingua franka in Grenada, and could still be commonly heard as recently as 80 years ago. Then, even children in some rural areas could speak it. By the mid-Twentieth Century, mainly seniors, in some rural areas, could speak French Patois. In the Twenty-first Century, it can only be heard in a few small pockets of the society.
History
The first successful settlement by a western colonial power was in 1650, when the FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
established friendly contact with the native Caribs. The British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
took control of the island in the 18th century, and ruled until its independence in 1974. Despite the long history of British rule, Grenada's French heritage is still evidenced by the number of French loanword
Loanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
s in Grenadian Creole.
See also
- Bajan Creole
- Bermudian EnglishBermudian EnglishBermudian English is a regional accent of English found in Bermuda, a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic. "Standard English is used in professional settings and in writing, while vernacular Bermudian English is spoken on more casual occasions"...
- Jamaican CreoleJamaican CreoleJamaican Patois, known locally as Patois or Jamaican, and called Jamaican Creole by linguists, is an English-lexified creole language with West African influences spoken primarily in Jamaica and the Jamaican diaspora. It is not to be confused with Jamaican English nor with the Rastafarian use of...
- Trinidadian Creole
- Virgin Islands CreoleVirgin Islands CreoleVirgin Islands Creole, or Virgin Islands Creole English, is an English-based creole spoken in the Virgin Islands and the nearby SSS islands of Saba, Sint Eustatius and Saint Martin, where it has been known as Netherlands Antilles Creole English....