Dominican Creole French is a French-based creole language widely spoken in Dominica. It can be considered a distinct dialect of Antillean Creole.
History It is a sub-variety of Antillean Creole, which is spoken in other islands of the Lesser Antilles and is very closely related to the varieties spoken in Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint Lucia, Grenada and parts of Trinidad and Tobago. The intelligibility rate with speakers of other varieties of Antillean Creole is almost 100%. Its syntactic, grammatical and lexical features are virtually identical to those of Martinican Creole, though, like its Saint Lucian counterpart, it includes more English loanwords than the Martinican variety. People who speak Haitian Creole can also understand Dominican Creole French; although there are a number of distinctive features they are mutually intelligible.
Like the other French-based creole languages in the Caribbean, Dominican French Creole is primarily French-derived vocabulary, with African and Carib influences to its syntax. In addition, many expressions reflect the presence of an English influence in the language in not just loan words, but in some of the pragmatic markers present.
In 1635, the French seized Guadeloupe and Martinique and began establishing sugar colonies. Until 1690 Dominica had not been successfully colonized. By 1690, lumberjacks (English and French) arrived in Dominica for its forest resources. Subsequently, French from Martinique and Guadeloupe and their slaves settled in Dominica, establishing small farms producing coffee, cotton, wood, and tobacco. Dominican Creole developed among the slaves, originally as a mixture of the Creoles from Guadeloupe and Martinique, further enriched with Amerindian and English words. Even after becoming an English colony, the underdevelopment of the road system on the island hindered for a long time the spread of English, the official language of the country, to isolated villages, where Creole remained the only spoken language.
Kwéyòl pronouns
EnglishCreole RemarksIMon, Mwen, AnThe three forms are perfectly synonymous.You (singular)Ou/VouHe/sheICreole has a neutral pronoun that can be synonymous with "him" or "her".HeMisyéExample: Misyé pa djè ni tan (he hardly has much time).She (unmarried girl)ManmzèlExample: Manmzèl pa djè enmen jwé (she does not like playing much).WeNouYou (plural)Zòt, ZòThis is not a "you" of familiarity. "Zò" is used in Guadeloupe. They Yo Example: Yo ka jwé (they play).
Kwéyòl alphabet CréoleIPA TranscriptionStandard pronunciationgghard "G", as in good.hhPronounced like "H" in ham.iiPronounced like "ee" as in see.jʒPronounced as French J.kkReplaces hard "C", "Qu". Sounds like "K" in kick.ww"W" replaces "R" in some words derived from French, but in Creole, they are two different letters.ssReplaces the soft "C" and is pronounced like "S" in soft.yjPronounced like "Yuh", as in yuck.zzReplaces "S" when used between vowels. Pronounced like "Z", as in zebra.anɑ̃nasalized sound used in French. Does not exist in English.ànanPronounced as a not nasalized sound with an emphasis on the "N" or "ane" in English.annɑ̃nA nasalized French "an" with a long "n" sound.anmɑ̃mA nasalized French "an" with a long "m" sound. Pronounced like "ahmm".ayajPronounced like "eye" in English.ininNever nasalized.enɛ̃Always nasalized.ennɛ̃nPronounced like "en" in garden.onɔ̃Sound does not exist in English. It is a nasal on, like the one used in French.onmɔ̃mNasal sound + M.onnɔ̃nNasal sound + N.chʃPronounced like "Sh" in English.aaPronounced like a short "a", like in cat.bbPronounced like B in English.ffPronounced as F in English.ddPronounced as D in English, like in dog.mmPronounced as M in English, like man.nnPronounced as N in English, like never.òɔPronounced as "or" as in more.rw, ɤ, ɹOften replaced by W in beginnings of words, but pronounced as racquet.ppPronounced as in peattPronounced as in teavvPronounced as in volcano
Articles
Definite articles comes after the noun in Creole, unlike in French where they always precede the noun. "La" follows nouns that end with a consonant or "y". When a noun ends with a vowel, it is followed by "a" only. Nonm-laThe ManFanm-laThe WomanPayay-lathe PapayaLawi-aThe StreetZaboka-aThe Avocado
Numbers
Cardinal 0Nòt/Zéwo1yon2dé3twa4kat5senk6sis7sèt8wit9nèf 10dis11wonz12douz13twèz14katòz15kinz\tjenz16Sèz17disèt18dizwit19diznèf 20ven21ventéyon22venndé23venntwa24vennkat25vennsenk26vennsis27vennsèt28venntwit29ventnèf 30twant31twantéyon32twantdé33twantwa34twantkat35twantsenk36twantsis37twantsèt38twantwit39twantnèf 40kawant41kawantéyon42kawantdé43kawantwa44kawantkat45kawantsenk46kawantsis47kawantsèt48kawantwit49kawantnèf 50senkant51senkantéyon52senkantdé53senkantwa54senkantkat55senkantsenk56senkantsis57senkantsèt58senkantwit59senkantnèf 60swasant61swasantéyon62swasantdé63swasantwa64swasantkat65swasantsenk66swasantsis67swasantsèt68swasantwit69swasantnèf 70swasantdis71swasantwonz72swasantdouz73swasanttwèz74swasantkatòz75swasantkenz76swasantsèz77swasantdisèt78swasantdizwit79swasantdiznèf 80katwèven81katwèventéyon82katwèvendé83katwèventwa84katwèvenkat85katwèvensenk86katwèvensis87katwèvensèt88katwèvenwit89katwèvennèf 90katwèvendis91katwèvenwonz92katwèvendouz93katwèventwèz94katwèvenkatòz95katwèvenkenz96katwèvensèz97katwèvendisèt98katwèvendizwit99katwèvendiznèf 100san200dé san300twa san400kat san500senk san600sis san700sèt san800wit san900nèf san1 000mil 2 000dé mil3 000twa mil4 000kat mil5 000senk mil6 000sis mil7 000sèt mil8 000sit mil9 000nèf mil10 000di mil100 000san mil 200 000dé san mil300 000twa san mil400 000kat san mil500 000senk san mil600 000sis san mil700 000sèt san mil800 00wit san mil900 000nèf san mil 1 000 000 = yon milyon 1 000 000 000 = yon milya 1 234 = yon mil + dé san + twantkat 30 153 = twant mil + san + senkantwa 412 489 = (kat san douz) mil + kat san + katwèvennèf 12 356 734 = (douz) milyon + (twa san+senkantsis) mil + sèt san+twantkat
Ordinal 1st = pwémyè 2nd = dézyènm 3rd = twazyènm 4th = katriyènm 5th = senkyènm 6th = sizyènm (Notice the second "s" in "sis" is pronounced as a "z") 7th = sètyènm 8th = wityènm 9th = nèvyènm (Notice the "f" in "nèf" is pronounced as a "v") All the other ordinal numbers are formed as number + [yènm]
See also Kokoy Antillean Creole Grenadian Creole French Saint Lucian Creole French Haitian Creole World Creole Music Festival Guadeloupean Creole
References