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The Creole Language of Dominica A look at the Creole language of Dominica. Although English is the official language of Dominica, the much of the population also speak kwéyòl (Creole) - a French-based patois (although in the north-east villages of Marigot and Wesley you might also hear a pidgin English called 'cocoy'). |
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In this
page we would like to give you the basics of the the kwéyòl
language.
This content provided by "Dominica's Diksyonnè Kwéyòl -Annglé, English-Creole Dictionary" by Marcel Fontaine, 1991.
Grammar
The personal pronouns in creole are as follows:
| i | mwen/ mon |
| you(singular) | ou |
| he/she/it | i |
| we | nous |
| you(plural) | zò |
Possessive pronouns are the same as personal pronouns except he/she/it follow the noun (e.g. liv mwen).
The possessive pronoun for he/she/it is 'li' and is contracted form is ' y' which follows nouns ending in a vowel (e.g. liv li, lavi'y).
In the case of 'ou' (you) the possessive pronoun is contracted when it follows a noun ending in a vowel (e.g. manman'w).
In Creole there are two genders, male and female, which may be applied to nouns when denoting sex.
The distinciton of sex may be shown by:
Different words:
konpè/makoumè godfather/godmother kòk/poul cock/hen fwè/sèsè brother/sister mawi/madam husband/wife
By use of compound words:
mal kabwit/fimel kabwit he goat/she goat
Note: When showing a female has had young, manman is used instead of fimèl, especially when the feminine has no clear form:
yon manman chyen a bitch yon manman bèf a mother cow
Gender may also be shown by derivation:
kouzen/kouzin male cousin/female cousin nèg/nègwès negro/negress
Creole has a definite article 'la' with a contracted form 'a'. The contracted form is used with nouns ending in a vowel. The definite article, which is translated as the English 'the' and hyphenated, follows the noun e.g.
- I ka lavé zasyèt-la. He is washing the plate.
Zanfan-a ka dòmi. The child is sleeping.
However, the English definite article 'the' is not always translated by Creole 'la' e.g.
- Sòlèy kouché. The sun has set.
The indefinite article in Creole, 'yon' (which also means 'one') or 'on' precedes the noun and is translated as the Englsh 'a' or 'an'. E.g.
- I ni on layvyè pwé kay-la. There is a river close to the house.
Now for the useful stuff!
| Sa ki non'w? | What is your name? |
| Non mwen sé Paul. | My name is Paul. |
| Bon jou, Misyé. | Good day, Sir. |
| Bonn apwé midi. | Good afternoon |
| Bon swé. | Good night. |
| Ki sa ou vlé? | What do you want? |
| Mon vlé yon bwè | I want a drink. |
| Mon swèf. | I am thirsty. |
| Mon fen. | I am hungry. |
| Mon pa fen. | I am not hungry. |
| Jodi sé yon bèl jou. | Today is a beautiful day. |
| Lapli ka tonbé. | It is raining. |
| I byen cho jòdi. | It is very hot today. |
| Wela mon sa tapé | Where can I find a church? |
| yon léglize? |
| dimanch | Sunday |
| lendi | Monday |
| madi | Tuesday |
| mèkwédi | Wednessday |
| jèdi | Thursday |
| vanwédi | Friday |
| sanmdi | Saturday |
| Janvyé | January |
| Fevwiyé | February |
| mas | March |
| avwi | April |
| mé | May |
| jen | June |
| jwiyé | July |
| awou | August |
| sèptanm | September |
| òktòb | October |
| novanm | November |
| désanm | December |
| nòt | 0 |
| yonn | 1 |
| dé | 2 |
| twa | 3 |
| kat | 4 |
| senk | 5 |
| sis | 6 |
| sèt | 7 |
| wit | 8 |
| nèf | 9 |
| dis | 10 |
| wonz | 11 |
| douz | 12 |
| twèz | 13 |
| katoz | 14 |
| tjenz | 15 |
| sez | 16 |
| disèt | 17 |
| sizwit | 18 |
| diznèf | 19 |
| ven | 20 |
| twant | 30 |
| kawant | 40 |
| senkant | 50 |
| swazant | 60 |
| swazant dis | 70 |
| katwaven | 80 |
| katwaven dis | 90 |
| san | 100 |
| wouj | red |
| vè | green |
| woz | pink |
| blé | blue |
| kako | brown |
| gwi | grey |
| nwè | black |
| owanj | orange |
| jòn | yellow |
| vyòlet | purple |
| blan | white |
