Grenadian Creole

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Grenadian Creole
Native to Grenada
Native speakers
89,000  (2001)[1]
English Creole
  • Atlantic
    • Eastern
      • Southern
        • Grenadian Creole
Language codes
ISO 639-3 gcl
Linguasphere 52-ABB-as

Grenadian Creole is Creole language spoken in Grenada. There are two types of Grenadian Creole, Grenadian Creole English and Grenadian Creole French.

Grenadian Creole English

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).[2] It is the native language of nearly all inhabitants of Grenada, or approximately 89,000 native speakers.[3]

Grenadian Creole French

The older Grenadian Creole French is a variety of Antillean Creole French.[4] In Grenada, and among Grenadians, it is referred to as Patois or French Patois. This was once the lingua franca in Grenada, and was commonly heard as recently as 1930, when even children in some rural areas could speak it. In the twenty-first century, it can only be heard among elderly speakers in a few small pockets of the country.

History

The first successful settlement by a western colonial power was in 1650, when the French from Martinique 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.[5] Despite the long history of British rule, Grenada's French heritage is still evidenced by the number of French loanwords in Grenadian Creole.[6] The francophone character of Grenada was uninterrupted for more that a century before British rule. This ensured that language in Grenada could never be seen unless in that light.

The Grenada Creole Society founded in 2009 implemented the mission to research and document the language in Grenada. The initial findings were published in 2012 in the publication Double Voicing and Multiplex Identities ed. Nicholas Faraclas et al. A comprehensive history of the francophone Creole language in Grenada is presented in Lingering Effects of an Ancient Afro-Romance Language on Common Speech in the Caribbean Island of Grenada (2012) Auth. Marguerite-Joan Joseph.

See also

References

External links


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