Dominican Creole is a French-based creole language spoken by about 56,000 people in Dominica. It is considered a variety of Lesser Antilliean French Creole, and is closely related to Creoles spoken in Martinique, Saint Lucia, Grenada, and Trinidad and Tobago. Dominican Creole is spoken mainly by adults, especially in urban areas, while younger people are shifting to English, which is the official language of Dominica.
In the late 17th century French colonists from Martinique and Guadeloupe settled in Dominica and set up farms to grow coffee, cotton, tobacco and wood. They brought slaves with them, and a French-based Creole developed among the slaves. It was influenced by local Amerindian languages and English, as well as the Creoles of Guadeloupe and Martinique.
Dominican Creole is also known as Dominican Creole French, Kwèyòl, Kwéyòl dòminikè, Patois or Patwa.
Download an alphabet chart for Dominican Creole (Excel)
Details of the Dominican Creole alphabet provided by Wolfram Siegel
Gadé nou dansé,
Woy, gadé nou woulé,
Woy, gadé nou woulé,
Sé bèlè Donmnitjen mézanmi nou byen enmen'y.
Tanbouyè fè woulé tan-la ba mwen.
Danm, soukwé jip ba mwen,
Kavalyé pitjé bèlè-a,
Sé bèlè Donmnitjen mézanmi, nou byen enmen'y.
Regardez-nous danser,
Woy, regardez-nous tourner,
Woy, regardez-nous tourner,
C'est le bèlè dominiquais, mes amis, nous l'aimons bien.
Tambour, faites rouler le tempo pour moi,
Madame, secouez la jupe pour moi,
Cavalier, piquez le bèlè,
C'est le bèlè dominiquais, mes amis, nous l'aimons bien
Source: https://www.mamalisa.com/
Information about Domari | Numbers
Information about Dominican Creole
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_Creole_French
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Créole_dominiquais
https://www.ethnologue.com/language/acf
https://www.avirtualdominica.com/project/creole-kweyol-language/
Betawi, Bislama, Cape Verdean Creole, Chavacano, Chinook Jargon, Dominican Creole French, Fanagalo, French Guianese Creole, Guadeloupean Creole, Guinea-Bissau Creole, Haitian Creole, Jamaican, Kituba, Manado Malay, Mauritian Creole, Nagamese, Ndyuka, Norfuk, Nubi, Palenquero, Papiamento, Pijin, Réunion Creole, Sango, Saramaccan, Seychelles Creole, Sierra Leonean Creole, Singlish, Sranan, Saint Lucian Creole, Tok Pisin, Torres-Strait Creole
Languages written with the Latin alphabet
Page created: 06.07.22. Last modified: 20.08.23
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