Pardon my Patois

Patwa? Sa sa ye?

Patois? What is that?

They say you have to study another language in order to truly understand your native tongue, and that you have to leave your home if you really want to understand the place that you come from. Living in France and learning French is helping me to understand both of these truths. I am slowly coming to realize that the English language is a tricky beast, with many traps and inconsistencies, and that my land of birth is a very complicated island indeed.


On a linguistic level, Trinidad seems to make sense at first glance. Former British colony and member of the commonwealth. Trinidadians, therefore, must speak English, right?


Well, yes and no.


Yes, we can, and do speak standard English, (with our distinct Trinidadian accent of course) but no, the story doesn't end there. A closer look into our history and you would realize that Trinis, and their language(s), are more complicated than they seem.


You see, we may be a small island, but we are populated with the descendants of people originating from many far away lands. First peopled with Arawak and Carib Amerindian tribes, then 'discovered' by the Spanish, populated by the French, and finally controlled by the British. Not to mention the addition of Indians, Chinese, Syrians, Lebanese, and Portuguese later on in the game.


Now, if that's not a recipe for a modern day Tower of Babel then I don't know what is.


Despite the wretched circumstances of Trinidad's second creation, some very special things have happened, and out of this terrible, messy history of colonialism, some truly beautiful things have managed to evolve.


One of which is the language. 


You see most Trinis, even if they aren't aware of it, grow up speaking two very distinct forms of English. The first being the standard 'Queen's English', taught in schools and used for all official purposes, and the second being our colorful local dialect, which is how the majority of Trinidadians communicate with one another. The dialect is a fluid, changing thing, which differs from region to region, and is influenced by one's socio-economic status, mood, and level of education. All Trinis, however, use this dialect to various degrees, and I am led to believe that it is this same dialect, and not standard English, that unites us. 


Aside from our melodic English dialect, Trinidad is home to another major language that was spoken fluently, right up until the beginning of the 20th century, by almost all of her children. This language is Trinidadian French Creole, or Patois as it is more commonly known. A language that was born in the hot fields of the French colonies through the contact between the slaves, speaking various African languages, and the colonists. 

The language flourished for a good hundred years or so in Trinidad until the Brits went on a campaign to erase it, simply dismissing it as broken French. The language, however, was able to hold its ground, and it's remnants can still be seen in the names, and pronunciation, of certain towns: Blanchicheusse, Sans Souci, Champs Fleurs, Petit Valley, and also lives on in our local dialect. 


Most Trinis speak a few words of Patois without even realizing it as many Creole words have been absorbed into modern day Trini parlance. Most Trinis probably don't know they are speaking the language when they refer to a gossip as a mauvay langue, or when they call a lizard a zandoli, and an avocado a zaboca. All of our folklore characters have Patois names as well such as Papa Bois (the guardian of the forest), Ladiablesse (A devil woman with a cloven foot who lures men out into the canefields), and Ligahoo ( the werewolf ).




Ou ka pale patwa?


Can you speak Patois?




Oh how I wish I could. Unfortunately, there are very few people nowadays who can still speak the language fluently. Most of these speakers live in a village called Paramin nestled in the lush Northen Range of the island. I have also heard that there are many smaller Patois speaking communities sprinkled throughout various rural fishing villagers in Trinidad. I, however, have never had the pleasure of meeting a native speaker, and thought that there was no possible way to learn the language.


That was, however , until I stumbled across a Facebook group called Annou Pale Patwa. It is a group which is organized by various Patois speakers and enthusiasts from both Trinidad and other Patois speaking countries, and whose goal is to preserve, promote, and teach the Patois language. It is a true wealth of information on the language and on the movement to revive the language. A revival which I back 100% because, when it comes to learning languages, my theory is the more the merrier. 




I don't know why, but I have seriously caught the Patois bug. I just love how it sounds, and really want to learn more about it. Think I will ever learn to speak it? Care to join me on my journey? 


Ale, annou pale patwa!
Come on, let's speak Patois!
-----


Here is an example of a Calypso which has both English and Patois. It tells an entertaining story about a lady who comes from Dominica to Trinidad to play Carnival but can't find the money to buy a costume. The Calypsonian, Sparrow, agrees to pay for her costume if she agrees to, erm, grant him some, erm, favours in bed. She agrees to the deal but upon seeing his, erm, well upon seeing his ding-a-ling, she proceeds to scream out a litany of patois phrases which all reference the, well, the magnitude of Sparrow's endowment.  


"Sa sa yea?" What is that?
"Sa sa yea Bonje? Lord what is that? 
"Misye ou ka tjoue mwen" Sir, you going to kill me
"Bagay-sala ka fe mwen mal" That thing hurting me too much,
"Epi ou nomn trouvay yon bagay kom sa" Where did that man find a thing like that?
"Bonje!" Oh Lord!

And here's one more for the road. It's a short documentary about the French Creole spoken in Paramin with interviews of some of the village elders who speak the language fluently. Enjoy.

Trinidad French Creole (link)