About the language

What it is

Trinidadian French Creole — known locally as Patois, Patwa, Kwéyòl — is a French-lexifier creole spoken in Trinidad for over two centuries. Most of its vocabulary comes from French; its grammar is its own. It is distinct from Haitian Creole and from Jamaican Patwa (an English-based creole), and it is related to, but not the same as, the creoles of St. Lucia and Dominica. These languages were never sealed off from one another: words have travelled between the islands for well over a century, and for many of them no one can say where they began. So this project does not guess at origins; it names its sources. Most entries come from Trinidadian sources. A smaller number come from related French-based creoles of the Lesser Antilles, and the source line under each entry says where it came from.

Why it is endangered

The language is critically endangered. Its speaker base is small and ageing, and everyday transmission to new generations is at risk. For much of the twentieth century it was passed on orally, at home and in a few communities, rather than in writing or in school — which is why so much of what survives lives in people's memories and in a handful of documented sources.

We deliberately do not quote a number of speakers: no reliable current count exists, and a made-up figure would help no one.

The Paramin focus

This project's initial emphasis is the variety spoken in Paramin, a hill community north of Port of Spain where the language is still spoken and taught. Speakers and scholars describe the Paramin variety as conservative — it keeps older forms that other varieties have lost — which makes careful documentation there especially valuable. Our validator of record is a Paramin-based author and teacher of the language; see Sources & credits.

How it is written here

Kwéyòl is displayed exactly as recorded in its source. The project's spelling reference is the 2001 Kwéyòl Dictionary (SIL International / St. Lucia Ministry of Education), the written standard the wider Kwéyòl-speaking community is adopting; where Paramin usage differs, the project follows its validator's published book and the official UWI alphabet poster. We never "correct", modernise or generate spellings by software.

What this project can — and can't — do

A website or an app cannot revitalise a language by itself; that takes speakers using it with each other. TriniKwéyòl's honest goals are to build awareness and pride, to help you gain basic familiarity with verified words and phrases, and to point you toward the real speakers, researchers and community programmes keeping the language alive. The language belongs to its speaker community.

Every item on this site comes from documented sources and community speakers, reviewed by a qualified human validator.