Saint Lucian Creole

Saint Lucian Creole
kwéyòl, patwa
Native toSaint Lucia
Native speakers
700,000 (2016)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
acf – Saint Lucian Creole French
scf – San Miguel Creole French
Glottologsain1246
ELPSan Miguel Creole French
Linguasphere51-AAC-ccg

Saint Lucian Creole (Kwéyòl [kwejɔl]) is a French-based creole language that is widely spoken in Saint Lucia.[2][3] It is the vernacular language of the country and is spoken alongside the official language of English.

Kwéyòl is a variety of Antillean Creole, and like other varieties spoken in the Caribbean, it combines the syntax of African language origins and a Latin-based vocabulary as shared by the French. Like its similar Dominican counterpart, some words are derived from the English, French and African languages. There has also been a recorded syntactical influence of the Carib language.[4]

It remains in widespread use in Saint Lucia across the island. Though it is not an official language, the government and media houses present information in Kwéyòl alongside English.

  1. ^ Saint Lucian Creole French at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
    San Miguel Creole French at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Ethnologue code for Saint Lucian Creole French (spoken in Dominica and Saint Lucia) with the ISO 639-3 code: acf. However, it notes that their rate of comprehension is 90%, which would qualify them as dialects of a single language.
  3. ^ "Acf | ISO 639-3".
  4. ^ Mitchell, Edward S. (2010). St. Lucian Kwéyòl on Saint Croix: A Study of Language Choice and Attitudes. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-4438-2147-6.