Pale Lang Manman ou – Speak your mother tongue

Published by author Tracy Cyril on December 03, 2022

French creole known as “patwa” is a mix of French and West African languages. In my beautiful country of Saint Lucia although English is our official language patwa is spoken by 95% of the population. The origin of patwa was from slavery era where the slaves were forbidden to speak their native language; so French and English were combined to develop an African language. The African language developed further when there was a power struggle between the British and French to gain control over Saint Lucia. Britain eventually prevailed and 43 years ago paradise Saint Lucia gained independence and was able to stand on her own. Patwa is used for local festivals, educational purposes and as a child growing up; to keep kids out of grown folks business.

The month of October is designated for Creole celebrations in Saint Lucia. There are creole related activities portraying Saint Lucia’s cultural heritage and history all month long however the last Sunday in October is known as “Journen Kweyol” – creole day. Specific areas on the island have food fairs displaying and selling local dishes such as bakes, sailfish, pemi, cocoa tea, green fig and much more. Locals get dressed up in their national wear consisting of beautiful madras fabric.

Growing up patwa was not taught or encouraged in my household and extended family. It was usually spoken briefly among adults and they gave you a look that meant leave the room or close your ears. I managed to pick up a few words from my grandma and colleagues due to repetition. Some of my colleagues were fluent in patwa because their parents or grand parents spoke 95% patwa to them and in the home – so it was easily adapted. Over time I expanded my patwa and I am still a work in progress. There are still words and conversations that leave me completely lost. As an adult I have grown a deeper appreciation for the language because off island I can communicate with locals without other nationals being preview to our content. When I signal to them to “Pal lang manman ou” – Speak your mother tongue; it is a wrap!

Patwa, creole or broken French is spoken not only in Saint Lucia but Jamaica, Dominica, Martinique, Haiti and Guyana. They all have different variations so there are some words which pronounce the same and others totally different. There are some conversations by Haitians, Dominicans and nationals from Martinique that are crystal clear to me and others are not. Here are a few patwa translations that you can use if this is all foreign to you –

Merci – Thank You

Komon ou ye – How are you?

Bonjour – Good morning

Bel fi – beautiful woman

Sa ka fete – What’s up?

Thank you for taking time out to receive some of my cultural heritage. Hopefully you can practice the language when you run into nationals with the creole dialect. Merci xoxo

References

www.barefootholidays.com

www.islanderkeys.com