1 – French In Martinique
In Martinique, we speak French and Creole, Kréyol!
Creole does not have the status of official language, but regional; it’s spoken on the whole island. It’s very close to the Creole spoken on each of the other French-speaking islands of the West Indies archipelago.
Like all creolized languages, the Creole of Martinique is a hybrid language, born from the colonial process and inseparable from the massive importation of West African slaves in particular, with very diverse African languages.
Banned from being spoken at school fifty years ago, Creole is now taught at school in Martinique.
2 – Martinique French Creole Expressions
Oral language above all, with French as a lexical base, here are some common expressions in Martinican Creole:
- Bonjou : Bonjour – hi
- Bonswa : Bonsoir – good evening
- Sa ou fè ? : Comment vas-tu ? – how are you?
- Souplé : S’il vous plaît – please
- Mési : Merci – thanks
- Mi plisi : ça me fait plaisir – my pleasure
- Pani pwoblem : Pas de problème – no problem
- Ka sa yé : Qu’est-ce que c’est ? – what is it?
- I bon : C’est bon – it’s good
- I pa bon : C’est mauvais – it’s bad
- Tanzantan : Parfois, de temps en temps – sometimes
- A plus : Au revoir – bye
- Doudou : Chéri(e) – sweetie
- Vini là : Viens là – come here
- Man ka vini : J’arrive – I’m coming
- Côté ou ka allé : Où vas-tu ? – where are you going?
- An nou pran on lagout : On va prendre une goutte de rhum – we’ll have a drop of rum
- Ba mwen an ti punch : Donne-moi un punch – give me a punch cocktail
- Zouké : danser – to dance
- An nou zouké ô swé a : On va danser ce soir – let’s go dance tonight
3 – Common Martinique Creole Phrases video
Let’s hear some common French Martinique creole phrases and expressions.
Now that you know how to speak the French creole of Martinique, let me take you on a virtual trip and share my family vacation – with many pictures – in this bilingual French story.
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