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 THE 
 
 THEOJRY AND PJRACTICE 
 
 OF 
 
 CBEOLE GKAMMAM 
 
 BY 
 
 J. J. THOMAS 
 
 Et St aucuns demandoit porcoi cost livre est escript 
 
 selonc le pattois je dicoi. parceque la parleure est plus 
 
 delitable est plus comune " 
 
 BRUNET. — A. D. 126 6. 
 
 TO BE HAD AT 
 T. W. CARR, 13 FREDERICK-STREET; AND AT THE BOROUGH COUNCIL 
 
 SCHOOL, SAN FERNANDO. 
 
 PORT-OF-SPAIN: 
 THE CHRONICLE PUBLISHING OFFICE. 
 
 1869.
 
 I I 
 
 7'34;r 
 
 INTHODUCTION 
 
 Q(-\ In the study of the Creole "Patois^' or "gombo French" of 
 
 _^^ Louisiana, the names of three writers come to mind; Alcee Fortier, 
 Dr. Alfred Mercier, and Lafcadio Hearn. 
 
 -v) However, this dialect had its origin among the negroes in the 
 
 ^ islands of the West Indies then under French domination, and was 
 
 ^ introduced into Louisiana shortly after the slave insurrections of 
 
 ^ Haiti and Martinique. 
 
 Like other primitive dialects, the Creole "patois" was handed 
 down from generation to generation, with no thought of its 
 orthography, etymology, or syntax. 
 
 In 1869, however, J. J. Thomas, a school teacher living in 
 Trinidad, — other biographica details are sadly lacking, — wrote 
 and published after three years of careful research, THE THEORY 
 AND PRACTICE OF CREOLE GRAMMAR. 
 
 Unfortunately for Mr. Thomas, — like many another pioneer, — 
 his work received scant m'ention and lay forgotten on library 
 shelves, until Lafcadio Hearn delving into Creole folk lore brought 
 out his delightful COMBO ZHEBES, LITTLE DICTIONARY 
 OF CREOLE PROVERBS, in 1885. Hearn gave full credit to 
 Thomas for many of the quaint Negro sayings used in the book 
 but fame still withheld her reward from the Trinidad school 
 teacher, for GOMBO ZHEBES rt)et with no greater success than 
 the CREOLE GRAMMAR. 
 
 With the quickened interest in Negro life, the present reprinting 
 of THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF CREOLE 
 GRAMMAR should appeal to a considerable number of students 
 of philology and folklore. The former will find a comprehensive 
 treatise on the Creole language, with English and French equival- 
 ents of each word and expression, whereas the latter will glimpse 
 the philisophical humor for which the Negro has become justly 
 
 /famous. 
 As one knowing the Creole "patois" from childhood, and later 
 having read every available book on the subject, I can do no better 
 in reconi'mending the present work that to quote an oft-repeated 
 Negro proverb: "Si crapaud die ous caiman tini malziex, coer li." 
 "If the frog tells you the crocodile has sore eyes, believe him . . . ." 
 
 G. WILLIAM NOTT. 
 
 masoi7
 
 PJREFACE 
 
 As it was at first my intention to dispense with a preface, I 
 inserted here and there, in the body of this Work, such brief exposi- 
 tions of its plan as I thought desirable. Having so done, I che- 
 rished the expectation of avoiding the ordeal of self-obtrusion, 
 which an author must pass through in a formal prologue to the 
 public. But my hope of escape was delusive; for the diver- 
 sity and extravagance of purpose which rumour imputed to me, 
 in connexion with this undertaking, soon made it obvious that I 
 must, in fairness to myself, explain the motives which induced 
 me to attempt a work of the kind. 
 
 In the course of the linguistic studies with which I occupied my 
 leisure hours, when a Ward-school teacher, at a distant out-station, 
 I turned my attention to our popular patois, for the purpose of as- 
 certaining its exact relation to real French; and of tracing what 
 analogies of modification, literal or otherwise, existed between it 
 and other derived dialects. These investigations, though pro- 
 secuted under the disadvantage of a want of suitable books (which 
 as regards Creole was absolute, and as regards French nearly so) , 
 were not altogether fruitless. For I managed to discover, at least 
 in part, the true nature and status of the Creole, in its quality 
 of a spoken idiom. Moreover finding that the Creole, considered 
 in its relation to correct French, exhibits the whole derivative pro- 
 cess in actual operation, (and not in fixed results, as is the case 
 
 a2
 
 IV PREFACE 
 
 in older and more settled dialects,) I thought that a grammar 
 embodying these facts would be useful, as a basis of induction and 
 comparison, to Creole-speaking natives who may desire to study 
 other languages etymologically. Still, it must be confessed that 
 these opinions would not, of themselves alone, have induced 
 mc to publish this book — a result brought about by considerations 
 having a wider and more urgent importance, and bearing upon two 
 cardinal agencies in our social system; namely. Law and Religion. 
 I might have added Education; but as I mean to treat separately 
 of the nullifying effects of the patois on English instruction among 
 us, I shall say no more on the matter here. 
 
 In the administration of Justice in this Colony, the interpreting 
 of Creole occurs as a daily necessity. Yet it is notorious that, in 
 spite of constant practice, our best interpreters, though generally 
 persons of good education, commonly fail in their renderings, espe- 
 cially from Creole into English. No doubt this is owing in some 
 measure to the inherent difficulty of translating off-hand, and at 
 the same time exactly, from one language into another. But in the 
 present case this difficulty has remained wholly undiminished, be- 
 cause our interpreters, like everybody else, neglect to study the 
 idiotisms of the dialect in combination with their English equiva- 
 lents. As this omission has been caused partly by the prevalence of 
 the opinion that Creole is only mispronounced French, and partly 
 by the want of some such manual as the present, I make bold 
 to submit the illustrations in this treatise, as calculated to dispel 
 an error which has often been fatal to the interests of the poor, 
 and to supply a want to whose existence the continuance of such 
 an error is mainly attributable. But if a practical, and at the 
 same time saddening, refutation of the error above described were 
 .wanted, it is afforded by the experience of the Catholic clergy, 
 who may be called the natural pastors of the Creole-speaking classes. 
 That sermons in pure French must convey very vague notions
 
 PREFACE V 
 
 to the minds of hearers who know only patois, is obvious from 
 the wide divergences of construction existing between the two 
 modes of speech, not to mention the richer vocabulary, the syn- 
 thetic structure, and other matters in which the French asserts its 
 superiority over the Creole. The inefficiency of communicating 
 instruction in a language only half understood, has long been per- 
 ceived by the priests; and one of them, the Rev. Pere Goux, has 
 published a Creole Cathechism, to which are prefixed a few gram- 
 matical remarks. As the Abbe does not profess to discuss system- 
 atically the peculiarities of the dialect, his observations on that point 
 are, of course, exempt from technical criticism; but I am free to state 
 that the patois of the catechism, being that of Martinique or Guada- 
 loupe, and withal very strange, it would scarely be more intelligible 
 to a Trinidadian than real French. In the present book arc 
 submitted for consideration renderings from the Gospel of St. John, 
 etc., which I venture to think even the most ignorant among us 
 would understand. 
 
 The above are the considerations which induced my undertaking 
 this work. I composed it under circumstances the most disadvan- 
 tageous, having no other materials than a collection which I had 
 made of bellairs, calendas, joubas. idioms, odd sayings, in fact, 
 everything that I could get in Creole. As regards French, I had but 
 a few school-grammars and two third-rate dictionaries, at whose 
 mercy I stood for everything not within my previous knowledge. 
 Such were my instruments for achieving a confessedly difficult 
 undertaking, which, moreover, I could prosecute only at nights, 
 since my days are taken up by far different occupations. From 
 night to night, during nearly three years. I laboured almost unceas- 
 ingly at my task; sometimes threading my way with confidence, 
 frequently having to condemn or re-writc whole pages, which a 
 chance remark of a passer-by or closer inquiry had proved erroneous: 
 yet, though often baffled, I was never discouraged: for I looked
 
 VI PREFACE 
 
 forward to the day when, respectfully submitting to the public this 
 imperfect Work and its object, I could claim, if not the praise of 
 successful authorship, at least the credit of having endearoured, 
 under great disadvantages, to supply a public want. 
 
 It remains now for me to record my obligations to Mr. L. B. 
 Tronchin, Superintendent of the Woodbrook Normal and Model 
 Schools, for the courteous patience with which he revised such of 
 my proof-sheets as I had an opportunity of submitting to him. To 
 Mr. T. \V. Carr, my acknowledgements are due for many Domini- 
 can proverbs (some of which, together with other curious matter, 
 I could not insert) , and the loan of a Dictionnaire de I' Academie, 
 without which I should have remained, to the last, at the mercy 
 of inferior compilations. Lastly, my gratitude for many valuable 
 suggestions is hereby expressed to my esteemed friend, Mr. Louis 
 Alexis, (now of the Tacarigua School,) to whose well-trained 
 intelligence and exemplary disposition, I rejoice to bear this public 
 testimony. 
 
 Trinidad, April, 1869.
 
 Table oiF Coeteets 
 
 Page 
 PREFACE --.... HI — VI 
 
 PART I.— ORTHOEPY AND ORTHOGRAPHY 
 
 Introductory Remarks . . - . . 1 
 
 Permutation ---.-__ 2 
 
 Figures of Orthography . . . . . g 
 
 The Creole Alphabet — Accents ----- 8 
 
 Pronunciation ------- 9 
 
 Orthography - - - - - - - 12 
 
 Accentuation and Union of Words - - - - 13 
 
 PART II.— ETYMOLOGY. 
 
 Articles - - - - - - - 14 
 
 Nouns - - - - - - - 16 
 
 Nouns "in construction" - - - - - 17 
 
 Nouns peculiar to the Dialect - - - - - 19 
 
 Nouns from English - - - - - - 21 
 
 Nouns from Spanish ------ 22 
 
 Number -..----23 
 
 Gender ....... 25 
 
 Case - - - - - - - 27 
 
 Adjectives ....... 2^ 
 
 Adjectives peculiar to the Dialect — Degrees of Comparison - - 32 
 Numerals ...----34 
 
 Pronouns -----.-35 
 
 Pronouns Personal, Possessive, Relative, etc. ... 36 — 44 
 
 Verbs ....... 44 
 
 Verbs from Infinitives — Past Participles — Indicatives — Imperatives — 
 
 Nouns, Adjectives, etc. . - . . . 45 — 48 
 
 Verbs peculiar to the Dialect ----- 48 
 
 Auxilliaries ...----50 
 
 Moods- — -Tenses - - - - - - 53 
 
 Conjugation of a Verb with ca - - - - - 54 
 
 Conjugation of a Verb without ca - - - - 60 
 
 Interrogative and Negative Conjugations - - - - 61 
 
 Reflexive Conjugation ------ 62 
 
 Passive Voice — Transitives and Intransitivcs - - - 63 
 
 Impcrsonals — Adverbs ----- 64
 
 ORTHOEPY AND ORTHOGRAPHY 
 
 Of Epenthesis, (inserting a letter or syllable in a word), 
 
 assobouer (s') absorber Cr. to belabour 
 fouise, (as if 
 
 from fruse) fusee racket 
 
 p/esanter pesanteur weight 
 
 panen-a-Zanse panier a arise a handled basket 
 
 THE CREOLE ALPHABET. 
 The elementary sounds of the Creole being in most cases identical 
 with those of the French, Creole words may, in general, be spelt 
 with the letters, and according to the principles of the latter. But, 
 as there are in Creole articulations not heard in French, we are 
 under the necessity of employing foreign characters, or characters 
 with foreign sounds, to represent the articulations referred to. We 
 have, under the head of Permutation, indicated that these are: 
 CH (as heard in chin, cheek, t^c.) ; G (as heard in ginger, gipsy) ; 
 and h (as in fehant, manen, ^c. ) . The Creole Alphabet may, there- 
 fore, be said to consist of twenty-nine letters, including w. As to 
 u, the Creoles always sound it ou in the few cases wherein it is 
 not converted into /. 
 
 Character. Name. 
 
 A 
 
 a 
 
 B 
 
 b 
 
 C 
 
 c 
 
 CH 
 
 
 D 
 
 d 
 
 E 
 
 e 
 
 F 
 
 f 
 
 G 
 
 g 
 
 G 
 
 
 H 
 
 h 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 J 
 
 J 
 
 K 
 
 k 
 
 L 
 
 1 
 
 M 
 
 m 
 
 ah 
 
 bay 
 say 
 chay 
 day 
 
 e a (as in fate 
 
 eff 
 
 zhay 
 
 jay 
 
 ash 
 
 ee 
 
 zhay 
 
 kah 
 
 ell 
 
 emm 
 
 Character. 
 N n . 
 
 Name. 
 _ enn 
 
 N 
 
 n 
 
 O 
 
 o 
 
 P 
 
 P 
 
 Q 
 
 q 
 
 R 
 
 r 
 
 S 
 
 s 
 
 T 
 
 t 
 
 U 
 
 u 
 
 V 
 
 V 
 
 W 
 
 w 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 Y 
 
 y 
 
 z 
 
 z 
 
 o 
 
 pay 
 
 q (like k) 
 
 er 
 
 ess » 
 
 tay 
 
 ou 
 
 vay 
 
 way 
 
 iks 
 
 ee 
 
 zedd 
 
 ACCENTS. 
 
 There are certain Orthographic signs employed in French to denote modifi- 
 cations in the sounds of vowels. These signs, known by the name of accents, are 
 as ■ follow : — 
 
 a. L'accent aigu (the acute accent), is placed exclusively over e; as, ete, been
 
 THE ACCENTS— PRONUNCIATION OF LETTERS 9 
 
 b. L'accent circonflex (the circumflexed accent ) , is placeci over 
 vowels, chiefly to denote abbreviation; as in 
 
 gditer for the old form gaster, to spoil 
 preter " " " pr ester, to lend 
 
 maitre " " " maistre, master 
 
 cote " " " coste, coast 
 
 flute " " " fluste, flute 
 
 Besides its legitimate use in such French words, this accent is, in 
 course of this Work, placed over o whenever this letter has the same 
 sound as in the English hot, pod; and over any other vowel that 
 may seem to require it, especially in abbreviated syllables. 
 
 c. L'accent grave (the grave accent), placed over e. as in pere, 
 mere. We use this accent also over the e of the converted final syl- 
 lables en, er, to denote the peculiarity of the word-formation in 
 which they occur. 
 
 d. Le trema (the diasresis) , placed over a vowel, denotes its 
 separate pronunciation ;as, wdicou, (wa-i-cou,) cloth wrapped 
 round the waist. 
 
 PRONUNCIATION OF LETTERS. 
 
 Vowels. 
 
 a is sounded as in far. When circumflexed (a) , the sound is 
 somewhat lengthened; as in paler, Fr. parler, to speak; chdme,, Fr. 
 chambre. room or chamber. 
 
 e without any accent is mute, and being so, it is scarcely sounded; 
 as in cela (slab,) that; tabe, (tab,) table. When final, e mute 
 is not at all heard in ordinary discourse. 
 
 i is sounded like e in me; as in gibier, (zhe-be-ay,) bird. When 
 circumflexed (i) , this letter has a lengthened sound, as in vite 
 (veet,) Fr. vitre, glass, (rare in Cr.) 
 
 o has the sound of the English o in rote, go; e. g: aussitot 
 (o-see-toe) , soon. 
 
 6 (circumflexed) is sounded as in got. not, but a little longer: 
 e. g: moder (modd-ay,) Fr. modre, to bite; zotes, (zott,) Fr. 
 (t;oas) autres. you. 
 
 y is pronounced like i. 
 
 Consonants. 
 
 With the exception of c, f, and /, all the consonants when final 
 are mute, as in French; e. g: pitit. (pit-tee,) Fr. petit, small; 
 
 c
 
 ORTHOHPY AND ORTHOGRAPHY 
 
 PERMUTATION 
 
 PERMUTATION or interchange of letters may be illustrated 
 by the following familiar instances: — powl,, pish, are the words 
 which a Coolie generally utters for fowl and fish. This is Permu- 
 tation, which properly consists in the substitution of one consonan- 
 tal sound for another that is pronounced by the same organs. In 
 powl, pish, and A'owl, fish, the interchange is between f and p, 
 which are labials cr /rp-letters. We see the operation of the same 
 principle in the French poule and its English equivalent, fowl. As 
 another instance of Permutation, we may cite the practice common 
 to people of the Leeward Islands to say "moc/er," "brocfer," 
 "anoc/er," etc., for mother, htother, another, etc. Here the inter- 
 change is between d and th, both dentals or feef/7-letters. Let 
 us now see how this principle prevails in Creole with respect to 
 words from the parent tongue. 
 
 The French Alphabet consists of twenty-five* letters, whereof 
 six namely, a, e, i, o, u, and y, are vowels, and the remaining nine- 
 teen are consonants. 
 
 Vowel Changes. 
 The changes of the French vowel sounds observable in Creole, 
 are as follows: 
 
 Single Vowels. 
 
 Creole. French. English. 
 
 e {mute) is changed into e as in lever lever to rise 
 
 " " " " " i " r/tou retour return 
 
 d/'mane demande request 
 
 nfair refaire to make anew 
 
 ou 
 
 e (circumflexed) 
 
 
 
 
 
 chouval cheval 
 douvant devant 
 soucou secour 
 
 crepe 
 
 crever 
 
 rever 
 
 boss/ 
 
 cochr' 
 
 defcndr 
 
 crepe 
 
 crever 
 
 rever 
 
 bossn 
 
 crochn 
 
 horse 
 before 
 succour 
 crisped 
 to burst 
 to dream 
 humped 
 crooked 
 
 defendu forbidden 
 
 *Twenty-six , if we include W.
 
 PERMUTATION OF LETTERS. 
 
 ai is changed into e as in 
 
 au 
 
 eu 
 
 io (in one instance) " ie 
 
 oi is changed (a) into oe as in 
 
 (b) 
 
 oe 
 
 Double Vowels. 
 
 
 
 Creole. 
 
 French. 
 
 English. 
 
 angles 
 
 anglais 
 
 English 
 
 jes 
 
 y'ais 
 
 jet 
 
 *f/6te 
 
 autre 
 
 other 
 
 *zep61e 
 
 epaule 
 
 shoulder 
 
 chaler 
 
 chaleut 
 
 heat 
 
 fl^r 
 
 fleur 
 
 flower 
 
 per 
 
 peur 
 
 fear 
 
 " \ie\on 
 
 violon 
 
 violin 
 
 in boete 
 
 boite 
 
 box 
 
 doegt 
 
 doigt 
 
 finger 
 
 toele 
 
 toile 
 
 cloth 
 
 cloeson 
 
 cloison 
 
 partition 
 
 poeson 
 
 poison 
 
 poison 
 
 poesson 
 
 poisson 
 
 fish 
 
 Consonant Changes. 
 The nineteen consonants may be thus arranged: — 
 
 MUTES LIQUIDS. ASPIRATE. SIBILANTS. 
 
 Labials, b, p, f, v. I, m, n, r. h. s, x, z. 
 
 Gutturals c, g, j, k, q (u). 
 Dentals, d. t. 
 
 The following are the principal Creole changes of the consonant: 
 c, q (u) , ch (as in cheat) , g. 
 
 The gutturals (or f/?roar-letters) c (u) and q (u) are often re- 
 presented in Creole by a sound not heard in French : by the sound, 
 that is, of ch in chest, chin, or in the Spanish chico — e. g: 
 
 Creole. 
 
 French. 
 
 English. 
 
 CHuite 
 
 cuite 
 
 cooked 
 
 CHilotte 
 
 culotte 
 
 trowsers 
 
 CHouler 
 
 (re) -cu/er 
 
 to recede 
 
 CHinze 
 
 quinze 
 
 fifteen 
 
 maCHer 
 
 marquer 
 
 to mark 
 
 baCHer 
 
 (em) barquer 
 
 to embark 
 
 NOTA. — c is in Creole sounded g inganif, for Fr. cantf, penknife; galefeter 
 for calfater, to caulk; gouroupier for croupier, servant. Cr. sycophant. 
 
 * For an explanation of the prostheses, page 17. 
 
 B 2
 
 12 ORTHOEPY AND ORTHOGRAPHY 
 
 lonhj Fr. violon, violin; vidagne, Fr. vidange, lees; wdicou, 
 waistcloth; ivangou, (wanh-goo,) a paste of boiled corn meal. 
 
 A- has /our different sounds; (a) like ks, as in Alexdne, (ah-leks- 
 ann,) Fr. Alexandre, Alexander; (6) like gs, as in execice, (egz- 
 ay-seece,j Fr. exercice, exercise; (c) like s in six (seece,) six; dix 
 (deece,) ten; {d) like z, as in dixieme, (deez-e-emm,) tenth; etc. 
 
 y, at the beginning of words, and z are sounded as in English. 
 
 ORTHOGRAPHY. 
 By Orthography is meant the correct representation of articulate 
 sounds by means of written signs. The Orthography of the Creole 
 presents great difficulties, especially with regard to the Verbs. This 
 arises from the fact that it is generally but one part of a French 
 verb that has been taken into the dialect, and made, by means of 
 auxilliary words, to express all the modifications of Person, Mood, 
 and Tense. Now, as several parts of a French verb may have the 
 same pronunciation, it is not easy to decide in all cases which of 
 these parts it is that has been adopted. Under the head of Verbs, 
 the reader will see how we have met this difficulty. That our 
 theory is correct seems conclusive from the evidence there brought 
 forward. Should any one object to our spelling all verbs of the 
 first French Conjugation with er, as a general rule, he will please to 
 examine such verbs as coude, repone, senti, etc., which are perma- 
 nent Creole forms, and at the same time undoubted representations 
 of the original infinitives coudre, repondre, sentir, etc. 
 
 With respect to the Orthography of such verbs as following 
 however, there may be some difference of opinion: 
 te which represents the Fr. etais, (etait,) was 
 se " " " serais, (serait,) should (be) 
 
 vie " " " voulez,{voulais,voulaiti') -wish 
 
 fau " " " faut, must 
 
 pe " " " peux, ipeut,) can 
 
 doe " " " dois, doit, (devez?) ought 
 
 In spelling most of these, another plan might have been adopted; 
 viz., to give to each person a specific form representing at the 
 same time, the correct pronunciation; c.g: — 
 
 1 . moen pex in imitation of Fr. 1 . je peux 
 
 2. ous pez " " " 2. vousp{ouv) ez 
 
 3. It pet. etc. " " " 3. il peut.elz.
 
 ACCENTUATION— UNION OF WORDS 13 
 
 But, besides being contrary to the genius of the Creole, which 
 delights in permanent forms, this plan would have reduced us to 
 the shift of employing the same inflections for the plural; besides 
 giving rise to a thousand other difficulties and inconsistencies. 
 
 We have, in all cases, endeavoured to follow analogy in writing 
 Patois words. When the French itself failed, the practice of some 
 one or other of the allied languages has been our guide; and when, 
 as it sometimes happened, we could get no assistance from cither 
 of these sources, we have carefully analysed the sound and done 
 our best to reproduce it. 
 
 Accentuation and Union of Words 
 
 Accent is the raising or lowering of the voice in pronouncing 
 certain syllables. In Creole, as in French, the tonic accent is far 
 less marked than in English. But the general rule of French 
 accentuation — namely, that the stress should be laid on the 
 syllable last pronounced — is pretty much the same in the Patois. 
 
 It is customary in reading or speaking French to sound final 
 consonants on vowels succeeding them; e.g: ton ami, (ton-nam-ee.) 
 thy friend; des hommes avares. (de-zomm-zavahr,) avaricious 
 men; "venez ici." dit-il, (v'ne ze-see, de-teel,) "come here," 
 said he: etc. As Creole is an uncultured speech, whatever of such 
 euphonic refinements it contains is the result of accident and 
 mechanical imitation. For we find that phrases borrowed verbatim 
 from the French, preserve, in general, the modifications of sounds 
 resulting from the concurrence of vowels and consonants; while in 
 constructions that are purely dialectic, hiatusses are by no means 
 unfrequent. The following Patois sentence affords at once illus- 
 tration and proof of this: — Fau (t) ous fair yon arangement 
 epis 'i, pronounced; Fo ooh feh yonh ar-anzh-manh ay-pee ee (you 
 must make an arrangement with him.) The reader will remark 
 that of the four hiatusses in the above pronunciation, not one is 
 unavoidable; but we Creoles pay small attention to the powers 
 of consonants before vowels. It is true that in conversation we 
 mince a few terms: but, on the whole, our decided preference is 
 for words in their normal condition.
 
 ORTHOEPY AND ORTHOGRAPHY 
 
 Creole. 
 
 
 French. 
 
 
 English. 
 
 cz'ie 
 
 
 case 
 
 
 house 
 
 cho'ie 
 
 
 chose 
 
 
 thing 
 
 Ungate 
 
 
 langage 
 
 
 language 
 
 NOTA. — Coriace, 
 
 tough, 
 
 is coriache in 
 
 Creole. 
 
 
 FIGURES OF ORTHOGRAPHY. 
 Besides the Permutation of letters necessitated, in most cases, 
 by the vocal organization of the speaker, there are other processes 
 
 by which the sounds of a language are altered. As before stated, 
 these processes affect the number, and sometimes the order, of 
 verbal elements, and, when exhibited in writing, form what are 
 called figures of Orthography. We may alter a word, (a) by 
 dropping a letter or syllable from its beginning; (b) by dropping 
 a letter or syllable from its ending; (c) by dropping a letter or 
 syllable from its middle; (d) by adding a letter or syllable to its 
 beginning; (e) by adding a letter or syllable to its ending; (f) 
 by transposing the letters; (g) by inserting a letter or syllable. 
 
 These various processes are known by the technical names of: — 
 
 a. Aphasresis, abstraction, e. Paragoge, addition. 
 
 b. Apocope, abcission. f. Metathesis, transposition. 
 
 c. Syncope, abbreviation, g. Epenthesis, insertion. 
 
 d. Prosthesis, apposition. 
 
 Illustrations. 
 
 a. Of Aphaeresis, (dropping a letter or syllable from the 
 beginning of a word). 
 
 Creole. French. English. 
 
 valer zvaler to swallow 
 
 plicher eplucher to peel 
 
 river quiver to arrive 
 
 baCHer embarquer to embark 
 
 ccKher accrocher to hang up (on a peg) 
 
 b. Of Apocope, (dropping a letter or syllable from the end 
 of a word) . 
 
 Creole. French. English. 
 
 travaie travaiWer to work 
 
 cheti chetii lean, sorry, diminutive 
 
 baie 6a/ller to give 
 
 sa savent know, Cr. can
 
 THE FIGURES OF ORTHOGRAPHY 7 
 
 All French words ending in le and re, preceded by a consonant, 
 are pronounced in Creole without the / and the r; as, 
 
 Creole. French. English. 
 
 aimabe aimable amiable 
 
 nobe noble noble 
 
 sabe sable sand 
 
 sensibe sensible sensible, tender 
 
 cade cadre a frame 
 
 mode modre to bite 
 
 monte montte a watch 
 
 c. Of Syncope, (dropping a letter or syllable from the middle 
 of a word) . 
 
 bandole banderole Spanish guitar 
 
 zepon eperon spur 
 
 chame chamhre chamber, room 
 
 pone pondre to lay, (as a hen, ^c.) 
 
 d. Of Prothesis, (adding a letter or syllable to the beginning 
 of a word) . 
 
 name dme 
 
 ambandonen abandonner 
 
 /asalle salle 
 
 zetoele etoile 
 
 divin vin 
 
 angacer agacer 
 
 e. Of Paragoge, (adding a letter or syllable to the end of a 
 word) . 
 
 custom 
 
 embarrassment, obstacle 
 to beg, (frequentative) 
 to turn, " 
 
 embarrassement 
 
 soul 
 
 to abandon 
 
 hall, drawing-room 
 
 star 
 
 wine 
 
 to provoke, tease 
 
 coutimance 
 
 coutume 
 
 genement 
 
 gene 
 
 mendianer 
 
 mendier 
 
 tounai'er 
 
 tourner 
 
 ambarassemcnt 
 
 ambaras 
 
 f. Of Metathesis, 
 
 (shifting tl 
 
 word) . 
 
 
 tribilent 
 
 turbulent 
 
 lintecelle 
 
 etincelle 
 
 zoragnc 
 
 orange 
 
 archagne 
 
 archange 
 
 app/rvoiser 
 
 apprivoiser 
 
 turbulent 
 *spark 
 
 orange 
 archangel 
 
 to tame, to polish, ^c. 
 * The French is, curiously enough, from scintilla, by the same figure.
 
 ORTHOEPY AND ORTHOGRAPHY 
 
 Of Epenthesis, (inserting a letter or syllable in a word), 
 
 assoboucr (s'j absorber Cr. to belabour 
 fouisc, (as if 
 
 from fruse) fusee racket 
 
 p/esanter pesanteur weight 
 
 panen-a-/anse panier a anse a handled basket 
 
 THE CREOLE ALPHABET. 
 The elementary sounds of the Creole being in most cases identical 
 with those of the French, Creole words may, in general, be spelt 
 with the letters, and according to the principles of the latter. But, 
 as there are in Creole articulations not heard in French, we are 
 under the necessity of employing foreign characters, or characters 
 with foreign sounds, to represent the articulations referred to. We 
 have, under the head of Permutation, indicated that these are: 
 CH (as heard in chin, cheek, ^c.) ; G ( as heard in ginger, gipsy) ; 
 and n (as in fenant, mahen, ^c. ) . The Creole Alphabet may, there- 
 fore, be said to consist of twenty-nine letters, including w. As to 
 u, the Creoles always sound it ou in the few cases wherein it is 
 not converted into /. 
 
 Character. Name. 
 
 A 
 
 a 
 
 B 
 
 b 
 
 C 
 
 c 
 
 CH 
 
 
 D 
 
 d 
 
 E 
 
 e 
 
 F 
 
 f 
 
 G 
 
 g 
 
 G 
 
 
 H 
 
 h 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 J 
 
 J 
 
 K 
 
 k 
 
 L 
 
 1 
 
 M 
 
 m 
 
 ah 
 
 bay 
 
 say 
 
 chay 
 day 
 
 e a (as in fate 
 
 eff 
 
 zhay 
 
 jay 
 
 ash 
 
 ee 
 
 zhay 
 
 kah 
 
 ell 
 
 emm 
 
 Character. 
 N n . 
 N 
 O 
 P 
 
 Q 
 
 R 
 
 S 
 
 T 
 
 U 
 
 V 
 
 \V 
 
 X 
 
 Y 
 
 z 
 
 Name. 
 enn 
 
 h 
 
 o o 
 
 p pay 
 
 q (like k) 
 
 r 
 s 
 t 
 u 
 
 V 
 
 w^ 
 
 X 
 
 y 
 
 z 
 
 er 
 
 ess 
 
 toy 
 
 ou 
 
 vay 
 
 way 
 
 iks 
 
 ee 
 
 zedd 
 
 ACCENTS. 
 
 There are certain Orthographic signs employed in French to denote modifi- 
 cations in the sounds of vowels. These signs, known by the name of accents, arc 
 as follow : — 
 
 a. L'accent aigu (the acute accent), is placed exclusively over e; as, ete, been
 
 THE ACCENTS — PRONUNCIATION OF LETTERS 9 
 
 b. L'accent circonflex (the circumflcxed accent) , is placed over 
 vowels, chiefly to denote abbreviation; as in 
 
 gater for the old form gaster, to spoil 
 prefer " " " prester, to lend 
 
 rnaitte " " " maistre. master 
 
 cote " " " coste, coast 
 
 flute " " " fluste, flute 
 
 Besides its legitimate use in such French words, this accent is, in 
 course of this Work, placed over o whenever this letter has the same 
 sound as in the English hot, pod; and over any other vowel that 
 may seem to require it, especially in abbreviated syllables. 
 
 c. L'accent grave (the grave accent) , placed over e. as in pere, 
 mere. We use this accent also over the e of the converted final syl- 
 lables en, er, to denote the peculiarity of the word- formation in 
 which they occur. 
 
 d. Le trema (the diaeresis) , placed over a vowel, denotes its 
 separate pronunciation ;as, iva'icou. (wa-i-cou.) cloth wrapped 
 round the waist. 
 
 PRONUNCIATION OF LETTERS. 
 Vowels. 
 
 a is sounded as in far. When circumflexed (a) , the sound is 
 somewhat lengthened; as in paler, Fr. parler, to speak; cbdme,, Fr. 
 chambre, room or chamber. 
 
 e without any accent is mute, and being so, it is scarcely sounded; 
 as in cela (slah.) that; tabe, (tab,) table. When final, e mute 
 is not at all heard in ordinary discourse. 
 
 i IS sounded like e in me; as in gi bier, (zhe-bc-ay,) bird. When 
 circumflexed (i) , this letter has a lengthened sound, as in vite 
 (veet,) Fr. vitre. glass, (rare in Cr.) 
 
 o has the sound of the English o in rote, go; c.g; aussitot 
 (o-see-toe) , soon. 
 
 6 (circumflexed) is sounded as in got. not. but a little longer: 
 e. g: moder (modd-ay,) Fr. modre, to bite; zotes. (zott,) Fr. 
 (vous) autres. you. 
 
 y is pronounced like i. 
 
 Consonants. 
 
 With the exception of c, f, and /, all the consonants when final 
 are mute, as in French; e. g: pitit, (pit-tee,) Fr. petit, small; 
 
 c
 
 10 ORTHOEPY AND ETYMOLOGY 
 
 bas, (bah,) stocking; etc. In order that a final consonant should 
 be sounded, an unaccented e is placed after it; as, vite, (veet) , 
 quick; salade. sah-ladd,) salad. 
 
 c has the same sounds as in English; viz., (a) that of k, before 
 a and o; (6) that of s, before e and i; e. g: cacoyer, (kak-o-year) , 
 a brazen girl; camisole, (kam-e-zoU,) jacket; cevelle, sev-ell,) Fr. 
 cervelle, brain: ciseaux, (see-zo) scissors. It is written with a 
 cedilla (q) , when, before a and o, it is to sound like s; e. g: fagade, 
 (fass-add,) frontage; fagon, (fass-onh) mode, manner, c is heard 
 at the end of almanac; bee, (bek,) beak; couoc, (wok,) Fr. croc, 
 crook; crac. fib; estomac, stomach; grec, frank, out-spoken; bouc, 
 (book,) ram; lac, lake; sac, bag; sec, dry; tabac, tobacco; jouc, 
 (zhook,) Fr. joug, yoke. As in French, c has the sound of g 
 in second, and its derivatives. 
 
 ch is pronounced like sh in English; as facher, (fash-ay to vex; 
 tache, tash,) task. 
 
 CH, in course of this work, must be sounded as in the English 
 words chat, cheat, chin; e. g: babouCHette, (bab-boo-chett,) a 
 rope-halter; piCHette, (pe-chett,) a stake. 
 
 d has the same sound as in English; except that, according to 
 rule, it is not heard at the end of words. 
 
 f is sounded as in English; at the end of words it is generally 
 heard. The following are the cases in which f final is silent: — 
 zefs, (say,) eggs; befs, (bay,) oxen, as in "moulin a befs." These 
 are Creole corruptions of (des) cefs, ides) bceufs. in which words 
 the f is not sounded. 
 
 g before a and o is pronounced as in English: e. g: gdter, 
 (gatt-ay,) to spoil: gogo, name-sake. When followed by e and /, 
 it must be sounded like zh; e. g: age, (azh,) age; loger, (lo-zhay,) 
 to lodge; gibier, (zhe-be-ay,) bird. 
 
 G must in all cases be pronounced like the English letter j. or 
 like g in gipsy, ginger; c. g: baGette, (bah-jet,) Fr. baguette, a 
 ramrod. 
 
 /? is sometimes silent, as in /7abr>. (ab-ee,) coat; harasse, (ar-ass- 
 ay,) bothered out; and sometimes aspirated, as in hareng, 
 (har-anh) , herring: hai. (hah-yee,) to hate: etc. 
 
 j is always sounded like zh; e. g: jene, (zhenn.) Fr. jeune. 
 young: 
 
 k has the same sound as in English.
 
 PRONUNCIATION OF LETTERS It 
 
 / is pronounced as in English, and heard at the end of words, 
 except in the following: fisil, (fiz-ee,) Fr. fusil, gun; baril, 
 (bar-ee.) barrel; gentil, (zhan-tee) decent; zoutil, (zoo-tee,) Fr. 
 outil, tool, etc. 
 
 m and n are pronounced as in English when they begin a word 
 or syllable, or come between two vowels; but at the end of words 
 they have a much duller sound; in fact, they only impart nasality 
 to the vowel preceding; as in bon, good; faim, hunger; chien, 
 dog. 
 
 p is silent in corps, (cor,) body; compter, (con-tay,) to reckon; 
 dornpter, (don-tay,) to subdue; temps, (tanh,) time; dtap. 
 (dra'h,) cloth, sheet, etc. 
 
 ph is pronounced f as in English. 
 
 q (u) has the sound of k; eg: quitter, (kit-tay.) to quit; 
 quolibet, (ko-Iib-bet,) tittle-battle. 
 
 r, when heard at all, has a most peculiar sound, which no 
 English letters can represent. When final, it is never sounded in 
 Patois. 
 
 s has two sounds: one as in salvation, soberness; and the other 
 like z. as in ease, those. It is sounded as in the latter instance 
 when it is between two vowels; e. g: savoer, Fr. savoir, knowledge; 
 simaine, Fr. simaine, a week; ouosair, (wo-zeh) Fr. rosaire, rosary; 
 poser, (po-zay,) Fr. reposer. to rest. When final, s is silent except 
 in plis (sometimes pron. pliss) , Fr. plus more; vis. (viss,) a 
 screw, etc. 
 
 f has generally the same sound as in English; but when it 
 would in English be sounded sh, as in patient, nation, etc., it is, 
 according to French orthoepy, pronounced se; e. g: patient, (pah- 
 se-anh) ;n<2f?'or?, (nah-se-onh) , etc. 
 
 In th, only the t is sounded; e.g: dithe, (de-tay,) Fr. (du) the, 
 tea; theate, (tay-att) , Fr. theatre, theatre, etc. 
 
 t final is heard in bout, (boot,) end, cigar; bouit. (bwitt,) Fr. 
 brut, rough; dot, (dott,) Fr. dot. dowry; doegt. (dwett,) Fr. 
 doigt, finger; chouvalet, (shu-val-ett,) Fr. chevalet, wooden 
 horse; chiquet, (shick-ett,) driblet. 
 
 ct is silent in respect, (res-pay), respect; but it is sounded k in 
 correct, (c6r-ek.) correct; direct, (de-rek,) direct; exact, (eg-zak) , 
 etc. 
 
 V and w have the same sound as in English; e.g: vielon. (ve-ay- 
 
 C2
 
 12 ORTHOEPY AND ORTHOGRAPHY 
 
 lonh.) Fr. violon, violin; vidagne, Fr. vidange, lees; wdicou, 
 waistcloth; ivangou, (wanh-goo,) a paste of boiled corn meal. 
 
 X has four different sounds: (a) like ks, as in Alexdne, (ah-leks- 
 ann,) Fr. Alexandre, Alexander; (b) like gs, as in execice, (egz- 
 ay-seece,) Fr. exercice, exercise; (c) like s in six (seece.) six; dix 
 (deece,) ten; (d) like z, as in dixieme, (deez-e-emmj tenth; etc. 
 
 y, at t;he beginning of words, and z are sounded as in English. 
 
 ORTHOGRAPHY. 
 
 By Orthography is meant the correct representation of articulate 
 sounds by means of written signs. The Orthography of the Creole 
 presents great difficulties, especially with regard to the Verbs. This 
 arises from the fact that it is generally but one part of a French 
 verb that has been taken into the dialect, and made, by means of 
 auxilliary words, to express all the modifications of Person, Mood, 
 and Tense. Now, as several parts of a French verb may have the 
 same pronunciation, it is not easy to decide in all cases which of 
 these parts it is that has been adopted. Under the head of Verbs, 
 the reader will see how we have met this difficulty. That our 
 theory is correct seems conclusive from the evidence there brought 
 forward. Should any one object to our spelling all verbs of the 
 first French Conjugation with er, as a general rule, he will please to 
 examine such verbs as coude, repone, senti, etc., which are perma- 
 nent Creole forms, and at the same time undoubted representations 
 of the original infinitives coudre, repondre, sentir, etc. 
 
 With respect to the Orthography of such verbs as following 
 however, there may be some difference of opinion: 
 te which represents the Fr. etais, (etait,) was 
 se " " " serais, (serait,) should (be) 
 
 vie " " " voulez,(voulais, vouIaitF) wish 
 
 fau " " " faat, must 
 
 pe " " " peux. (peut,) can 
 
 doe " " " dots, doit, (devez?) ought 
 
 In spelling most of these, another plan might have been adopted; 
 viz., to give to each person a specific form representing at the 
 same time, the correct pronunciation; c.g: — 
 
 1. moen pex in imitation of Fr. 1 . ie peux 
 
 2. ous pez " " " 2. vous p(ouv) ez 
 
 3. li pet, etc. " " " 3. il peut. etc.
 
 ACCENTUATION— UNION OF WORDS 13 
 
 But, besides being contrary to the genius of the Creole, which 
 delights in permanent forms, this plan would have reduced us to 
 the shift of employing the same inflections for the plural; besides 
 giving rise to a thousand other difficulties and inconsistencies. 
 
 We have, in all cases, endeavoured to follow analogy in writing 
 Patois words. When the French itself failed, the practice of some 
 one or other of the allied languages has been our guide; and when, 
 as it sometimes happened, we could get no assistance from either 
 of these sources, we have carefully analysed the sound and done 
 our best to reproduce it. 
 
 Accentuation and Union of Words 
 
 Accent is the raising or lowering of the voice in pronouncing 
 certain syllables. In Creole, as in French, the tonic accent is far 
 less marked than in English. But the general rule of French 
 accentuation — namely, that the stress should be laid on the 
 syllable last pronounced — is pretty much the same in the Patois. 
 
 It is customary in reading or speaking French to sound final 
 consonants on vowels succeeding them; e.g: ton ami, (ton-nam-ee,) 
 thy friend: des hom^mes avares. (de-zomm-zavahr,) avaricious 
 men; "venez ici." dit-il, (v'ne ze-see, de-teel,) "come here," 
 said he: etc. As Creole is an uncultured speech, whatever of such 
 euphonic refinements it contains is the result of accident and 
 mechanical imitation. For we find that phrases borrowed verbatim 
 from the French, preserve, in general, the modifications of sounds 
 resulting from the concurrence of vowels and consonants: while in 
 constructions that are purely dialectic, hiatusses are by no means 
 unfrequent. The following Patois sentence affords at once illus- 
 tration and proof of this: — Fau (t) ous fair yon arangement 
 epis 'i, pronounced: Fo ooh feh yonh ar-anzh-manh ay-pee ee (you 
 must make an arrangement with him.) The reader will remark 
 that of the four hiatusses in the above pronunciation, not one is 
 unavoidable: but we Creoles pay small attention to the powers 
 of consonants before vowels. It is true that in conversation we 
 mince a few terms: but, on the whole, our decided preference is 
 for words in their normal condition.
 
 Part II. 
 
 ETYMOLOGY. 
 
 Etymology treats of individual words, their classifications and 
 accidents. All the words of the Creole dialect may be arranged in 
 nine classes; viz: 1. Articles; 2. Nouns; 3. Adjectives; 4. Pro- 
 nouns; 5. Verbs; 6. Adverbs; 7. Prepositions; 8. Conjunctions; 
 9. Interjections. 
 
 Articles. 
 
 An Article is a word used with a Noun, to show whether such 
 Noun is to be taken in a general or in a particular sense. 
 
 There are two Articles in Creole: yon — a, an. Indefinite; and la 
 — the, Definite. 
 
 The Indefinite Article. 
 
 The Creole Indefinite Article yon is invariable; that is to say, 
 it never changes, like the French Indefinite Article (which is some- 
 times un and sometimes une) , to indicate the gender of the Noun 
 it refers to; e.g: 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 French. 
 
 yon qdvolant 
 
 a kite 
 
 un cerf -volant, masc 
 
 yon maite 
 
 a master 
 
 un maitre, 
 
 yon banc 
 
 a bench 
 
 un banc. 
 
 yon zoragne 
 
 an orange 
 
 un orange. 
 
 yon macaque 
 
 a monkey 
 
 un singe, " 
 
 yon madame 
 
 a woman, lady 
 
 une c/arr?e. fcm. 
 
 yon sese ^ 
 yon ser < 
 yon rnatante ) 
 yon tantante ) 
 yon plime 
 
 a sister 
 
 an aunt 
 a pen 
 
 une scear, 
 
 une ranfe, 
 une plume. 
 
 yon zassiette 
 
 a plate 
 
 une assiette,
 
 ETYMOLOGY— THE DEFINITE ARTICLE 
 
 15 
 
 The Definite Article. 
 Besides being invariable, la, the Creole Definite Article, has the 
 additional peculiarity of coming always after its Noun; e.g: 
 
 Creole. 
 
 missier la 
 chouval la 
 pouete la 
 c he pen tier la 
 
 mam'selle la 
 reliziese la 
 lasalle la 
 lapoussier la 
 
 English. 
 
 the man, gentleman 
 the horse 
 the priest 
 the carpenter 
 
 the young lady 
 the nun 
 the hall 
 the dust 
 
 French. 
 
 le monsieur, mase. 
 
 lecheval 
 
 le pretre " 
 
 le charpentier " 
 
 la demoiselle, fem. 
 
 lareligeuse 
 
 la sa//e 
 
 la poussiere 
 
 It must not, however, be supposed that the Creole article, because 
 one in form and sound with the French la, is identical with it, and 
 only placed differently with regard to Substantives. On such a 
 supposition, it would be difficult, nay impossible, to account satis- 
 factorily for such combinations as la-salle la, la-glacier la, and a 
 host of others, in which the French article, la, however otherwise 
 misused, is nevertheless in its usual place before the noun. The 
 origin of the Creole la, and, incidentally ,of its peculiar construc- 
 tion, must therefore be sought elsewhere. In fact, this la of ours 
 is simply the French adverb of place, la, as found in ce-banc-la, 
 ce-verre-la. and similar expressions. In uttering the two phrases 
 cited above, a Frenchman makes but two sounds for each; vis: 
 sbanc-la, and sverre-ld. The first word, ce — a mere sibilation — 
 escaping an untutored ear, sbanc-la and sverre-la would appear 
 banc-la and verre-la respectively: hence the Creole usage. But 
 it may be objected that ce banc-la oftener means that bench, than 
 the bench; and the same of ce verre-la, that glass, ^c. To this 
 we reply: first, that, in many cases, it is not easy to discriminate 
 between that and the, especially in French; and secondly, that 
 the demonstrative sense of such phrases has been subordinated in 
 Creole on the same principle according to which the primary im- 
 port of ille. ilia, has been modified on passing into the French le, la.
 
 16 
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 NOUNS. 
 
 Nouns or Substantives are the names by which we designate 
 Persons, Animals, Places, or Things; as gouroupier, sycophant; 
 babiche, alligator; ville, town; wanga, sorcery. 
 
 The majority of Nouns in Creole are French; but there are some 
 peculiar to the dialect, and others borrowed from English and 
 Spanish. We therefore arrange them under four heads, the first 
 of which shall, for the sake of convenience, be divided into two 
 sections. 
 
 French Nouns in Creole. 
 
 a. Nouns taken and used individually, with or without change 
 of pronunciation: — 
 
 Creole. 
 
 balye 
 
 baton"*" 
 
 bijou 
 
 boutique 
 
 bouton 
 
 careme 
 
 chdrne 
 
 cobeie 
 
 coton 
 
 danger 
 
 desi 
 
 douler 
 
 empechement 
 
 envie 
 
 fontaine 
 
 fouchette 
 
 gant 
 
 geounou 
 
 grie 
 
 hades [ 
 
 rades \ 
 
 jalousie 
 
 jambon 
 
 lagon 
 
 English. 
 
 broom 
 
 stick 
 
 jewel 
 
 shop 
 
 button 
 
 dry season 
 
 chamber, room 
 
 basket 
 
 cotton 
 
 danger 
 
 desire, wish 
 
 pain 
 
 hindrance 
 
 desire 
 
 fountain 
 
 fork 
 
 glove 
 
 knee 
 
 grating, gridiron 
 
 clothes 
 
 jealousy 
 
 ham 
 
 lagoon 
 
 French, 
 balai 
 
 chambre 
 corbeille 
 
 desir 
 douleur 
 
 fourchette 
 
 genou 
 grille 
 
 hardes 
 
 * When the word has not been altered at all, we leave the French column 
 blank, allowing the reader to see the French in the Creole.
 
 NOUNS 
 
 17 
 
 Creole. 
 
 ligon 
 
 mdmite 
 
 menage 
 
 mendie 
 
 miser 
 
 nage 
 
 nez 
 
 mn 
 
 objection 
 
 ojection 
 
 papier 
 
 pantouffe 
 
 tava'ie 
 
 racine 
 
 rideau 
 
 seson 
 
 simaine 
 
 temps 
 
 vache 
 
 English. 
 
 lesson 
 
 camp-kettle 
 
 domestic affairs, furniture 
 
 trials, distress 
 swimming, rower 
 
 nose 
 objection 
 
 paper 
 
 slipper 
 
 ravage 
 
 root 
 
 curtain 
 
 season 
 
 week 
 
 time 
 
 cow 
 
 French, 
 legon 
 mar mite 
 
 misere 
 
 nez 
 
 objection 
 
 pantouffle 
 ravage 
 
 saison 
 semaine 
 
 b. Nouns that have been taken "construction." 
 This section will comprise Nouns taken into Creole in com- 
 bination with some other word, usually an article or an adjective, 
 which, having lost all meaning of its own, is become a mere initial 
 of the newly-formed substantive. This incorporation of words 
 that are "in construction" is not peculiar to the Creole. If we 
 take, for example, the French Monsieur, sir, gentleman, we find 
 that its component parts are mon, an adjective — my, and sieur, 
 a noun — sir, master, ^c. Literally, therefore, mon-sieur is my- 
 master, my sir, or the like. But mon having lost all significance 
 here, the combination mon-sieur means only what was formerly 
 expressed by sieur alone. As with mon, in this particular instance, 
 so has it fared with du, des, la, le, ma, mon, ses, un (une) , whidh, 
 generally in an altered shape, form the initial of many Creole 
 substantives beginning with di, la, I, ma, moun, ses. n and z: the 
 two last letters indicating the initial sounds of French words 
 beginning with a vowel or silent h, immediately preceded by un
 
 18 
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 (une) and des, les, ^c. Subjoined are specimens of these composite 
 nouns, with such locutions as may have given rise to them: 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 French 
 
 dife 
 
 fire, originated from 
 
 du feu 
 
 lit 
 
 some fire 
 
 dithe 
 
 tea, 
 
 t t 
 
 < ( 
 
 du the 
 
 * * 
 
 some tea 
 
 divin 
 
 wine, 
 
 *i 
 
 4 * 
 
 du vin. 
 
 4 4 
 
 some wine 
 
 dleau 
 
 water, 
 
 i t 
 
 4 t 
 
 de I'eau 
 
 4 t 
 
 some water 
 
 \abitide 
 
 habit, 
 
 U 
 
 4 t 
 
 {'habitude. 
 
 ti 
 
 the habit 
 
 \ddoese 
 
 slate. 
 
 t t 
 
 *i 
 
 Vardoise, 
 
 4 4 
 
 the slate 
 
 Mntecelle 
 
 spark, 
 
 4 t 
 
 4 t 
 
 \,etincelle, 
 
 u 
 
 the spark 
 
 \zfieve 
 
 fever. 
 
 t t 
 
 *i 
 
 la fievre, 
 
 4 4 
 
 the fever 
 
 \ap6te 
 
 door. 
 
 ti 
 
 4 1 
 
 la porte. 
 
 4 4 
 
 the door 
 
 ligeole 
 
 jail. 
 
 t t 
 
 44 
 
 la geo/e. 
 
 4 4 
 
 the jail 
 
 mounonque^ 
 
 
 
 
 la geole. 
 
 4i 
 
 the jail 
 
 mounonc 
 
 ^uncle, 
 
 a 
 
 4 4 
 
 mon oncle, 
 
 * * 
 
 my uncle 
 
 mononque 
 mdidame* 
 
 lady. 
 
 < i 
 
 i ( 
 
 ma dame. 
 
 *i 
 
 my lady, Mrs. 
 (appellative) 
 
 matante 
 
 aunt, 
 
 i t 
 
 4 4 
 
 ma tante. 
 
 4i 
 
 my aunt 
 
 sesadiex 
 name 
 nannee 
 ninime 
 nomme 
 zaffair 
 zagrinen ) 
 zarinen ] 
 
 farewell 
 leave- 
 soul 
 
 year, 
 
 riddle, 
 
 man, 
 
 business 
 
 spider. 
 
 ■taking 
 
 * t 
 ti 
 1 1 
 ( ( 
 
 I i 
 
 t i 
 
 \ 
 
 n 
 
 I f 
 
 * t 
 
 ses adieux, 
 
 une dme. 
 une annee 
 une en^igme, 
 un homme, 
 des affaires, 
 des araignees 
 
 i t 
 t i 
 •i 
 
 4 4 
 
 <( 
 
 4 4 
 
 his leave-taking 
 
 a soul 
 a year 
 a riddle 
 a man 
 
 certain affairs 
 some spiders 
 
 zaile 
 
 wing, 
 
 a 
 
 It 
 
 desailes. 
 
 " 
 
 some wings 
 
 zallimette 
 
 lucifer match. 
 
 1 1 
 
 des allursettes. 
 
 I i 
 
 some matches 
 
 zamas 
 
 Cr. canetops, 
 
 1 1 
 
 des amas, 
 
 't 
 
 some heaps 
 
 zamis 
 
 friends. 
 
 * * 
 
 u 
 
 des amis. 
 
 * * 
 
 some friends 
 
 zampoule 
 
 tumour. 
 
 t i 
 
 i I 
 
 des ampoules, 
 
 U 
 
 some tumours 
 
 zanGie 
 
 fresh water eel, 
 
 1 1 
 
 des anguilles. 
 
 4 4 
 
 some eels 
 
 zanana 
 
 pine apple. 
 
 <( 
 
 des ananas, 
 
 * ' 
 
 some pine apples 
 
 zanneau 
 
 ear-ring, 
 
 *i 
 
 1 1 
 
 des anneaux. 
 
 4 4 
 
 some ear-rings 
 
 zagne, (rare) 
 
 angel. 
 
 < I 
 
 1 1 
 
 des anges, 
 
 ti 
 
 som^e angels 
 
 zassiette 
 
 plate. 
 
 i t 
 
 <( 
 
 des assiettes. 
 
 4 4 
 
 some plates 
 
 zebe 
 
 grass, 
 
 t f 
 
 <( 
 
 des herbes. 
 
 li 
 
 some herbs 
 
 * The Frcnc 
 
 h use the ] 
 
 phrase, 
 
 'faire la madame," to set 
 
 up 
 
 1 for a lady.
 
 NOUNS 
 
 19 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 
 French. 
 
 
 zeboueie 
 
 fish-giU " 
 
 
 (les ou'ies) 
 
 the gills 
 
 zecoce 
 
 bark, (of a tree) 
 
 
 les ecorces. 
 
 f/?e barks 
 
 zeCHime, 
 (leCHime) 
 
 \ skimmings. 
 
 
 des ecumes, 
 
 some froth 
 
 zeffort 
 
 effort, " 
 
 
 des efforts, " 
 
 some efforts 
 
 zeGuie 
 
 needle. 
 
 
 des aiguilles, 
 
 some needles 
 
 zent rates 
 
 entrails, ) 
 bowels J 
 
 
 des entrailles, ' 
 
 the bowels 
 
 zepindd 
 
 spinage, " 
 
 
 des epinatds, ' 
 
 some spinage 
 
 zepingue 
 
 pin. 
 
 
 des epingles 
 
 some pins 
 
 zepole 
 
 shoulder, 
 
 
 les epaules, 
 
 the shoulder 
 
 zepon 
 
 spur. 
 
 
 des eperons. 
 
 some spurs 
 
 zodie 
 
 sweepings, 
 dirt. 
 
 
 des ordures. 
 
 some sweep- 
 ings, ^c. 
 
 zoragne 
 
 orange. 
 
 
 des oranges, " 
 
 some oranges 
 
 zoreie 
 
 car. 
 
 
 les oreilles, 
 
 the ears 
 
 zos 
 
 bone, " 
 
 
 des OS, 
 
 some bones 
 
 zotei 
 
 toe. 
 
 
 les orteils 
 
 the toes, ^c. 
 
 To the same class belong Bondie, God, or a deity of any kind; 
 as, yon bondie bois, a wooden god; beautemps, good weather, 
 (which is often preceded by a qualificative; as, belle beautemps, joli 
 beautemps, fine weather) ; bonmatin, morning; yon jou bonmatin, 
 one day (in the) morning; dote for d' autre; zotes for i;ous autres; 
 etc. are formed an the same principle. 
 
 Nouns Peculiar to The Dialect.* 
 Here we include not only those nouns whose origin is local 
 or African, but those also that have been framed by the Creoles 
 from French words. The following specimens are but a few: — 
 
 Creole. 
 
 amblu'i 
 
 baboule 
 
 bacou-bacou 
 
 bamboula 
 
 English. 
 
 evasion 
 
 a kind of drum dance 
 perquisites, secret gains 
 a kind of dance 
 
 French Etymology. 
 
 4SW 
 
 * It is not pretended that some of the words of which the etymology has 
 not been given or suggested, may not be Frenc or Spanish: what we mean 
 is, that none of them ever occurred in the French and Spanish works that 
 wc have consulted. 
 
 D2
 
 20 
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. French Etymology 
 
 bebelle 
 
 a toy, finery 
 
 {belle) 
 
 boubou 
 
 a fright, hobgoblin 
 
 
 boLican 
 
 a hurdle for smoking meats, 
 a pile of sticks for burning; 
 a row 
 
 
 bougonnement 
 
 a grumbling, a murmur 
 
 {bourdon?) 
 
 bouloque 
 
 confusion 
 
 
 houzin, brouzin 
 
 a hastily got up dance 
 
 
 cdiambouque 
 
 any secret place, obscurity 
 
 
 camanoc 
 
 sweet cassada 
 
 {manioc) 
 
 chavirade 
 
 an upturning 
 
 
 Cl-liribibi 
 
 a power of parched maize 
 
 
 choubichou 
 
 talisman, amulet, sorcery 
 
 
 goscaie 
 
 manioc farina mixed with 
 syrup 
 
 
 cotiche 
 
 fandal, mocassin 
 
 
 coucou 
 
 a calabash bored at an end 
 and hollowed out 
 
 
 couyenade 
 couyonade j 
 
 nonsense, trifling 
 
 
 dechirade 
 
 a tearing 
 
 (dechirage) 
 
 developpade 
 
 a thrashing 
 
 {developper) 
 
 devirade 
 
 a turning back 
 
 (devier) 
 
 drivdier 
 
 a rover, vagabond 
 
 (derivet) 
 
 fanfouliche 
 
 tinsel ornament 
 
 
 finolement } 
 fiolement j 
 
 a refining 
 
 {fignoler) 
 
 gabi 
 
 a bundle of thatch leaves 
 
 
 gdiape 
 
 a rude feast given to gratui- 
 tous helpers in field work 
 
 {gaillard?) 
 
 gigodine 
 
 furbelows, any dress orna- 
 mentation 
 
 
 Giola 
 
 effects 
 
 
 graffinade 
 
 a scratching 
 
 {griffade) 
 
 happe-salade 
 
 a meddler 
 
 {happer, etc.) 
 
 horrope 
 
 a scrape, difficulty 
 
 
 iche 
 
 child 
 
 
 joupa, ajoupa 
 
 a garden hut. cabin 

 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 21 
 
 Creole, 
 maconage ) 
 macona'ie \ 
 
 malongue 
 
 malte 
 matete 
 mingan 
 
 mou-wou ^ 
 moun-moun \ 
 
 negue-maite 
 
 oudchc 
 
 sainbleau 
 
 savonade 
 
 soucrade 
 
 soucou'ian 
 
 talala 
 
 tambi 
 
 tanamd 
 
 temecou 
 
 touloume { 
 
 touroume \ 
 
 toural ] 
 
 tourial \ 
 
 tounement 
 
 virement 
 
 vonon 
 vonvonnement 
 
 wdid 
 
 zandoli 
 zengouinGin 
 
 French Etymology. 
 
 {negre maitre) 
 
 (savon) 
 (secouer) 
 
 English. 
 
 a clumsy sewing or tying 
 
 a fellow passenger from 
 
 Africa 
 distress, ciesti4:ution (mal) 
 
 farina boiled into pap 
 anything smashed 
 
 a dumb person 
 
 lit. a slave of the same owner; 
 
 a butting with the head 
 display in dress or behaviour 
 a heavy shower 
 a soaping 
 a shaking 
 a blood-sucking wizard 
 fuss, to-do 
 a row, rambling talk 
 (Sp. tanta mar:') great fuss 
 anything that embarasses 
 
 a coarse kind of sugar cake 
 
 a talismanic leaf 
 
 a turning (toarner) 
 
 (with the foregoing) , a twist- 
 ing (virer) 
 
 a bee 
 
 a buzzing 
 
 a sort of hamper carried on 
 
 the back 
 lizard 
 sorcery, jugglery 
 
 Enqlish Nouns in Creole. 
 
 The English Nouns used in Creole are very numerous. They relate chiefly to 
 matters brought into the Colony, or more directly under Creole cognizance, 
 through English agency. The following will indicate the nature of these terms: 
 bosine, (bo-sinn.) boat-swain (mill overseer) : stime-ingtne, steam-engine: man- 
 a-wdr, man-of-war: mel-hote, mail-boat; wddine, warden: warrant: tram- 
 way; tJc, ^c.
 
 22 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 The wayward fancifulncss of our people has not suffered the 
 English portion of their dialect to remain without some perversions 
 of meaning. As examples, we may notice the words "blanket," 
 "blow," and "tune." "Blankite" in the mouth of a Creole, does 
 duty similar to that done by "nigger^' in the lips of a person proud 
 of his exemption from the "curse of Canaan:" that is to say, 
 blankite is a term of reproach levelled at fair complexions, especially 
 when rosiness forms no part of them. 
 
 As to "blow," it is an incident or anecdote; e.g: yon blow soti 
 river la-has la, an incident has just happened yonder; ba nous blow 
 missier la, none, machet, — pray, tell us the story about the gentle- 
 man, my dear. 
 
 A "tune," under the Creole form CHoune, is by no means sug- 
 gestive of harmony. On the contrary, it denotes every provoca- 
 tion by which one seeks to fasten a quarrel upon another; as. 
 Main ga yon CHoune! what a quarrel-picking! Sometimes a 
 quarrel itself is thus described; as, cosquel la te tint yon belle 
 CHoune epis yeaux, that ridiculous fellow had a fine row with 
 them, Fr. Ce ridicule-la avait une dispute serieuse avec eux. 
 
 Nouns From The Spanish*. 
 From the ancient owners of the Colony, and doubtless fiom 
 intercourse with the Main, our dialect has derived many Spanish 
 words; whereof the following Nouns are among the most 
 common: — 
 
 Creole. English. Spanish Etymology. 
 
 arepe 
 
 babouchette 
 
 ' a rope muzzle 
 
 (boca.^) 
 
 boi 
 
 Indian corn dumpling 
 
 (hollo) 
 
 cabou'ia 
 
 a noose 
 
 (connected with cabestro) 
 
 cachape 
 
 a biscuit made of ground corn 
 
 
 cat a 
 
 a sauce or syrup made of 
 manioc juice 
 
 (catar) 
 
 consuel 
 
 consolotion, remedy 
 
 (consuelo) 
 
 cosquel 
 
 a laughing stock 
 
 (cosquillas) 
 
 * Many of our words belong to the popular dialect of the Spanish Main, 
 with which our acquaintance is, unfortunately, very limited. The reader will 
 please observe that ch in this section is pronounced as in chin, cheat, Kc.
 
 NOUNS— NUMBER 
 
 23 
 
 Creole, 
 couyane 
 
 farimanel 
 
 golete 
 
 mania 
 
 matapel 
 
 morocote 
 
 moroco'i 
 
 papelon 
 
 peldo 
 sancoche 
 
 sapater 
 
 sogue 
 
 tasso 
 
 ternbandol 
 
 tembladol 
 
 torete 
 
 Spanish Etymology, 
 (cunada) 
 
 English. 
 
 the wife or husband of one's 
 countryman or country- 
 woman 
 
 ostentation, braggadocio, finery (faramallerd) 
 
 schooner; Cr. also a long pole (goleta) 
 
 rope fetters put on horses 
 
 ant-cater 
 
 a river fish; a coin, value $20 
 
 land turtle 
 
 brown sugar (ungraulated) 
 made in loaves 
 
 a savoury dish of rice, fowl, 
 &Jc. boiled together 
 
 a coarse dish of beef and 
 plantains 
 
 a flat fish 
 
 thongs 
 
 dried beef 
 
 {maniatar?) 
 {matar, perro) 
 
 {pabellon? from the 
 shape of the article) 
 (valadar?) 
 
 (sancochear) 
 
 electric eel 
 a bullock 
 
 (zapatero) 
 
 (soga) 
 
 (tasajo) 
 
 (temblader) 
 
 (toreto) 
 
 NUMBER. 
 
 There are two Numbers: the Singular, denoting one object; 
 and the Plural, denoting more than one. 
 
 As regards spelling, the plural of Nouns (and Adjectives may 
 be formed, as in French, by adding s: except when the Sin|gulat 
 ends in s, x, or z, in which case there is no addition; e.g: 
 
 Creole. English. French. 
 
 Sing, yon zanana a pipe apple un anana 
 
 PI. yon pile zananas many pine apples plusieurs ananas 
 
 yon lapote 
 
 door 
 
 Pi. dex. tois lapotes two, three doors 
 
 Sing, yon gouos cdie a large house 
 
 PI, grands cdies large houses 
 
 Nouns and Adjectives ending in 
 
 Sing, yon mauves zos a bad bone 
 
 PI. mauves zos bad bones 
 
 Sing, lavoex doux la the sweet voice 
 
 PI. yon pile nez many noses 
 
 une porte 
 deux, trois portes 
 une grande maison 
 (de) grandes maisons 
 s. X, and z. 
 un mauvais os 
 (de) mauvais os 
 la voix douce 
 plusieurs nez
 
 24 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 Nouns ending in au, eau may add an x according to French 
 usage; eg: 
 
 Creole. English. French. 
 
 Sing, yon bateau a sloop un bateau 
 
 PI. commen bateaux i' how many sloops? combien de bateaux? 
 
 But, as this is a spoken, and not a written dialect, we must attend 
 more particularly to the oral mode of expressing Number. 
 
 The Singular is shown, as in English and French, by means of 
 the Article Indefinite: of this there are sufficient examples above. 
 
 Moen voer zanneaux et-pis bouacelets nans yon magazin, I saw 
 ear-rings and bracelets in a store. In this sentence, no Article is 
 used before zanneaux (ear-rings) , and bouacelets (bracelets) ; be- 
 cause they are indeterminate, and denote the primary perception. 
 But if we continue the sentence, adding our opinion of what we 
 saw in the store, we must employ the article; as, ces zanneaux la te 
 bien nans gout moen; main moen pas te content ces bouacelets la, 
 the ear-ring were much to my taste; but I did not like the bracelets, 
 We use th definitives ces-la, (the) in these instances, because 
 zanneaux and bouacelets have, by the second mention of them, 
 become determinate and specific. The rule for the Plural may, 
 therefore, stand thus: — that, in the case of indeterminate objects, 
 it is denoted by employing the Noun without any Article; as, 
 / tint mangos et-pis chapottes nans panen la, there are mangoes 
 and sapodillas in the basket. But when the object spoken of 
 is determinate, ces is put before the Noun, and la after it; as, 
 ous pe pouend ces chapoties-la, main lessez ces man^os-la la, pace 
 moen bisoen yeaux, you may take the sapodillas, but leave the 
 mangoes there, for I want them. All this is in accordance 
 with Creole and English usage: but French usage is difrent. In 
 the case of indeterminate objects when no words denoting quan- 
 tity come before the Noun, the partitive article must be used; e.g: 
 J'ai vu dans un magazin des anneaux et des bracelets: les anneaux 
 etaient bien a mon gout, mais les bracelets ne me plaisaient pas. 
 The Creole plural is simply the French demonstrative construction, 
 which, in familiar style, is frequently used in cases of this kind.
 
 NOUNS— GENDER 
 
 25 
 
 GENDER. 
 In French Grammar there are only two Genders, which are 
 apphed to all Nouns, whether denoting animate or inanimate 
 objects. As regards the latter class of Nouns, the Gender assigned 
 them by custom is indicated by inflecting the Articles, Adjectives, 
 and Pronouns relating to them. But, as in Creole Pronouns do 
 not vary for Gender, and Articles do not vary at all, it is in con- 
 nexion with the Adjectives, which admit, though sparingly, of 
 such variation, that the gender of nouns denoting lifeless objects 
 can be best determined. We therefore defer remarking on the 
 subject till we come to treat of Adjectives. Meanwhile, it may be 
 here recorded that Patois-speakers, when imitating the French 
 construction, employ the feminine article, la, before the following 
 substantives, although in French they are, in fact or by analogy. 
 
 of the Masculine Gender: — 
 
 Creole. 
 la badinaie 
 la blame 
 la bouffaie* 
 la bouigandaie 
 la contentement 
 la diraie 
 la testant 
 
 English. 
 
 joking 
 
 blame 
 
 food 
 Cr. romping, ^c. 
 
 joy, gladness 
 
 duration 
 
 remainder 
 
 French. 
 le badinage 
 le blame 
 
 le brigandage 
 le contentement 
 (la duree) 
 le restant 
 
 We turn now to the Gender of Nouns denoting animate objects. 
 The distinction of sex in Creole is indicated in three ways: 
 (a) By different words; (6). by composition; (c) by derivation, 
 a By different words; as. 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 French 
 
 Masc. 
 
 Fern. 
 
 camper 
 
 macoumer 
 
 coq 
 
 poule 
 
 crabier 
 
 gasse'\ (Sp) 
 
 Masc. Fern. Masc. Fern, 
 
 godfather godmother compere commere 
 
 of one's child 
 cock hen 
 
 heron crabier 
 
 * The termination age (whence the Creole ate) is usually masculine in French. 
 
 t This word is the Spanish garza, a heron. In fact we say in Creole, gasse 
 a morene, evidently garza morena, brown heron. It needs scarcely be added that 
 the Creole form of the expression involves no reference to the colour of the bird.
 
 26 
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 French 
 
 Masc. 
 
 Fem. 
 
 Masc. 
 
 Fem. 
 
 Masc. 
 
 Fem. 
 
 fouec 
 
 ser. sese 
 
 brother 
 
 sister 
 
 frere 
 
 soeur 
 
 gdgon 
 
 fie 
 
 boy, son 
 
 girl, daughter grarf on 
 
 fille 
 
 louoi 
 
 lareine 
 
 king 
 
 queen 
 
 rot 
 
 reine 
 
 mari 
 
 femme, 
 madame 
 
 > husband 
 ) 
 
 wife 
 
 mari 
 
 epouse 
 
 missier 
 
 madame 
 
 gentleman 
 
 lady 
 
 mousieur 
 
 madame 
 
 mounonque 
 
 matante, 
 tantante 
 
 > uncle 
 
 aunt 
 
 oncle 
 
 tante 
 
 nive 
 
 niice 
 
 1 
 
 nephew 
 
 niece 
 
 homme 
 
 niece 
 
 nomme 
 
 femme 
 
 man 
 
 woman 
 
 neceu 
 
 femme 
 
 tauoueau 
 
 vache 
 
 bull 
 
 cow 
 
 taureau 
 
 vache 
 
 torete (Sp.) 
 
 ginisse 
 
 bullock 
 
 heifer 
 
 jeune tau- 
 reau 
 
 genisse 
 
 b By composition or the compounding of worcis; as, 
 
 Masc. Fem. Masc. Fem. Masc. 
 
 male-codene fimelle-codene turkey-cock turkey-hen dindon 
 bouc-cabouite timelle-cabouite hc-goat she-goat 
 
 macou-chatte fimelle-chatte tom-cat 
 
 she-cat 
 
 bouc 
 chat 
 
 Fem. 
 
 dinde 
 chevre 
 chatte 
 
 When it is wished to intimate that the female has had young, 
 muman is prefixed instead of fimelle, especially when the feminine 
 has not a distinctive form: — 
 
 Creole. 
 
 yon maman-bououique 
 yon maman-chatte 
 yon maman-chein, 
 chien 
 yon maman-codene 
 
 English. 
 
 a she-donkey 
 a she-cat 
 
 a bitch 
 
 a turkey-hen 
 
 French 
 
 une anesse 
 une chatte 
 
 une chienne 
 
 une poule d'Inde, iic. 
 
 and so on of animals, with the above restriction. 
 c Gender is also shown by derivation; as, 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 French 
 
 cape'' 
 
 cabouesse 
 
 (cob 
 
 cobress) 
 
 (capre 
 
 capresse} 
 
 * The English and French of cope and cabouesse are enclosed in parenthess, 
 as b^ing, perhaps, West Indian. A "cob" is the off-spring of black and mulatto 
 parents.
 
 NOUNS— GENDER— CASE 
 
 27 
 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English 
 
 1 
 
 French 
 
 
 Masc, 
 
 Fern. 
 
 Masc. 
 
 Fern. 
 
 Masc. 
 
 Fern. 
 
 carete 
 
 cdouogne 
 
 turtle 
 
 
 caret 
 
 
 cousin 
 
 cousine 
 
 cousin 
 
 
 
 
 danser 
 
 dansese 
 
 dancer 
 
 
 danseur 
 
 danseuse 
 
 mildte 
 
 milatresse 
 
 mulatto 
 
 mulatress 
 
 muldtre 
 
 muldtre 
 
 negue 
 
 negresse 
 
 negro 
 
 negress 
 
 negce 
 
 negresse 
 
 The following feminine forms are peculiar: 
 Creole. French. 
 
 English. 
 
 amise 
 
 for amie 
 
 friend 
 
 bonbonniese 
 
 bombonniere 
 
 Cr. cake-woman 
 
 lavandese 
 
 lavandiere 
 
 laundress 
 
 lessiviese 
 
 (from lessiver 
 
 washer woman 
 
 CASE. 
 
 Is the relation which a Noun bears to another Noun, a Verb, or 
 a Preposition ocurring in the same sentence. 
 
 We may allow three Cases in Creole; viz., the Nominative, 
 Possessive, and Objective. 
 
 The Nominative is the Noun (or Pronoun) represented as 
 being or doing; e.g: toute sepent cest sepent, every snake is a snake; 
 mauves mounes ca vive longtempts, wicked people live long. 
 
 In these sentences, sepent and mounes are Nominatives, they being 
 represented as being and doing respectively. 
 In Creole the mode of forming this case is very simple. All that 
 
 A Noun is Possessive when it designates the owner or possessor, 
 one has to do, is to name the possessor immediately after the object 
 possessed; as caie Jean, John's house; chapeau papa tit fie la, the 
 girl's father's hat; i.e., (the) hat (of the) father (of the) girl 
 This last rendering, which comes nearer to the Creole arrange- 
 ment, is identical with the French construction, and shows that 
 the former is a mere abbreviation of the latter; viz., (la) case (de) 
 Jean; (le) chapeau (du) pere (de la) fille: 
 
 Cr. Bououique missier la te nans jodin Chales. 
 
 Fr. Le bourrique (de) I'homme etait dans (le) jardin (de) 
 Charles. 
 
 Eng. The donkey (of the) man was in (the) garden (of) 
 Charles.
 
 28 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 The Objective Case represents the Noun (or Pronoun) affected 
 by the action of a Verb, or governed by a Preposition; as, 
 Cr. Miser ca fair macaques manger pimcnt. 
 Eng. Hard Hving makes monkeys eat pepper. 
 Fr. La misere fait manger des piments aux singes 
 Cr. Tout moune cannaite qa. qui ca bou'ii nans canari yeaux. 
 Eng. Every body knows what is boiling in his earthen pot. 
 Fr. Chacun sait ses affaires. 
 
 Besides the above, we have in Creole a sort of Dative Case, de- 
 nothing the individual to, for, or with regard to whom any thing is 
 done. This sign of this case is ba or ba'i, a shortening of the O. F. 
 verb bailler, to give; e.g: // poter touments ba'i famie 'i, he brought 
 trouble to his relations; li ca cha'ier corps-li ba'i dents rie; lit. he 
 is conveying himself give teeth to laugh; i.e., he is exposing himself 
 to ridicule. 
 
 The two forms ba and ba'i, though identical in meaning, are not 
 indiscriminately used. Ba comes only before the Personal pro- 
 nouns, except zotes,, which perfers ba'i; eg.; ba moen; ma //; ba 
 yeaux. In all other cases bai must be used; e.g: ba'i yon madame: 
 ba'i fouer moen; ba'i ces mouns la: li cder fair gouos sauts ba'i zotes, 
 he will be defiant towards you. 
 
 ADJECTIVES. 
 
 An Adjective is a word which expresses the quality of a Noun. 
 as, yon grand zaffair, a great to-do; yon belle face, a fine joke. 
 
 Adjectives in Creole are any thing but well regulated. At every 
 turn we hear them in French masculine forms to qualify feminine 
 nouns, and vice versa. But there is, nevertheless, a distinct, though 
 ill-sustained, attempt at gender inflection; especially in the case of 
 adjectives describing the qualities of human beings. As to those 
 that qualify nouns denoting animals and inanimate objects, their 
 forms depend on whether the nouns have been adopted from the 
 French by themselves, or so closely combined with the adjectives as 
 to convey a single, though composite idea. In the former case, 
 the adjective will have the form current in Creole: in the latter, it
 
 ADJECTIVES 29 
 
 will have the form required by French usage. For example, yon 
 grand tdbe, plime nef, are the Creole equivalents of the French une 
 grande table, plume neuve, a large table, new pen. The masculine 
 forms grand and nef are employed in the Creole, because they are 
 the forms current in the dialect. But in tdbe ouonde, round table, 
 ouonde, (i.e. ronde,) the appropriate feminine adjective is used, be- 
 cause it happens to be the form always employed in this particular 
 connexion. Thus it is with all similar componds borrowed bodily 
 from the French, and regarded in fact as a single word. In chandelle 
 ouomaine; toele grise; grande messe, gouosse piece, for example, the 
 adjectives ouomaine, grise, grandle, gouosse, are femimine, in agree- 
 ment with the nouns combined with them, according to French 
 practice; and it is so because each of these combinations conveys but 
 a single idea; being, in fact, a mere appellation, like the English 
 broad-cloth, hasty-pudding, sweet-meats, ^c. 
 
 With these general remarks, we proceed to minuter details. 
 First of all, we may dispose of adjectives ending in e mute, since 
 these, as in French, do not admit of any variation for gender; e.g: 
 Fr. un homme fidele, a faithful man, une femme fidele, a faithful 
 woman. These adjectives have the same termination (e) in Creole 
 but those in le drop /, when it is preceded by a consonant ; as, Fr. 
 double, souple, aimable, etc., Cr. doube, soupe, aimabe, etc. But 
 when a vowel comes before /. it is retained; as, Fr. fragile, inutile, 
 Cr. fouagile, initile. For the sake of sound, if r comes before the 
 final e, the latter may be dropped, as r is never heard in Creole 
 at the end of words. 
 
 It has been stated above that there is some attempt at inflecting 
 Adjectives for Gender, especially when they denote the quality of 
 human beings. Of the Adjectives which are so inflected, the fol- 
 lowing are the most usual: — 
 
 a. Those ending in es. masc, ese, fem. Fr. ais, aise; e.g: • 
 Creole. English French 
 angles, anglese English. anglais, anglaise 
 fouances. fouancese French. franqais. francaise 
 
 But potiGcs, ecosses, ilandcs. etc. are not usually inflected in 
 Creole. 
 
 b. Adjectives ending in r, masc, se. fem.; e.g: 
 ouacher. ouachese foppish, ostentatious 
 escandaler, escandalese noisy
 
 30 ETYMOLOGY '^' 
 
 Creole. English. French, 
 
 flatter, flattese Cr. sycophantic flatteur. flatteuse 
 
 c. Adjectives ending in in, masc, ine fern.; e.g: 
 coCHin, coCHme roguish coquin. coquine 
 malin, maline cunning malin, maligne 
 
 d. Adjectives ending in x, masc, se, fern.; e.g: 
 jaloux, jalouse jealous 
 
 malhecex, malherese Cr. indigent, very poor malh eureux, euse 
 
 vertouex, vertouese virtuous vertueux, euse 
 
 The French masculine form seems to be preferred in the case 
 of adjectives terminating in nt, is, t. which two last are mostly 
 participial. In French an e mute is added to these endings to form 
 the feminine. 
 
 Examples of adjectives in nt, is, and it, uninfected: — 
 
 Cr. Yon viecorps qui hampant. 
 
 Eng. An old man who is grasping. 
 
 Pr. Un vieillard qui est avare. 
 
 Cr. Mamzelle la assez insolent pou lot li. 
 
 Eng. That (young) lady has her full share of insolence 
 
 Fr. Ceffe demoiselle est assez insolente pour sa part. 
 
 Cr. Missier la sembe con si li te bten soupouis; et madame li te 
 soupouis tou. 
 
 Eng. The gentleman seems to have been greatly surprised; and his wife 
 was surprised also. 
 
 Fr. Ce monsieur parait avoir ete tres surpris: et sa femme 
 (etait surprise) aussi. 
 
 Cr. Ce tits ties la te bien distrets nans lapouiers yeaux. 
 
 Eng. The girls were greatly distracted in their prayers. 
 
 Fr. Ces enfants etaient tres distraites dans leurs prieres. 
 
 Cr. Yon nomme instouit; yon femme instouit. 
 
 Eng. A well-taught man; a well-taught woman. 
 
 Fr. Un homme instruit; une femme instruitc. 
 
 The following adjectives are usually employed in the masculine 
 form alone: — 
 
 Creole. English. French. 
 
 Masc. y Fern. Masc. Fern. 
 
 blanc white blanc blanche 
 
 epes thick epais epaisse
 
 ADJECTIVES 
 
 31 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Masc. 6J Fern. 
 faux 
 fin 
 fort 
 foues 
 gaucher 
 gouos 
 grand 
 gras 
 gris 
 jimeau 
 loud 
 
 pitit, 'tit 
 sain 
 sec 
 
 false 
 
 fine 
 
 strong 
 
 fresh, cool 
 
 left-handed, awkward 
 
 big, coarse 
 
 large 
 
 fat 
 
 grey 
 
 twin 
 
 heavy 
 
 little, small 
 
 wholesome 
 
 dry, crisp, curt 
 
 Masc. 
 
 Fern. 
 
 faux 
 
 fausse 
 
 fin 
 
 fine 
 
 fort 
 
 forte 
 
 frais 
 
 fraiche 
 
 gaucher 
 
 gaucbere 
 
 gros 
 
 grosse 
 
 grand 
 
 grande 
 
 gras 
 
 grasse 
 
 gris 
 
 grise 
 
 jumeau 
 
 jumelle 
 
 lourd 
 
 lourde 
 
 petit 
 
 petite 
 
 sain 
 
 saine 
 
 sec 
 
 seche 
 
 The following are used in the French feminine form only: 
 
 Masc. 
 
 adoete 
 
 
 adroit 
 
 belle 
 
 
 beautiful 
 
 chece 
 
 
 dry (not wet) 
 
 eoute 
 
 
 short 
 
 doete 
 
 
 straight 
 
 etoete 
 
 
 narrow 
 
 fine 
 
 Cr. 
 
 slender 
 
 foete 
 
 
 cold 
 
 laide 
 
 
 ugly 
 
 lasse 
 
 
 weary 
 
 leger 
 
 
 light 
 
 lente 
 
 
 slow 
 
 tongue 
 
 
 long 
 
 miette. 
 
 mouette 
 
 dumb, silent 
 
 molle 
 
 
 soft 
 
 naive 
 
 Cr. 
 
 candid 
 
 nette 
 
 
 clean 
 
 sotte 
 
 
 silly 
 
 soude 
 
 
 deaf, dull 
 
 toute 
 
 
 all 
 
 '.. 
 
 Fern. 
 
 adroit 
 
 adroite 
 
 beau 
 
 belle 
 
 sec 
 
 seche 
 
 court 
 
 courte 
 
 droit 
 
 droite 
 
 etroit 
 
 etroite 
 
 fin 
 
 fine 
 
 froid 
 
 froide 
 
 laid 
 
 laide 
 
 las 
 
 lasse 
 
 leger 
 
 legere 
 
 lent 
 
 lente 
 
 long 
 
 longue 
 
 muet 
 
 muette 
 
 mou 
 
 molle 
 
 na'if 
 
 naive 
 
 net 
 
 nette 
 
 sot 
 
 sotte 
 
 sourd 
 
 sourde 
 
 tout 
 
 toute
 
 32 
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 The following are peculiar in formation or with regard to origin: 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 French Etymology. 
 
 blemisse 
 
 palish 
 
 (bleme) 
 
 bou'iel 
 
 brilliant, lively 
 
 (briller) 
 
 caleau 
 
 hard-up 
 
 
 came- came 
 
 brazen 
 
 
 chacal 
 
 ctingy, shabby 
 
 
 congosal 
 
 litigious, quarrelsome 
 
 
 couyasse 
 
 foolish, silly 
 
 
 dcnde 
 
 determined 
 
 
 doubadou dibadi 
 
 dandified 
 
 (troubadour) 
 
 fouben, foubien 
 
 reckless 
 
 
 foutese 
 
 small, paltry 
 
 
 foiiti 
 
 ruined, "done for" 
 
 (fichu) 
 
 GenGenfounan 1 
 GanGanfounan J 
 
 showy 
 
 
 gouosti'se, f 
 
 coarse mannered 
 
 (grossiere) 
 
 hampant 
 
 grasping, avaricious 
 
 (happer) 
 
 jolotte 
 
 lovely 
 
 (joli) 
 
 macan la 
 
 foppish, ostentatious 
 
 
 melouer, ese 
 
 meddlesome 
 
 (meler) 
 
 nehen, 'ien-'ien 
 
 ■whimpering, fond of 
 
 
 ouacher, se 
 
 crying 
 showy, dressy 
 
 
 pioco (Sp. poco,) 
 
 paltry, small 
 
 
 ranCHinese, f 
 
 implacable, malice- 
 bearing 
 
 (rancuniere) 
 
 Wawa 
 
 woc-begone 
 
 
 wangane, wanganen 
 
 addicted to sorcery 
 
 
 DEGREES OF COMPARISON. 
 There are three Degrees of Comparison:^ — - 
 
 a. The Positive, or the Adjective itself; e.g: melouer. meddle- 
 some; ououlant, cunning. 
 
 b. The Comparative, which is formed by prefixing plis, Fr. 
 plus, more, (and sometimes moens or moence,) to the Adjective; 
 thus, plis melouer, more meddlesome; moence ououlant, less cun- 
 ning.
 
 ADJECTIVES — COMPARISONS 
 
 33 
 
 c. The Superlative. This is expressed in the same way as the 
 Comparative, and must be gathered from the context. In pro- 
 verbial and other phrases from the French, the Superlative is, 
 of course, according to French custom; e.g: 
 
 Cr. Plis grand macanda moen jamain voer. 
 
 Eng. The greatest muff J ever saw. 
 
 Fr. Le plus grand fat que j'aie jamais vu 
 
 Cr. La plis belle en-bas la bae, lit. the prettiest (is) under 
 
 the tub. As a proverb: — the best is yet to come. 
 Fr. La plus belle est sous la bailie. 
 
 Sometimes the Superlative is expressed by means of a relative 
 phrase containing the Comparative, with the words passe toute 
 added; e.g: ga qui plis jolotte passe toute la, that which is the 
 prettiest of all. 
 
 Irregular Comparatives. 
 
 The Creole cannot be said to have Comparatives that are irre- 
 gular, at least in the sense in which the following are so in 
 French: — 
 
 French. 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Pos. 
 
 Comp. 
 
 Pos. 
 
 Comp. 
 
 bon, good 
 
 meilleur. better 
 
 ban 
 
 me'ier, pits bon 
 
 rnauvais, bad 
 
 pire,* worse 
 
 mauves 
 
 plus mauves 
 
 petit, small 
 
 moindre, smaller 
 
 Comparisons. 
 
 pitit 
 
 plis pitit 
 
 Comparisons of Superiority are made in Creole, (a) by placing 
 plis before the Adjective and passe after it, and (b) by means of 
 passe alone; e.g: zoreies pas doe plis hauts passe tete,, the ears should 
 not be higher than the head, Fr. les oreilles ne doivent pas etre plus 
 haut placees que la tete; viecorps cela-la ca coer li bon passe 
 toute moune, this old man believes himself better than every body, 
 Fr. ce vieillard se croit meilleur que tout le monde; ous grand 
 passe //, you arc bigger than he, Fr. vous etes plus grand que lui. 
 
 Equality is sometimes denoted by placing aussi before the Ad- 
 jective and qui, Fr. que, after it: thus — Gangane yeaux aussi viex 
 qui mounonque nous, their grandmother fis) as old as our uncle, 
 Fr. leur grand'mere est aussi vieille que notre oncle. 
 
 * Sometimes plus mauoais. — Dclille..
 
 34 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 But oftener the Adjective has only con, Fr. comme, after it; e.g: 
 cdie Jean nef con cela Vitor, John's house (is as) new as Victor's, 
 Fr. la maison de Jean est aussi neuve que celle de Victor. 
 
 Inferiority is expressed; — 
 
 a. By negativing the Comparative of Equality; as ous pas bon 
 con It, you are not (as) good as he, Fr. t;ous n'etes pas aussi bon 
 que lui; yon matapel pas faibe con yon manicou, an ant-eater is 
 not so weak as an opossum. 
 
 b. By placing moence, Fr. moins. before the Adjective and qui 
 
 (sometimes passe,) after it; e.g: yon drivaier moence seviabe qui 
 
 (or passe) yon moune qui ca reter lacaie, a rover is of less service 
 
 than a person who stays at home, Fr. un vagabond est moins 
 
 serviable qu' une personne qui se tient chez lui. 
 
 The Superlative Absolute is expressed by placing bien, touop. 
 (Fr. trop) or tout, before the Adjective; e.g: ah, moncher ga te 
 bien bon, ah, my friend, that was very good, Fr. ah. moncher 
 c' etait bien bon. blow gala touop belle, this affair is exceedingly 
 fine, Fr. cette aflaire est trop jolie; tit mammdie la tout jolotte, 
 that little child is very lovely, Fr. Cet enfant est tres-joli. 
 
 Sometimes a repitition of the Adjective serves the same purpose; 
 as, yeaux chember yon gouos, gouos caiman, they (have) caught a 
 very large crocodile, Fr. Us ont pris un tres-gros corcodile. 
 
 Another mode, which is now almost out of fashion, (being con- 
 fined to a few old persons in country districts.) is to place tout- 
 plein, (all full) after the Adjectives: — malongue moen goUm^and 
 tout plein, my shipmate is very close-fisted. 
 
 Adjectives — Numerals. 
 
 The Numerals Adjectives are, with a few exceptions, pronounced 
 as in French. The differences are as follow: 
 
 Cardinal Numbers. 
 
 Creole. English. French, 
 
 yone one un. une 
 
 dex two deux 
 
 tois three trcis 
 
 qudte four qudtre
 
 ADJECTIVES— PRONOUNS 35 
 
 These Creole forms are preserved in all cases. 
 
 The q in cinq, five is sounded in French when the word is alone, 
 or comes before a vowel sound; but in Creole the same pronun- 
 ciation, i.e. senk, is always adhered to;* e.g: 
 
 cinq entetes (senk-an-tay-tay) five obstinates cinq entetes 
 
 cinq jous (senk-zhoo) five days cinq jours 
 
 With regard to six and dix (six and ten) there is some in- 
 consistency. We say six goudes (see good) , six dollars, dix doegts 
 (dee dway) ten fingers, etc., in strict accordance with French 
 custom which makes the x silent before consonants. But, strange- 
 ly enough, we also say six misiciens (seece me-ze-se-enh) , six 
 musicians, dix batimens (deece bah-te-manh) ten vessels;; besides 
 sounding x in hundred other instances before consonants. 
 
 Fractional Numbers. 
 Creole. English. French, 
 
 dimi, motie half demi, demie, moitie 
 
 yon tiers the third le tiers 
 
 tois qudts three-quarters les trois quarts 
 
 The Creole seldom go farther than the above fractional parts. 
 
 Proportionals. 
 The only proportionals wc have heard used are: — 
 
 doube double le double 
 
 tribe triple le triple 
 
 PRONOUNS. 
 
 A Pronoun is a word used instead of a Noun; e.g: hier, meea et- 
 pis sese ous te si per, nous pouend cououi, yesterday, / and your 
 sister were so frightened, (that) we took to our heels, Fr. hier, 
 votre soeur et moi, nous avions une si grand' peur, que nous primes 
 la fuite; hamac la te plis haut. main zotes besser li, the hammock 
 was higher up, but you lowered it. Fr. le hamac etait plus haut, 
 mais vous /' avez baisse. 
 
 * Cinq-sous (senh-soo) , five cents, presents an exception; but the compound 
 is regarded as a single word, involving but little, if any, reference to the 
 component values of the coin.
 
 3 6 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 There are seven kinds of Pronouns that we will notice; viz., 
 Personal, Possessive, Relative, Demonstrative, Indefinite, Reflexive, 
 and Interrogative. 
 
 Personal Pronouns. 
 Stand for the names of individuals. In Creole they are as 
 follow: — 
 
 
 
 SINGULAR. 
 
 
 
 
 PLURAL. 
 
 
 Cr. 
 
 Eng. 
 
 
 Fr. 
 
 
 Cr. 
 
 Eng. 
 
 Fr. 
 
 1. 
 
 moen 
 
 I 
 
 
 moi (je) 
 
 I. 
 
 A^ous 
 
 we 
 
 nous 
 
 2. 
 
 ous 
 
 you 
 
 
 vous (tu) 
 
 2. 
 
 zotes 
 
 ye, you 
 
 vous (autres) 
 
 3. 
 
 li, •( 
 
 he. she. 
 
 it 
 
 ii die 
 
 3. 
 
 yeaux, 
 
 they 
 
 its, elles (eux) 
 
 These Pronouus are sometimes called Conjunctives, because they 
 are used in conjunction with Verbs; thus: — moncher, moen ca 
 paler, et-pis cest pou ous couter: si yeaux aller nans tou crabe, 
 faut zotes pohen yeaux, my friend, / speak, and you are to 
 hearken: if they enter a crab's hole, you must catch them. 
 
 Formation of the Personal Pronouns. 
 To persons acquainted with French, nothing can be more ob- 
 vious than the origination of the Creole Pronouns. But to those of 
 our readers who may not know French, the following explanations 
 may possess some interest: — 
 
 Moen, which represents the French moi, has been modified by 
 the usual change of oi into oe, and the further addition of n. 
 There can be no doubt that the fuller sound of moi, together with 
 its frequency in familiar discourse, led to its adoption in preference 
 to je, the proper Nominative. 
 
 Tu, the second person singular of the French Personals, has had, 
 in the Trinidadian dialect, a singular fate. After diligent search 
 we discovered it at the tail of two words; the one an adverb, and 
 the other an interrogative particle, itself perverted and bereft of 
 half its primeval force. The adverb in question is oti, (where,) 
 and the particle, peti, (can?). Were it not for the fulness of our 
 conviction on the point, we should have hesitated to give the 
 question ou es-tu? where art thou, as the etymology of oti, where. 
 But, after all, there are stranger things in the Science of Language;
 
 PRONOUNS — POSSESSIVES 37 
 
 and, upon reflection, we are disposed to retract the apology in- 
 troducing a derivation which is, on the whole, so obvious. 
 
 The Creoles, to ask a question in which the possibility of one's 
 doing a thing is involved, employ peti as auxilliary to the principal 
 Verb: — thus, zotes peti ccjr papa moen die yon baggaie con gar.'' can 
 you (possibly) believe that my father said such a thing? That 
 the French peux-tu. canst thou, is the original of peti, is a fact ad- 
 mitting of no dispute. In some of the other Islands, tu has enjoyed 
 better fortune. The forms to, Nominative, and toe, Possessive 
 (and sometimes Objective) , are honoured by elderly folk in Mar- 
 tinique, Guadaloupc, etc. ; but to us, the sound of these words is 
 very tickling. Si to badnen epis CHembois, papa toe 'a bicher 
 toe, is the Guadaloupian way of sa/ing: si ous badnen epis (or 
 evec) socier, papa cus va batte ous, if you dabble in sorcery, your 
 father will beat you. We, /however, hear to and toe in bellairs 
 composed in country districts here; but the use of them is gene- 
 rally satirical. 
 
 With regard to li, which the Creole sometimes shorten into '/, it 
 is a corruption of le, the French third person masculine Accusative. 
 
 'Z.otes is formed on the same principle with zassiette, zepingue,* 
 etc. The frequent hearing of the colloquial vous autres from their 
 owners, gave rise to the formation of this word by the Negroes.. 
 
 In yeaux, which is clearly eux, the initial y is but a fulcrum 
 for the voice.! 
 
 Possessive Pronouns. 
 
 Possessive Pronouns stand for the name of the owner or pos- 
 sessor. They are of two kinds; viz: Conjunctive and Disjunctive. 
 
 a. Conjunctive Possessives are employed always in conjunction 
 with the Noun possessed. In Creole the Personal Pronouns become 
 Possessives of this class by being merely added to the Noun: e.g: 
 
 Singular. 
 Creole. English. French. 
 
 1 . bohotes moen 1 . my effects 1 . mes effets 
 
 * Sec page 17. 
 
 t Compare, for instance, the first syllabic of the Spanish yerro with err in 
 Lat. crro, and that of the Indian word yankee or ycngee with eng (I) in the word 
 English. For further remarks on the Pronouns, see Syntax.
 
 38 
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Eni 
 
 gltsh. 
 
 
 French. 
 
 2. gogo ous 
 
 3. sottises li 
 
 2. your namesake 
 
 3 . his, her abuse 
 
 2. 
 3. 
 
 ton {ootre) homonyme 
 ses injures 
 
 
 
 Plural. 
 
 
 
 1 . bitation nous 
 
 2. horrope zotes 
 
 3. zancetes yeaux 
 
 1. 
 2. 
 3. 
 
 our estate 
 your scrape 
 their forefathers 
 
 1. 
 2. 
 3. 
 
 notre habitation 
 votre embarras 
 leurs ancetres 
 
 b. Disjunctive Possessives come always by themselves. These 
 in Creole are composed of the Demonstrative cela, (slah,) that, 
 prefixed to the Personals; c.g: 
 
 Singular. 
 
 1. 
 
 cela-moen 
 
 1. 
 
 mine 
 
 2. 
 
 cela- ous 
 
 2. 
 
 yours 
 
 3. 
 
 cela-li, cela-'i 
 
 3. 
 
 his hers, its 
 
 Plural 
 
 1. 
 
 cela-nouns 
 
 1. 
 
 ours 
 
 2. 
 
 cela -zotes 
 
 2. 
 
 yours 
 
 3. 
 
 cela-yeaux 
 
 3. 
 
 theirs 
 
 1 . le mien, la mienne etc. 
 
 2. le tien, la tienne, etc. 
 
 3. le sien, /a sienne. etc. 
 
 1 . le, la notre, les notres 
 
 2. le, la votre, les votres 
 
 3. le, la leur, les leurs 
 
 Illustrations. 
 
 Cr. Macaque die ga qui nans bouche li pas cela-li. 
 
 Eng. Monkey has said (that) what's in his mouth is not his. 
 
 Ft. Le singe a dit que ce qui est dans sa bouche n'est pas a lui. 
 
 Cr. Cela qui moune live la yest? Cest ccla-nous. 
 
 Eng. Whose is the book? It is ours. 
 
 Fr. A qui est le livre? C est le notre. 
 
 Cr. Oti cela-zotes.'' li tomber nans pit evec cela-yeaux. 
 
 Eng. Where (is) yours!" It fell in (the) well (along) with theirs. 
 
 Fr. Oti est le votre? // esf tombe dans (le) puit avec le leur. 
 
 Remarks. 
 Natives of Guadaloupe, etc. form these Possessives somewhat 
 differently; e.g: 
 
 a. Conjunctives: — 
 
 1 . pays a-moen 
 
 2. bitin a-ous 
 
 3. popofe d-li 
 
 1. 
 
 2. 
 
 my countryman 1 . 
 your (portable) pro- 2. 
 
 mon compatriote 
 vos baggages 
 
 3. 
 
 perty 
 her doll 3. 
 
 sa poupee
 
 PRONOUNS— RELATIVES 39 
 
 b. Disjunctives: — 
 
 Creole. English. French. 
 
 1. ta moin 1. mine 1. le mien, etc. 
 
 2. ta toe 2. thine, yours 2. le tien, etc. 
 
 3. ta li 3. his, hers, its 3. le sien, etc. 
 
 This is a mutilation of the French Possessive construction, etre 
 a; e.g: c' est a moi, it is mine, etc. 
 
 Relative Pronouns 
 
 Are so calleci because they relate to some Noun or Pronoun pre- 
 ceding them. 
 
 We employ but two Relatives in the Trinidadian Patois viz., 
 qui, who, which; and ca, whom, which. The following are 
 illustrations of their use: 
 
 (qui) 
 
 Cr. Toele la qui la-sous lingue* la. 
 Eng. The cloth which is on the line. 
 Fr. La toUe qui est sue la ligne. 
 
 Cr. Chapeau la ga papa moen pede la. 
 Eng. That hat which my father lost. 
 Fr. Le chapeau que mon pere a perdu. 
 Cr. Missier la ga yeaux pougaller la. 
 Eng. The man whom they thrust out. 
 Fr. Le monsieur qu'on a mis dehors. 
 
 Except by children, ca is, however, seldom thus employed. The 
 most ordinary mode of expressing objective relations of this sort, 
 is by omitting the pronoun altogether, as is usually done in familiar 
 English, when, for example, we say: the hat my father bought for 
 me. the man they thrust out, the relative which being omitted in 
 the first sentence, and whom in the second. In Creole these 
 phrases are ordinarily: chapeau la papa mo.n ganen ba moen la; 
 missier la yeaux pougauuer la. 
 
 He who, they, who, (Fr. celui qui — ceux qui) are represented 
 in Creole by ga qui; e.g: ga qui content bebelle doe travaie pou li, 
 they who like finery ought to work for it, Fr. ceux qui aiment 
 des ornements doivent travailler pour les avoir. 
 
 *Pronounced leeng.
 
 40 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 What, the Compound Relative, Fr. ce que, ce dont, etc. is like- 
 wise ga in Creole; e.g: — 
 
 Cr. Ous trapper ga ous te envie 'a. 
 
 Eng. You have got what you desired. 
 
 Fr. Vous avez obtenu ce que vous desiriez. 
 
 Cr. Moen pas voer qz ous te paler moen la. 
 
 Eng. I have not seen that of which you had spoken to me. 
 
 Fr. Je n'ai pas vu ce dont vous aoiez parte. 
 
 Demonstrative Pronouns 
 
 Serve to point out objects. In Creole there is. strictly speaking, 
 but one Demonstrative Pronoun; viz cela-la (slah-lah,) or ga-la, 
 and this, like the Article Definite, always comes after its Noun; e.g; 
 
 Cr. Zombi cela-la: Eng. this ghost; Fr. cette apparition. 
 
 Cr. Jipe ^ala; Eng. this skirt; Fr. cette jupe. 
 
 These, the plural of this, is expressed in Creole by placing ces 
 
 before the Substantive and cela-la (slah lah) or ga-la after it; 
 e.g: toutes ces coupons cela-la pas Idges, all these (cloth) remnants 
 are not wide, Fr. reus ces coupons ne sont pas larges; ces bagga'ies 
 ga-la pas ca fair moen plesir, these things do not please me, Fr. ces 
 choses ne me plaisent pas. 
 
 The Demonstrative, that, which serves to point out remote 
 objects, has no exact equivalent in Creole. Sometimes, and especi- 
 ally in relative clauses, and after Possessives, the Creole Definite 
 Article (/a) resumes its demonstrative import; e.g. — 
 
 Cr. Nomme la ous te ouer la-bas-ld. 
 
 Eng. That man whom you saw yonder. 
 
 Fr Cet homme que vous avez vu la-bas. 
 
 Cr. Jadin moen la couvert epis zebes 
 
 Eng. That garden of mine is overgrown with grass. 
 
 Fr. Men jardin est rempli d' herbes. 
 
 Ces has already been noticed as performing in Creole the function 
 of Plural Definite Article. The same construction with la is used 
 to express the Plural Demonstrative, f/70se; eg: oui, ces jous la te 
 bons jous, yes, those days were good days, Fr. oui, ces jours-la 
 etaient de bons jours.
 
 INDEFINITE PRONOUNS 41 
 
 INDEFINITE PRONOUNS. «c. 
 
 To a certain class of words bearing a vague pronominal im- 
 port, Grammarians have given the names of Indefinite 
 Pronouns. Some of these are adjectives, and are sometimes joined 
 to Nouns, while others are substantives or abbreviated phrases. 
 
 The following are the most usual in Creole: — 
 
 Creole, 
 dien, ahcn 
 auCHaine 
 qa 
 
 chaque 
 chaquin 
 
 CHeque 
 
 CHeque-moune 
 
 CHeque-zins 
 
 dote 
 
 en- pile, yon pile 
 
 lezotes 
 
 lote 
 
 moune 
 
 ni yone ni lote 
 
 pesonne 
 
 qui-ci-soit 
 
 tel- moune 
 
 tous-le-dex 
 
 toute-baggdie 
 
 toute ga 
 
 toute-moune 
 
 yeaux 
 
 yon moune 
 
 yone-et-l6te, ) 
 
 yone-a-l6te \ 
 
 yone-o-hen-l6te 
 
 yone-o-l6te 
 
 von tel 
 
 English 
 nothing 
 
 no, adj. 
 
 whatever 
 
 each, every 
 
 every one 
 
 some one 
 
 some 
 
 somebody 
 
 some, a few 
 
 other, some other 
 
 many 
 
 others 
 
 the other 
 
 people, they, one 
 
 neither; both 
 
 no one, nobody 
 
 any — soever 
 
 such a one 
 
 both 
 
 everything 
 
 everything, whatever 
 
 everybody 
 
 people, folk 
 
 a body, some one 
 
 one another 
 
 either, one or the other 
 
 such a one 
 
 Illustrations. 
 Cr. Yon moune dte moen It ouer nous. 
 Eng. some one told me he saw us. 
 Fr. Quelqu'un m'a dit nous avoir vus. 
 
 French, 
 rien 
 
 aucun, aucune 
 ce que 
 
 chaqu'un une 
 
 quelqu'un, une 
 
 quelque 
 
 quelqu'un. une 
 
 quelques-uns, unes 
 
 d'autres 
 
 beaucoup (de gens) 
 
 autrui, les autres 
 
 I'autre 
 
 on 
 
 ni V un ni V autre 
 
 personne 
 
 qui ce soit 
 
 un tel 
 
 I'un et I' autre 
 
 tout, toute 
 
 tout ce (que) 
 
 tout le monde 
 
 on 
 
 quelqu'un 
 
 I'un et I' autre 
 
 I'un ou I'autre 
 un tel
 
 42 INTERPRETATION 
 
 Illustrations. 
 
 Cr. Pas fair /ezotcs fa ous pas si' vie yeaux fair zotes. 
 
 Eng. Do not to others what you would not wish them to do to you. 
 
 Fr. Ne faites pas a autrui ce que vous ne voudriez pas qu'on vous fit. 
 
 Cr. Yeaux ca die yon pile bagga'ies conte le. 
 Eng. People say many things against him. 
 Fr. On dit beaucoup de choses contre lui. 
 
 Cr. Pouend qz yeaux ha ous. 
 Eng. Take whatever they give you. 
 Fr. Prenez ce qu'on vous donne. 
 
 Cr. Moune ca conen nans lapote la. 
 Eng. Some one is knocking at the door. 
 Fr. On frappe a la porte. 
 
 Cr. Chaquin ca changer ont pou corp-yeaux. 
 Eng. Each is thinking only of himself. 
 Fr. Chaqu'un ne pense qua soi. 
 
 Cr. Si yeaux te die tel moune te ca chdcher nous. 
 Eng. If they had said such a one had been seeking us. 
 Fr. Si /'on avait dit qu'un tel nous cherchait 
 
 Cr. Moen pas ca doe ni yone ni lote. 
 
 Eng. I owe neither (of them). 
 
 Fr. Je ne dois ni a I'un ni a I'autrc. 
 
 Cr. Tit fie la jirer ni yonc ni lote. 
 Eng. The girl abused them both. 
 Fr. La fille invectiva I'un ct I'autre. 
 
 Cr. Oti fouer moen yest la, fr fouben toute-baggaic. 
 
 Eng. In his present condition, my brother is regardless of every thing 
 
 Fr. Dans I'etat ou mon frere se trouve, il ne regarde rien. 
 
 Cr. Pesonnc pas jamain die ga. 
 Eng. No one ever said that. 
 Fr. Personne n'a dit ce'.a. 
 
 REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS 
 A Reflexive Pronoun represents at the same time the agent 
 and object of an action. In Creole, the noun corps, body, prefixed
 
 REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS 
 
 43 
 
 to the Personals, expresses the reflexive idea in a manner at once 
 natural and forcible: — 
 
 Creole. 
 
 1 . corps-moen 
 1. corps-ous 
 3. corps-li 
 
 1 . corps-nous 
 
 2. corps-zotes 
 
 3. corps-yeaux 
 
 Singular. 
 
 
 English. 
 
 French 
 
 myself 
 
 me 
 
 yourself 
 
 te, vous 
 
 himself, herself, itself 
 
 s 
 
 Plural. 
 
 
 ourselves 
 
 nous 
 
 yourselves 
 
 vous 
 
 themselves 
 
 se 
 
 Illustrations. 
 
 Cr. Moen te ca paler bai corps-moen. 
 
 Eng. I was speaking to myself. 
 
 Fr. Je parlais a moi-meme. 
 
 Cr. Ous caller fini evec corps-ous. 
 
 Eng. You will ruin yourself. 
 
 Fr. Vous allez vous perdre. 
 
 Cr. Capitatne la blesser corps-Ii. 
 
 Eng. The captain wounded himself. 
 
 Fr. Le capitaine s' est blesse. 
 
 Cr. Anouns chopper corps-nous. 
 
 Eng. Let us take ourselves off. 
 
 Fr. Echappons nous. 
 
 Cr. Zofes pas connatte corps-zotes. 
 
 Eng. You don't know your (own) selves. 
 
 Fr. Vous ne vous connaissez pas 
 
 Cr. Yeaux amboese corps-yeaux 
 
 Eng. They (hurriedly) concealed themselves. 
 
 Fr. lis se sonf (vitement) caches. 
 
 When self is merely emphatic, it is rendered, as in French, by- 
 adding meme; e.g: — 
 
 1 . moen-meme 
 
 2. ous-meme 
 
 3. li-meme. 'i-meme 
 
 myself 
 
 yourself 
 
 himself, herself, itself 
 
 mot-meme 
 vous-meme 
 
 lui-meme
 
 44 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 Creole. English. French 
 
 1 . nous-memes ourselves nous-memes 
 
 2. zotes-memes yourselves vous-memes 
 
 3. yeaux-memes themselves eux-memes 
 
 Cr. Moen pe ouer qa mocn-meme, I can see that myself, Fr. Je puis voir 
 
 cela moi-meme. 
 
 Cr. Fair toute travaie la ous-meme, do all the work yourself, Fr. faites tout 
 
 le travail vous-meme. 
 
 Cr. Missier la happer tit mamaie la li-meme, the gentleman himself seized 
 
 the child, Fr. le monsieur a satsi I'enfant iui-mcme. 
 
 Very often, for the sake of greater emphasis, the Reflexives and 
 Compound Personals are combined; as, 
 
 Cr. Ous ca babinen corps-ous-meme, you are deceiving your (own) self, Fr. 
 vous vous trompez vous-meme. 
 
 Interrogative Pronouns 
 Serve to ask questions. Those commonly employed in Creole 
 are: — 
 
 a qui!' who? whose? fa.' (before relatives) who? what? qui? what? qui 
 fa.' what? quil-estce? which? which of them? qui-moune? who? 
 
 Illustrations. 
 Cr. a qui ous? who are you? Fr. qui etes-vous? 
 Cr. ^a qui la? who (^what) is there? Fr. qui est-la? 
 Cr. ^a ous pede? what (have) you lost? Fr. qu'avez-vous perdu? 
 Cr. compte qui moune zofes ca paler? of whom are you speaking? 
 
 Fr. de qui parlez-vous? 
 Cr. qui I marron? what! run away? Fr. quoi! evader? 
 Cr. main, qui ^a ous bale? but, what did you give? Fr. mats, 
 
 qu'avez-vous donne? 
 Cr. quil-estce ous simier? which do you prefer? Fr. lequel preferez- 
 
 vous? 
 Cr. qui-moune qa. ca vint la? who is it coming there? Fr. qui est 
 
 celui qui vient la 
 
 VERBS. 
 
 A Verb is a word which denotes being or doing. 
 
 With some few exceptions, the Verbs in Creole are French 
 Infinitives, often altered by mispronunciation. In adopting this 
 part of speech, the original framers of the dialect, having no
 
 VERBS 
 
 45 
 
 Other guide than the ear, not seldom made Infinitives of past 
 participles, indicatives, imperatives, and, sometimes, of even nouns, 
 adjectives and other parts of speech. In a set of Verbs so irregular- 
 ly derived, we should look in vain for that uniformity of ending, 
 which prevails in the French Conjugations. Nevertheless, a clear 
 insight into this part of Creole Grammar may be obtained, if, set- 
 ting aside the question of form, we examine the Verbs only with 
 reference to their actual derivation. Thus considered, they fall 
 under five heads, according as they represent, (a) real French 
 Infinitives; (6) Past Participles; (c) Indicatives; {d) Impera- 
 tives; and {e) Nouns, Adjectives, etc. converted into verbs. 
 
 a. French Infinitives. 
 
 1. Most verbs ending in the sound of e{r) ; as, 
 
 Creole. 
 
 
 English. 
 
 French. 
 
 bldmer 
 
 
 to blame 
 
 bldmer 
 
 crier 
 
 
 to call; Cr. to name 
 
 
 fiholer. 
 
 fihonler 
 
 to flourish (trans.) 
 
 fignoler 
 
 gonader 
 
 
 to deride, to provoke 
 
 goguenarder 
 
 sauter 
 
 
 to leap, jump 
 
 
 simen* 
 
 
 to scatter abroad 
 
 semer 
 
 touver 
 
 
 to find 
 
 trouuer 
 
 vider 
 
 
 to pour out 
 
 
 2. Verbs having the final sound of /, which represents tr of 
 the second French Conjugation: — 
 
 accompli Cr. 
 
 bannt 
 
 couout 
 
 fouemi, fouem'i 
 
 gdnt 
 
 hat 
 
 uet'i 
 
 to 
 
 fulfil 
 
 accomplir 
 
 to 
 
 banish 
 
 bannir 
 
 to 
 
 run 
 
 courir 
 
 to 
 
 shudder 
 
 (remir 
 
 to 
 
 garnish 
 
 garntr 
 
 to 
 
 hate 
 
 hair 
 
 to 
 
 warn 
 
 avertir 
 
 3. The following verbs of the third French Conjugation in 
 voir, Cr. t;oer; — 
 
 avoer 
 
 Cr. to procure, (to have) avoir, to have 
 
 * As has been remarked at page 5. the terminational er is usually converted 
 into en. after a nasal. This change affects very many infinitives of the first 
 French Conjugation: e.g: b'lmen, geumen, simen, tounen, etc. for, for abimer, 
 (se) gourmer, semer, tourner, etc.
 
 46 
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 Creole. 
 
 apecivoer, pecivoec 
 recivoer, ricivoer, 
 
 niouvoec 
 tivoec* 
 voer, ouer 
 
 English. 
 
 to perceive 
 to receive 
 
 French. 
 
 apercevoic 
 recevoir 
 
 to see again, to ask. again revoir, to see again 
 
 to see voir 
 
 4. Infinitives of the fourth French Conjugation, sounded in 
 Creole without the r:- — 
 
 confie to comfit, boil in sugar confire 
 
 coude to sew coudve 
 
 fouie to fry frire 
 
 viae to live vivre 
 
 But when re is in French preceded by nd (i.e. ndre) , both d and 
 r are dropped: — 
 
 craine to fear ccaindre 
 
 tone to melt fondre 
 
 joene to join jotndre 
 
 repone to answer repondre 
 
 Note — To avoid too wide a departure from the French ortho- 
 graphy, we have retained d. when n before it is preceded by e; 
 as dropping the former letter totally changes the pronunciation. 
 The d, however, must not be sounded: — 
 
 attende (attann) to wait for attendee 
 
 fende (fann) to split fendre 
 
 vende (vann) to sell vendee 
 
 b. French Past Participles Become Infinitives t In Creole. 
 
 apeci 
 
 to perceive, i.e 
 
 assise 
 
 to sit 
 
 cornmis 
 
 to commit " 
 
 couver 
 
 to cover 
 
 demis. dcmis 
 
 to sprain 
 
 echi 
 
 to elapse 
 
 ap erf iz 
 
 past 
 
 par. 
 
 of aperceooir 
 
 assise, f 
 
 
 
 s'asseoir 
 
 commis 
 
 
 
 " commettre 
 
 couvert 
 
 
 
 " couvrir 
 
 demis 
 
 
 
 " demettre 
 
 echu 
 
 
 
 " echoic 
 
 * This verb is often used in the latter sense — as, ous pas tni dien d rivoer 
 ep'is moi'n, you have nothing more to ask (or to seek) from me. 
 
 t For examples of this kind of verb-derivation, compare the English to accrue, 
 to apprise, from accru, past part, of acccoite, and apptis, past part, of apprendre, 
 and verbs ending in ate, from Lat. past parts, in atus.
 
 VERBS 
 
 47 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 French. 
 
 mor 
 
 to die 
 
 i.e. 
 
 mort 
 
 past 
 
 part. 
 
 of mourir 
 
 ne 
 
 to be born 
 
 it 
 
 ne 
 
 4f 
 
 
 naitre 
 
 ouver 
 
 to open 
 
 * * 
 
 ouvert 
 
 t{ 
 
 
 ouunr 
 
 pedi 
 
 to lose 
 
 " 
 
 perdu 
 
 
 
 " perdre 
 
 rcsoli 
 
 to resolve 
 
 ** 
 
 resolu 
 
 tl 
 
 
 " resoudre 
 
 so offer 
 
 to suffer 
 
 " 
 
 souffert 
 
 
 
 " souffrir 
 
 Souffoui (for souffirir) is pretty often heard in our Patois; but 
 couvoui, mououi, ouvoui (for couvrir, mourir, ouvrir) , 
 only by natives of Guadaloupe, Martinique, etc. 
 
 c. 
 
 Indicative Conversions. 
 
 The following verbs are conversions of French Indicatives into 
 Infinitives. It being difficult, in most of these cases, to deter- 
 mine what particular person of a given tense may have been at 
 first adopted, we deem it best to do away with inflectional forms 
 in this section also, when that could be effected without altering 
 the sound. For instance, we give the artificial form vau, instead 
 of vaux or vaut, both of which are pronounced vo* The other 
 substitutions, with their probable originals, may be seen in the 
 subjoined list: — 
 
 bate 
 
 to give from 
 
 bailie, baillent 
 
 
 Ind. 
 
 Prcs. 
 
 of bailler 
 
 doe 
 
 to owe 
 
 dots, doit {devez?) 
 
 
 
 *' 
 
 devoir 
 
 mode 
 
 to bite, (of a fish) 
 
 mordent {mordre?) 
 
 
 
 it 
 
 " mordre 
 
 pe 
 
 to be able 
 
 peux. peut 
 
 
 
 t€ 
 
 pouvoic 
 
 sa 
 
 iave 
 
 to know 1 
 
 saoent 
 
 
 
 4 ( 
 
 savoir 
 
 tc 
 
 was 
 
 etais, etait 
 
 
 
 Imp. 
 
 " etre 
 
 travaie 
 
 to work 
 
 travaille, travaillent 
 
 
 
 Pres. 
 
 " travailler 
 
 vau 
 
 to be worth 
 
 vaux, vaut 
 
 
 
 t( 
 
 " valoir 
 
 vie 
 
 to want 
 
 voulez (voulais, vov 
 
 dait?) 
 
 
 "etc." vouloir 
 
 To these may be added voudre and se, which represent the French 
 conditionals voudrais (or voudrait) , and serais (or serait) ; and 
 finally, ensouhaite, which forms a sort of optative. 
 
 d. Verbs From The Imperative. 
 
 We give the following as derived from Imperatives, although 
 they may, with a single exception, be from the second person 
 * See Orthography, page 12,
 
 48 
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 Stated,* we think the presumption is in favour of the former 
 plural Indicative Present as well. But, for reasons hereafter to be 
 view. The matter, however, is of small consequence. In the 
 following list, the verbs in tz are spelt with an et, to secure a 
 distinction between actual and derivational Infinitives. 
 
 Creole. 
 
 moder. moder 
 
 defaite 
 
 met tec 
 
 soucourer 
 
 tienne 
 
 English. 
 
 to bite 
 
 to loose 
 
 to put on, wear 
 
 to aid 
 
 to hold, keep 
 
 French. 
 
 i.e. mordez 2 pi. Impcr. of mordre 
 
 " defaites " " " " defaire 
 
 " mettez " " " " mettre 
 
 " secourez " " " " secouric 
 
 " (qui'il) tienne 3 sing. " tenir 
 
 C. 
 
 bisoen 
 
 content 
 
 credi 
 
 envie 
 
 gdouler 
 
 jalou 
 
 mecontent 
 
 pex 
 
 per 
 
 plein 
 
 soen 
 
 soucier, pas souciec 
 
 Nouns and Adjectives Employed as Verbs 
 
 to need from avoir besom (de) 
 
 to like 
 
 to give or take credit 
 
 to long for, to desire 
 
 to romp 
 
 to envy, be jealous of 
 
 to grow dissatisfied with 
 
 to be silent 
 
 to fear, to dread 
 
 to fill 
 
 to care, to nurse 
 
 to care nothing for 
 
 etre content (de) 
 
 vendre ou acheter a credit 
 
 avoir envie (de) 
 
 garruleux (adj.) 
 
 efre jaloux (de) 
 
 etre mecontent (de) 
 
 paix ! 
 
 avoir peur (de) 
 
 plein (adj.) 
 
 auoir soi'n (de) 
 
 etre soucieux, to be 
 
 anxious 
 
 To these may be added acoupi, to stoop or squat; ageounoux, to 
 kneel, Fr. croupir; etre a genoux. 
 
 Verbs Peculiar To The Creole. 
 
 In conformity with our plan, we here present a few specimens 
 of verbs peculiar as to origin or formation, with one or two 
 from English and Spanish :• — 
 
 (magot) 
 
 (Sp. aguantar) 
 * See Syntax of the Personal Pronouns. 
 
 amagoter 
 
 amblouser 
 
 aouantar 
 
 to bind, wrap up 
 to deceive 
 to contend
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 49 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English 
 
 Etymology 
 
 bobo 
 
 to 
 
 hurt, annoy 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 boucanen, boucaner 
 
 to 
 
 smoke (trans.) 
 
 
 
 
 bouffeter 
 
 to 
 
 snub 
 
 
 
 
 cancansinec 
 
 to 
 
 stagnate 
 
 
 
 (calcineri') 
 
 CHember* 
 
 to 
 
 hold, seize 
 
 
 
 (tiens bien?) 
 
 cheper 
 
 to 
 
 excel greatly 
 
 
 
 
 conitler 
 esconifler 
 
 to 
 
 loiter about, daw 
 
 die 
 
 
 
 corcobiar 
 
 to 
 
 prance; work ha 
 
 ,rd 
 
 
 (Sp. corcovear) 
 
 cosquelisec 
 
 to 
 
 make a laughing 
 
 -stock 
 
 of 
 
 
 drivdier 
 
 to 
 
 wander about, be a 
 
 
 (di'riuer) 
 
 
 
 vagabond 
 
 
 
 
 fel 
 
 to 
 
 fail 
 
 
 
 (Eng.) 
 
 (outer 
 
 to 
 
 strike, beat: cast 
 
 down 
 
 
 
 
 
 violently; give 
 
 in a ri 
 
 ide 
 
 
 
 
 manner 
 
 
 
 
 gdoulerf 
 
 to 
 
 romp 
 
 
 
 (gacruleux) 
 
 gouroupier 
 
 to 
 
 curry favour 
 
 
 
 (croupier) 
 
 graffinen, graf finer 
 
 to 
 
 scratch 
 
 
 
 (griff oner) 
 
 janjoler 
 
 to 
 
 twist, wriggle 
 
 
 
 
 lainder 
 
 to 
 
 beat, strike viol( 
 
 mtly 
 
 
 
 mdchicoter 
 
 to 
 
 tear or crush in 
 
 pieces 
 
 
 (mdchicatoire) 
 
 maCHucar 
 
 to 
 
 smash 
 
 
 
 (Sp. machucar) 
 
 marecager 
 
 to 
 
 entangle, involve 
 
 
 
 (marecage) 
 
 maconnen 
 
 to 
 
 sew or tie clumsily 
 
 
 
 mek-mek 
 
 to 
 
 mince matters 
 
 
 
 (Eng. make 
 make) 
 
 roddiec 
 
 to 
 
 ramble about 
 
 
 
 (roder) 
 
 saggdier 
 
 to 
 
 ransack; cut in 
 
 pieces 
 
 
 (saccager) 
 
 santourar 
 
 to 
 
 bless; ironically, 
 
 to abuse 
 
 (Sp. santoral) 
 
 * The Creoles in speaking use the interjection CHens! obviously the French 
 tiens! which is commonly employed in the same way; thus CHens.' moen CHember 
 zombi'i, hold! I have found him out, Fr. tiensl je I'ai surpris dans ses ruses. 
 
 t For gaoulex. The artificial forms in this list are intended for the better 
 discrimination dif these words when they are verbs. We may here repeat that 
 we usually adopt such forms whenever they appear to be necessary. For ex- 
 ample, in the section containing Creole infinitives that are in reality French past 
 participles, we have couver, mor, ouver, etc. for couuert, mort, ouvert; etc., these 
 latter forms being reserved for us as participles.
 
 50 
 
 VERBS— AUXILLIARIES 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 French. 
 
 stmier* 
 
 to prefer 
 
 (cf serait mieux?) 
 
 tociar 
 
 to bait bulls, etc. 
 
 (Sp. torear) 
 
 tounaier 
 
 to turn frequently 
 
 (fourner) 
 
 vaumier* 
 
 same as stmier 
 
 {vaut mieux) 
 
 vavoter 
 
 to whirl violently; hover; 
 wallow 
 
 
 vina'ier 
 
 to come often 
 
 (venir) 
 
 vonvonen, vonvonec to buzz 
 
 
 wdte- wdte 
 
 to say "what, what"; i.e. 
 to speak English 
 
 
 zeponen 
 
 to spur 
 
 Auxilliaries 
 
 (eperon) 
 
 Of all the Creole Auxilliaries, the most important and commonly 
 used is ca. With regard to the origin of this word, we have not 
 been able to discover anything satisfactory. But it is a verbal 
 particle which denotes progression or continuance. Prefixed to a 
 Verb, it forms the Present Tense Indicative, most usually with a 
 progressive import; as. yeaux ca dejinen, they are breakfasting, 
 Fr. lis dejeument. Mi yon sepent ca tot'ier corps-li nans zebe la, see 
 there, a snake is twisting itself in the grass, Fr. voild un serpent 
 qui se tortille dans I' her be. Denoting as it does the progress 
 of an action, ca is also a sign of the Imperfect Indicative. But, 
 in order to mark the past signification of this tense, te. an abbre- 
 viation of etais, or etait, was, is prefixed to ca. forming the com- 
 pound te ca, which is, in general, the characteristic of the Imperfect: 
 — thus, moen te ca dodiner bord caie la, I was loitering near the 
 house, Fr. je flanais pres de cette maison. 
 
 Shall or will, the future sign, is expressed in Creole, as often 
 in French, by means of the verb alter, to go: but only under the 
 forms c'aller (i.e. ca aller) , cder, and va ('a) ; c.g: nous c'aller die 
 li ga, we shall tell him (or her) that, Fr. nous lui dirons cela. 
 
 Should or would (conditional) is represented by se, an abbre- 
 viation oiserais, or serait, conditional of etre, to be. When 
 
 * See note on gaouler, preceding page.
 
 ETYMOLOGY 5 1 
 
 auxilliary, se loses its radical substantive meaning, and retains only 
 the modal sense of should or would; as, // pas se fair ^a, he would 
 not do (or have done) that, Fr. il n'aurait pas fait cela. But before 
 Adjectives and Past Participles, se resumes its legitimate import; 
 e. g: baggaie la pas se ban, si zotes pas te ranger li, the thing would 
 no be (or have been) good, if you had not arranger it, Fr. la chose 
 ne serait pas bonne, si vous ne I'aviez pas arrange. Lette la pas se 
 ecrit, the letter would not be (or have been) written, Fr. la let t re 
 ne serait pas ecrite. 
 
 Should have and would have may also be rendered by se, as 
 might be seen in the foregoing examples; but the most appropriate 
 mode of expressing these auxilliaries is by means of the combina- 
 tion se va; for instance, li se va aller. si nous te lesser li fair CHer //, 
 he would have gone, had we allowed him to follow his inclination, 
 Fr. il aurait alle, si nous lui avions permis de suivre son inclination. 
 Sometimes te va is used in the sense of should or would have. See 
 conjugation of manger. 
 
 Can in Creole is sa, which, like save, to know, is an abbrevia- 
 tion of the French savent, 3rd person plural Indicative of savoir. 
 Like the English "can," savoir and its Creole corruption, sa, pro- 
 perly denote ability resulting from knowledge; e.g:moen sa danser, 
 I can (i.e. know how to) dance, Fr. je sais danser. But neither in 
 Creole nor in English is this restriction observed. 
 
 May, denoting permission in English, is represented by pe, 
 a corruption of peux, or peut, part of the French, pouvoir. to be 
 able. Although a distinction is seldom made in the dialect between 
 pe and sa, we are yet of opinion that it would be preferable to use 
 the former in cases where the sense of the verb is permissive: for 
 example, — moen sa danser, main moen pe pas fair li apouesent , pace 
 moen en dei, I can dance, but I mag not do it now, because I am in 
 mourning. Ous sa aller, you can (i.e. are able to) go: oas pe aller, 
 you may (i.e. are permitted to) go. 
 
 May have or might have is expressed by means of the com- 
 bination se pe; thus, — Jean se pe aller avant solei te coucher: Jean
 
 52 VERBS— AUXILLIARIES 
 
 may (or might) have gone before the sun had set, Fr. Jean aurait pu 
 aller avant le coucher du soleil. 
 
 Could and might, as preterites of CAN and MAY, are respectively 
 te sa and te pe. Like se, when auxilHary, te loses its substantive 
 meaning, and serves as a mere sign of past time; as, nous te sa 
 ecri; main nous oblier, we could write, but have forgotten, Fr. 
 nous pouvions ecrire, mais nous I'avons outlier. 
 
 Must is rendered in Creole, as in French, by means of the 
 verb falloir, to be necessary. But the only forms employed in the 
 dialect are faut, fallait, and ,more rarely, faudrait and faudra. As 
 impersonals, fallait and faudrait might have been allowed to retain 
 their orthography, but it seems more correct to write them falle and 
 faudre, as pronounced by all ordinary speakers. For examples of 
 their use, see conjugation of manger. 
 
 Must have is te doe or doe te; e.g: li te doe ouer ga; or, better 
 still, // doe te ouer ga, he must have seen that. The former con- 
 struction may mean, "he ought to have seen that;" but the latter 
 presents no ambiguity. 
 
 There is also another locution meaning must have; viz manen or 
 mahen te; thus, chen la manen voer quechdie, the dog must seen 
 something; ous manen te die li ga, you must have told him so. 
 Sometime, though seldom, the French construction with aura is 
 employed; as, li aura te ouer li ca batte has, he must have seen him 
 in reduced circumstances. 
 
 Let, though not strictly speaking an auxilliary, may be allow- 
 ed some notice here. This verb is represented in Creole by lessez, 
 Fr. laissez; as, lessez-/r?oen die ous, let mc tell you, Fr. laissez-moi 
 vous dire. The Imperatives of quitter and aller (the latter under 
 the form of nouns, for allons) , are also used in the sense of 
 let, but there is a distinction in the meaning conveyed by the use 
 of each. Anouns is employed only in the first person plural, and 
 is an invitation; thus, — anouns chapper corps-nous, let us escape, 
 Fr. echappons-nous. Quittez and lessez are requests for permission 
 to do the action expressed by the verb they govern; as, quittez 
 (or lessez) yeaux pousser blague yeaux, let (or allow) them (to) 
 have their chat, Fr. qu'r7s aient leur blague. In conjugating 
 manger, we give more than one person in the Imperative, but
 
 • ETYMOLOGY 53 
 
 merely as a matter of practical convenience; for we are aware 
 that anouns, quittez, and lessez are not there auxilliaries, but 
 principal verbs governing manger in the Infinitive Mood. 
 
 Moods. 
 
 The Mood of a Verb is the manner in which it is used. 
 
 When a Verb asserts, whether affirmatively or negatively, it is 
 said to be in the INDICATIVE MoOD; as macaque connaite qui bois 
 It ca mouter, monkey knows what sort of tree he climbs, Fr. le singe 
 sait sur quelle arbre il faut grimper. La fimen pas ca soti sans dife, 
 smoke does not issue without fire, Fr. pas de fumee sans feu. 
 
 When a Verb expresses an action in a doubtful, qualified man- 
 ner, it is said to be in the SUBJUNCTIVE MoOD; as, si lamer te ca 
 checker , if the sea were to dry up; Fr. si la mer allait secher. 
 
 A Verb is in the IMPERATIVE MoOD when it commands or 
 requests; as, bad'nen bien epis macaque, main pouengade manen 
 laCHe li, joke with a monkey as much as you please, but beware 
 of handling his tail, Fr. amusez-i;ous tant que voudriez avec le singe 
 mais prenez-garde de lui tirer la queue. 
 
 A Verb expressing an action in a general, indeterminate, manner, 
 without any reference to an agent, is said to be in the INFINITIVE 
 MoOD; as, ricanen, to giggle, creoliser, to creolise. 
 
 Tenses. 
 
 Tense means time. 
 
 The Present Tense of a Verb denotes an action going on in 
 present time; as, li ca amblouser por bougue la, he is humbugging 
 the poor fellow, Fr. il trompe ce pauvre diable. 
 
 A Verb is said to be in the Imperfect Tense when it expresses an 
 action as going on in past time: as, yeaux te ca baie blow la Iher 
 moen river, they were relating the incident when I arrived, Fr. ils 
 racontaient cette affaire lorsque j'arrivai. 
 
 When wc speak of an action done in the past, without any 
 reference to its progress or duration, the Verb denoting such action 
 is said to be in the Preterite or Past Indefinite Tense; as, moen 
 voer li ca casser bois nans zoreies li, I saw he was obstinate, Fr. 
 je vis qu'il s'obstinait.
 
 54 
 
 VERBS— TENSES— CONJUGATION WITH CA 
 
 An action which is to take place, is expressed by the Future 
 Tense; as, ous c'aller batte li yon baboule, you wiil tell him a cock- 
 and-bull story, Fr. vois lui direz des sornettes. 
 
 The specialities of the Present and Past Perfect Tenses are, that 
 they denote action completed, the former at present, and the latter 
 m time past; e.g: Pres. Perf. moen voer ga deja, I have seen that 
 already, Fr. j'ai deja vu cela: — Past. Perf. nous te jd ouer ca, we 
 had already seen that, Fr. nous avions deja vu cela. 
 
 Conjugation. 
 
 The Verbs in Creole come under two classes or Conjugations. 
 The first, and by far the largest, comprehends all verbs that form 
 the Present and Impefect Indicative with ca; the second, which 
 may be called Irregular, comprises about twenty verbs that either 
 do not admit, or commonly dispense with, that auxilliary in 
 the formation of those tenses. 
 
 Conjugation with ca: ---Manger, To Eat. 
 Indicative Mood ---Present Tense. 
 
 Creole. 
 
 1 . moen ca manager 
 
 2. ous ca manger 
 
 3. li, (j) ca manger 
 
 1 . nous ca manger 
 
 2. zotes ca manger 
 
 3. yeaux ca manger 
 
 1 . moen te ca manger 
 
 2. ous te ca manger 
 
 3. li,('i) te ca manger 
 
 Singular. 
 English. 
 
 I eat. or am eating 
 you eat, or are eating 
 he, she eats, or is eating 
 
 Plural. 
 
 we cat, or are eating 
 you cat. or aie eating 
 they cat. or are eating 
 
 Imperfect Tense. 
 
 Singular. 
 
 I was eating 
 you were eating 
 he, she was eating 
 
 French. 
 
 je mange 
 vous mangez 
 il, elle mange 
 
 nous mangeons 
 vous mangez 
 ils, elles mangent 
 
 je mangeais 
 vous mangiez 
 tl, elle mangeait
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 55 
 
 Creole. 
 
 1 . nous te ca manger 
 
 2. zotes te ca manger 
 
 3. yeaux te ca mange: 
 
 Plural 
 
 English. 
 
 we were eating 
 ^ou were eating 
 they were eating 
 
 French. 
 
 nous mangions 
 
 vous mangiez 
 
 ils, elles mangeaient 
 
 Preterite and Perfect Tenses. 
 
 1 . moen manger 
 
 2. ous manger 
 
 3. li, ('/) manger 
 
 1 . nous manger 
 1. zotes manger 
 3. yeaux manger 
 
 1 . moen te manger 
 
 2. ous te manger 
 
 3. /( te manger 
 
 1 . nous te manger 
 
 2. zotes te manger 
 
 3. yeaux te manger 
 
 Singular. 
 
 I ate, or have eaten je mangeai, or ai mange 
 
 you ate, or have eaten vous mangedtes, or avez.mange 
 
 he, she ate, or have eaten il, elle mangea, or a mange 
 
 Plural. 
 
 we ate, or have eaten 
 you ate, or have eaten 
 they ate. or have eaten 
 
 nous mageames, or aeons 
 
 mange 
 vous mangedtes, or avez 
 
 mange 
 il, elles mangerent, or ont 
 
 mange 
 
 Past Perfect Tense. 
 
 Singular. 
 
 I had eaten 
 
 you had eaten 
 
 he or she had eaten 
 
 Plural. 
 
 we had eaten 
 you had eaten 
 they had eaten 
 
 j'avais, or eus mange 
 
 vous aviez, or eutes mange 
 
 il, elle avait, or eut mange 
 
 nous avions, or eumes mange 
 
 vous aviez, or eutes mange 
 
 ils, elles avaient, or eurent mange 
 
 1 . moen c'aller manger 
 
 2. ous c'aller manger 
 
 3. /(, ('i) c'aller manger 
 
 Future Tense. 
 
 Singular. 
 
 I will (or am going to) eat 
 you shall (or are going to) eat 
 he, she will (or is going to) eat 
 
 je mangerat 
 vous mangerez 
 tl, elle mangera
 
 56 
 
 CONJUGATION WITH CA 
 
 Plural, 
 
 Creole. 
 
 1 . nous c'aller manger 
 
 2. zotes c'aller manger 
 
 3. yeaux c'aller manger 
 
 English. 
 
 we shall, etc. eat 
 ye will, etc. eat 
 they shall, etc. eat 
 
 Other Forms, 
 
 Singular. 
 
 1 . moen cd'er manger I am going to eat 
 
 2. ous va manger you are going to eat 
 
 3. 'i cd'er, or // 'a manger he, she shall eat 
 
 French. 
 
 nous mangerons 
 vous mangerez 
 ils mangeront 
 
 1 . nous va manger 
 
 2. zotes cd'er manger 
 
 3. yeaux va manger 
 
 Plural. 
 
 we are going to eat 
 
 you will eat 
 
 they are going to eat 
 
 ye vats manger 
 vous allez manger 
 il, elle va manger 
 
 nous allons manger 
 vous allez manger 
 lis, elles vont manger 
 
 Conditional Mood- --Present Tense. 
 
 1 . moen se manger 
 
 2. ous se manger 
 
 3. li ('(') se manger 
 
 1 . nous se manger 
 
 2. zotes se manger 
 
 3. yeaux se manger 
 
 Singular. 
 
 I should eat 
 you would eat 
 he, she would eat 
 
 Plural. 
 
 we should eat 
 you would eat 
 they should eat 
 
 Past Tense, 
 
 je mangerais 
 vous mangeriez 
 il, elle mangerait 
 
 nous mangerions 
 vous mangeriez 
 ils mangeraient 
 
 Singular. 
 
 1 . moen se va manger I should have eaten /' aurais mange 
 
 2. ous se 'a manger you would have eaten vous auriez mange 
 
 3. // ('i) se va manger he, she would have eaten il, elle aurait mange 
 
 1 . nous se 'a manger 
 
 2. zotes se va manger 
 
 3. yeaux se va manger 
 
 Plural. 
 
 we should have eaten 
 you should have eaten 
 they should have eaten 
 
 nous aurions mange 
 vous auriez mange 
 lis auratent mange
 
 ETYMOLOGY— CONJUGATION WITH CA 
 
 57 
 
 Another Form. 
 
 Creole. 
 
 1 . moen te va manger 
 
 2. ous te 'a manger 
 
 3. li, (f) te 'a manger 
 
 Singular. 
 
 English. 
 should have eaten 
 you should have eaten 
 he, she would have eaten 
 
 French. 
 
 j' aurais mange 
 uous auriez mange 
 il, elle aurait mange 
 
 1 . nous te 'a manger 
 1. zotes te va manger 
 3. yeaux te 'a manger 
 
 Plural. 
 
 we would have eaten 
 you should have citen 
 they would have eaten 
 
 Imperative Mood, 
 
 nous aunons mange 
 vous auriez mange 
 lis auraient mange 
 
 2. mange? f * 
 
 3. lessez-U manger I 
 
 Singular. 
 
 eat I 
 
 let him eat! 
 
 mangezl 
 qu'il mangel 
 
 Plural. 
 
 1 . anouns manger let us eat 
 
 2. mangezl zotes mangezl eat! eat ye! 
 
 3. quittez-yeaux manger let them eat 
 
 mangeons 
 
 mangez I 
 
 qu'ils mangentl 
 
 Subjunctive Mood- --Present Tense 
 
 1 . SI moen manger 
 
 2. si ous manger 
 
 3. si li manger 
 
 Singular. 
 
 if I eat 
 if you eat 
 
 if he, or she eat 
 
 SI je mangeats, etc. 
 
 * Such departures from the infinitive form as those in the text, are purely 
 artificial: the Creole being essentially non-inflecting. The notion that there 
 may be an imperative form in the dialect is suggested by the identity of the 
 sound of ez (the termination of that Mood) with the Creole pronunciation of er. 
 But if we turn to those verbs whose final sounds are dissimilar to that of er, we 
 find in every case that the same sound heard in the Infinitive prevails throughout 
 all the other Moods. As instances take fimen. tounen. coude, joene, pende, 
 vive, etc.
 
 58 
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 Creole. 
 
 1 . mdgre nous manger 
 
 2. mdgre zotes manger 
 
 3. mdgre yeaux manger 
 
 French. 
 
 quoique nous mangtons, etc. 
 
 meme sije mangeais, etc. 
 
 English. 
 Plural. 
 
 altho' we eat 
 altho' you cat 
 altho' they eat 
 
 Past Tense. 
 
 1. guand-meme moen te manget tvcn tho' I ate 
 
 2. quand-meme ous te manger even tho' you ate 
 
 3. quand-meme 'i te manger even tho' he, she ate 
 
 Plural. 
 
 1. quoequi nous te manger altho' we ate, (had eaten) quoique nous ayons 
 
 mange, etc. 
 
 2. quoequi zotes te manger altho' you ate 
 
 3. (juoequi yeaux te manger altho' they had eaten 
 
 Potential Mood- --Present Tense, 
 
 Singular. 
 
 1 . moen sa (or pe) manger 
 
 2. ous sa (or pe) manger 
 
 3. si sa (or pe) manger 
 
 1. nous sa (or pe) manger 
 
 2. zofes sa (or pe) manger 
 
 3. yeaux sa (or pe) manger 
 
 I can or may eat 
 you can or may eat 
 he, she can or may eat 
 
 Plural. 
 
 je puis manger 
 vous pouvez manger 
 il, elle peut manger 
 
 we can or may eat nous pouvons manger 
 you can or may eat vous pouvez manger 
 they can or may eat ils, elles peuvent manger 
 
 1 . faut moen manger 
 
 2. faut ous manger 
 
 3. faut li manger 
 
 1 . faut nous manger 
 
 2. faut zotes manger 
 
 3. faut yeaux manger 
 
 Another Form. 
 
 Singular. 
 
 I must eat 
 you must cat 
 he, she must cat 
 
 Plural. 
 
 we must cat 
 you must cat 
 they must eat 
 
 ('/ faut que je mange 
 
 il faut que vous mangier 
 
 il faut qu'il mange 
 
 il faut que nous mangions 
 il faut que vous mangiez 
 il faut qu'ils mangent
 
 CONJUGATION WITH CA 
 
 59 
 
 Creole. 
 
 1 . moen te manger 
 
 2. ous te pe manger 
 
 3. SI te sa manger 
 
 I . nous te pe manger 
 1. zotes te sa manger 
 3. yeaux te pe manger 
 
 English. 
 
 Past Tense. 
 
 Singular. 
 
 I could cat 
 you might eat 
 he. she could eat 
 
 Plural. 
 
 we could eat 
 you could eat 
 they could cat 
 
 French. 
 
 je pouvais manger 
 vous pouviez manger 
 il, elle pouvait manger 
 
 nous pouvtons manger 
 vous pouviez manger 
 ils, elles ont pu manger 
 
 Perfect and Pluperfect Tenses. 
 
 1 . moen se pe manger 
 
 2. ous se pe manger 
 
 3. li se pe manger 
 
 1 . nous se pe manger 
 
 2. zotes se pe manger 
 
 3. yeaux se pe manger 
 
 Singular. 
 
 I may or might have eaten j' aurai pu man- 
 ger, etc. 
 you may or might have eaten 
 he (or she) may or might have eaten 
 
 Plural. 
 
 we might have eaten nous aurions pu man- 
 ger, etc. 
 fou may have eaten 
 they might have eaten 
 
 Infinitive Mood- --Present Tense. 
 
 Manger — To Eat. 
 
 Past Tense. 
 
 Pou te manger — To have eaten — Avoir mange. 
 
 Participles. 
 
 PRES. — Mangeant — Eating. 
 Past — Mange — Ea ten .
 
 60 
 
 ETYMOLOGY — CONJUGATION WITHOUT CA 
 
 Conjugation of a Verb without ca. 
 
 Aimen — To Love — Aimer. 
 
 Indicative Mood ---Present Tense, 
 
 Creole. 
 
 1 . moen aimen 
 
 2. ous aimen 
 
 3. /(' aimen 
 
 1 . nous aimen 
 1. zotes aimen 
 3. yeaux aimen 
 
 Singular. 
 English. 
 
 I Love 
 
 you love 
 
 he, she loves 
 
 Plural. 
 
 we love 
 you love 
 they love 
 
 French. 
 
 j' aime 
 vous aimez 
 il, elle aime 
 
 nous aimons 
 
 vous aimez 
 
 ils, elles aiment 
 
 Imperfect, Preterite, and Past Perfect Tenses. 
 
 Singular. 
 
 1 . moen te aimen I loved, had loved j'aimais, avais, eus aime 
 
 2. ous te aimen you loved, had loved vous aimiez, aviez, eutes oime 
 
 3. i te aimen he, she loved, had loved //, elle aimait, avait, eut aime 
 
 1 . nous te aimen 
 
 2. zotes te aimen 
 
 3. yeaux te aimen 
 
 Plural. 
 
 we loved, had loved 
 you loved, did love 
 they loved, had loved 
 
 nous avions aime, etc. 
 
 vous aimdtes, etc. 
 
 lis, elles eurent aime, etc. 
 
 These are, as before remarked, the only tenses in which the two 
 Conjugations differ. Besides aimen, the other verbs thus conju- 
 gated are: — 
 
 Creole. 
 
 bisoen 
 compter 
 connaite 
 content 
 
 English. 
 
 to need 
 to intend 
 to know 
 
 to like 
 
 French. 
 
 avoir besoin (de) 
 
 connaitre, savoic 
 
 aimer, etre content (de)
 
 INTERROGATIVE AND NEGATIVE CONJUGATIONS 
 
 61 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 French. 
 
 doe* 
 
 ou 
 
 ght 
 
 
 
 devoir 
 
 en vie 
 
 to 
 
 long 
 
 
 
 avoir en vie {de) 
 
 foubien 
 
 not to care 
 
 
 
 
 pas foubien ) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 hdi \ 
 
 to 
 
 hate 
 
 
 
 hair 
 
 honte 
 
 to 
 
 be ashamed 
 
 
 
 avoir honte, etre 1 
 
 jaloU 
 
 to 
 
 envy, to be 
 
 jealous 
 
 of 
 
 etre jaloux (de) 
 
 meriter 
 
 to 
 
 deserve 
 
 
 
 
 pe 
 
 to 
 
 be able 
 
 
 
 pouvoir 
 
 poueferer 
 
 to 
 
 prefer 
 
 
 
 preferer 
 
 sa 
 
 to 
 
 be able 
 
 
 
 pouvoir (savoir) 
 
 save 
 
 to 
 
 know 
 
 
 
 savoir 
 
 simier 
 
 to 
 
 perfer 
 
 
 
 preferer 
 
 soucier 
 
 not to care (seldom to 
 
 care 
 
 ) 
 
 tini 
 
 to 
 
 have, hold 
 
 
 
 avoir, tenir 
 
 vau 
 
 to 
 
 be worth 
 
 
 
 valoir 
 
 vaumiec 
 
 to 
 
 prefer, have 
 
 rather 
 
 
 
 vlef 
 
 to 
 
 wish, want 
 
 
 
 vouloir 
 
 INTERROGATIVE AND NEGATIVE CONJUGATIONS. 
 
 To conjugate a Verb interrogatively, no peculiar construction is 
 requireci: the tone of the voice being the usual mode of indicating 
 the nature of a proposition: — thus, moen manger? have I eaten? 
 Fr. ai-je mange? To employ the Verb negatively, pas must be 
 put immediately after the Nominative; e.g. — graisse pas tint senti- 
 ment, fatness is not fastidious, Fr. la graisse n'a pas de sentiment. 
 To ask a question negatively, the foregoing construction, usually 
 preceded by ece, is employed; as, ece yeaux toutes pas coer, or 
 simply, yeaux tcutes pas coer? did they not all believe.'' Fr. n'ont- 
 ils pas toas cru? The following are examples of these two modes 
 of construction: — 
 
 Vie, Tini, Save, Doe. 
 
 * Doe, meaning to owe, is also conjugated with ca: e. g. /;' ca doe moen yon 
 Idgent, he owes me some money, Fr. il me doit de I'argent. 
 
 t In the Syntax of Verbs the reader will see in what cases these words are 
 constructed with ca.
 
 62 
 
 ETYMOLOGY— REFLEXIVE CONJUGATION 
 
 Indicative Mood- --Present Tense. 
 
 Creole. 
 
 1. ece rnoen vie? 
 
 2. ece ous vie.'' 
 
 3. ece It vie? 
 
 1 . ece nous tni? 
 
 2. ece zotes tni? 
 
 3. ece yeaux tni 
 
 English. 
 
 Singular. 
 
 do I want? 
 do you wish? 
 does he want? 
 
 French. 
 
 est-ce je ceux? etc. 
 
 Plural. 
 
 have we? 
 have you? 
 have they? 
 
 avons-nous.'' etc. 
 
 and so on through all the Moods and Tenses. 
 
 Save — To Know — Doe — To Owe. 
 
 Indicative Mood- --Present Tense. 
 
 Creole. 
 
 1. moen pas save 
 
 2. vous pas save 
 
 3. 'i pas save 
 
 1 . nous pas ca doe 
 
 2. zotes pas ca doe 
 
 3. yeaux pas ca doe 
 
 English. 
 Singular. 
 
 I do not know 
 you do not know 
 he does not know 
 
 Plural. 
 
 we do not owe 
 you do not owe 
 they do not owe 
 
 French. 
 
 je ne sais pas, etc. 
 
 nous ne devons pas, etc. 
 
 REFLEXIVE CONJUGATION. 
 
 Is performed by placing the Reflexive Pronouns immediately 
 after the Verb, thus: — 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 1 . moen ca soen corps-moen 1 am caring myself 
 
 2. ous content corps-ous you like yourself 
 
 3. ':' amboese corps-It he concealed himself 
 
 French. 
 
 je me soigne 
 vous vous aimez 
 il s'est cache
 
 THE PASSIVE VOICE— TRANSITIVES AND INTRANSITIVES 63 
 
 THE PASSIVE VOICE. 
 
 Owing to the absence of inflections, but, perhaps chiefly to the 
 want of a regular Substantive Verb, the Creole is essentially sub- 
 jective. In fact, it may be broadly stated that a purely passive 
 construction is never used in the dialect, except by persons in some 
 measure acquainted with French. The Past Participles, which, in 
 most languages, are the bases of passive constructions, have in 
 general lost their verbal force and become pure adjectives; etre, the 
 verb to be, whereof only a few corruptions exist under the forms 
 te, se, etc.,* possesses its radical force only now and then. The 
 passive phrases that can be formed by us are with te and se alone; 
 but, owing to the ambiguity that may arise from employing them 
 in this way, we usually construct our sentences actively. For 
 example: he is loved, Cr. yeaux aimen li, they love him. If we 
 say h aimen simply, the expression would unavoidably be under- 
 stood as, he loves; similarly, nous se soupouende, would mean, 
 we would surprise; but a passit'e locution may be formed by adding 
 a complement to the sentence: thus, nous se soupouende pa ces 
 mounes la, we would be surprised by those people, Fr. nous serions 
 surpris par ces gens-la. Constructions of this kind are evidently 
 French, and should seldom be used, as they are not only grotesque, 
 but ambiguous as well. 
 
 TRANSITIVES AND INTRANSITIVES. 
 
 Most verbs in Creole may be used transitively; that is to say, 
 with an accusative after them. This arises chiefly from the general 
 suppression of the monosyllables used in French to denote the 
 reflexive or intransitive nature of certain verbs. Each of the 
 following, for instance, though governing an accusative in Creole, 
 requires both the reflexive pronoun and a preposition for their 
 correct employment in French: — 
 
 * For further remarks on the verb to be, Idiomatic constructions of the Verbs, 
 etc., see Syntax of the Verbs and List of Idioms.
 
 64 
 
 ETYMOLOGY— IMPERSONALS — ADVERBS 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 enentende misique to understand music 
 
 chopper yon volee to escape a thrashing 
 
 mdier yon fie to marry a girl 
 
 moCHer grands mounes to ridicule elderly folk 
 
 French. 
 
 s'entendre en musique 
 s'echapper dune castigation 
 se marier a une fille 
 se moquer des grandes per- 
 sonnes 
 
 From the above examples it will be seen that the omission in 
 Creole of se, a and de, alters the relation between verbs and their 
 dependent cases, and makes direct regimens of these last. 
 
 There are, however, some verbs which, from the meaning they 
 convey, or by the decision of custom, cannot be used transitively 
 in Creole, viz. ; — • 
 
 assise, to sit; domi, to sleep; gdouler, to romp; mor, to die; 
 pan, to start; pe, to be able; rodaier, to dawdle about; sa, can; 
 soti, to go out; vavoter, to revolve; vim, to come; vive, to live; etc. 
 
 IMPERSONALS. 
 
 The Creoles employ fair, to make, in combination with certain 
 adjectives, to describe impersonally the state of the weather or 
 atmosphere. The invariable nominative of the impersonals thus 
 formed is 'i, it, which is more generally dropped than expressed 
 in conversation. We subjoin the impersonals: — 
 
 Creole. 
 
 (i) ca fair beaut emps 
 
 te ca fair bouin 
 (i) te fair cbaud 
 
 English. 
 
 it is fairweather 
 it was dusk 
 it was warm 
 
 French. 
 
 il fait beau 
 
 c'etait sur la brune 
 
 il faisait chaud 
 
 To which we must add fair clair, to be light; fair foete, to be 
 cold; fair noer, to be dark; and also fair solei, to be sunny 
 
 ADVERBS. 
 
 An Adverb is joined to a Verb, an Adjective, or another Adverb, 
 to qualify or to express some cicumstance respecting it; as, '/ ca
 
 ETYMOLOGY— ADVERBS 
 
 65 
 
 doloter iches li touplein,* he coddles his children a great deal, Fr. 
 II dorlote beaucoup ses en fonts; — madame la tini yon lair touo' 
 dende pou moen, that lady has too determined an air for me, Fr. 
 cette dame a I'air trop determine pour moi; — yon fois ce pou 
 coua-coua, li 'a vim bien vitement, so its for a feed, he will come 
 very quickly, Fr. pourvu que ce soit pour manger, il viendra bien 
 vite. The Adverbs aee mostly the same as in French. Those that 
 are peculiar will appear in the ensuing list. 
 
 As in French and English, adjectives are often used adver- 
 bially; e.g.: — 
 
 Cr. Conga, 'i paler gras ba yeaux, ein? 
 Eng. so, he spoke fat (i.e. boastfully) to them, did he? 
 Cr. Tit mammdie la ca fair toute-baggaie douole. 
 Eng. The (that) child does everything droll (i.e. strangely.) 
 Fr. Cet enfant fait toutes choses drolement. 
 
 LIST OF ADVERBS. 
 
 Of Time. 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 French. 
 
 a -la -fois 
 
 at once, at a time 
 
 a la fois 
 
 apOLtes 
 
 after 
 
 apres 
 
 apoues demain 
 
 day after to-morrow 
 
 apres domain 
 
 apoues-mindi 
 
 in the afternoon 
 
 apres midi 
 
 apouesent 
 
 now, at present 
 
 a present 
 
 ttussitot, sitot 
 
 as soon as. soon 
 
 aussitot 
 
 avant 
 
 before, beforehand 
 
 (auparavant) 
 
 avant-heir, avant-zier 
 
 day before yesterday 
 
 avant hter 
 
 belle-drive 
 
 a long while ago 
 
 
 bientot 
 
 soon 
 
 bientot 
 
 CHequefois 
 
 sometimes 
 
 quelquefois 
 
 deja, ' ja 
 
 already 
 
 deja 
 
 demain 
 
 to-morrow 
 
 demain 
 
 dre-en-avant 
 
 from henceforth 
 
 dorenavant 
 
 dri 
 
 often 
 
 (dru) 
 
 encor 
 
 again 
 
 
 * For tout plein.
 
 66 
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 Creole. 
 
 encor (after pas) 
 
 ensouite 
 
 jadis, or rather 
 nans temps jadis 
 
 jamain 
 
 Iher 
 
 lote-fois, lezotes-fois 
 
 pdncor- poncor 
 
 phot 
 
 quant-et-quant (t sounded) 
 
 rdment 
 
 soudainement 
 
 souvent, souventment 
 
 tandis, tandique 
 
 tantot 
 
 tan tot -Id 
 
 temps 
 
 to'-o-tdd 
 
 tous-le-moLiments 
 
 toujous 
 
 tous-le-jous 
 
 tout-d-lher 
 
 tou-souite 
 
 a-cote 
 
 a-doete 
 
 au-fond 
 
 d-goche 
 
 allien 
 
 alentoCi, lentoH 
 
 a-pdt 
 
 au-poues 
 
 cote^ qui cote? 
 
 dehors, deouors 
 
 deiec 
 
 English. 
 
 any more 
 afterwards 
 
 formerly 
 
 never 
 
 when 
 
 formerly, in ancient times 
 
 not yet 
 
 sooner, rather 
 
 at the same time, 
 
 simultaneously 
 
 rarely, seldom 
 
 suddenly 
 
 often 
 
 whilst 
 
 by and by 
 
 a little while since 
 
 when 
 
 sooner or later 
 
 every minute 
 
 always, still 
 
 every day 
 
 just now, presently 
 
 directly 
 
 Of Place 
 
 aside, away 
 to the right 
 to the bottom 
 to the left 
 elsewhere 
 round about 
 apart, separately 
 near by 
 
 where? whither? 
 outside 
 behind 
 
 French. 
 
 ensutte 
 jadis 
 
 jamais 
 
 (d I'heure que) 
 autrefois 
 pas encore 
 plutot 
 
 rarement 
 
 souvent 
 tandis que 
 tantot 
 
 tot ou tard 
 tous les moments 
 toujours 
 tours les jours 
 tout-a-e'heure 
 tout de suite 
 
 a droite 
 
 ailleurs 
 alentouc 
 a part 
 au pres 
 quel cote? 
 dehors 
 derriere
 
 ADVERBS 
 
 67 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 dicite, dicite-ici 
 
 from here 
 
 en-aoant 
 
 
 forwards 
 
 en-bas 
 
 
 below 
 
 en-erier 
 
 
 backwards 
 
 en-haut 
 
 
 aloft, above 
 
 en -I air 
 
 
 above, atop 
 
 jisse '^ 
 
 
 
 jouque > 
 
 icite 
 
 up to here 
 
 jousse 
 
 
 
 jousse oti 
 
 ? 
 
 how far? 
 
 la 
 
 
 there 
 
 la-bas-la 
 
 
 yonder 
 
 loen 
 
 
 afar 
 
 oti 
 
 
 where 
 
 poues 
 
 
 near 
 
 pouoche 
 
 
 near by 
 
 French. 
 
 d'ici 
 
 en arriere 
 
 {en I'air) 
 
 jusqui'ici 
 
 jusqu'ou.^ 
 
 la -has 
 
 loin 
 
 oti (es-tui') 
 
 pres 
 
 proche 
 
 a-corps-dort-a-corps-vei 
 
 d-couba 
 
 a -dad a 
 
 a-lassaut 
 
 a-lenvers 
 
 au-biCoule 
 
 bien 
 
 caba-cabd 
 
 con, comme 
 
 con ga meme 
 
 coument 
 
 coument coument 
 
 counan-counan ) 
 canan-canan \ 
 
 di suite 
 
 di-vient? dod-vient? 
 
 en-balan 
 
 en -bene en -bene 
 
 en-bies 
 
 Of Manner. 
 
 cautiously 
 
 clumsily; schemingly 
 
 astride 
 
 unawares 
 
 wrong-side-out 
 
 to perfection 
 
 well 
 
 clumsily 
 
 like, as 
 
 in like manner 
 
 how 
 
 at all events, however 
 
 slowly 
 
 successively 
 
 how comes it (that) ? 
 
 swayingly 
 
 furtively, sneakingly 
 
 slanting, athwart 
 
 comme 
 (comme cela meme) 
 
 comment 
 
 de suite 
 
 d' ou vient? 
 
 (Eng. bend) 
 
 a corps dort a corps veille 
 
 (d I'assaut) 
 a-ienvers 
 
 J2
 
 68 
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 Creole. 
 
 
 English. 
 
 French. 
 
 en-biscade 
 
 
 covertly 
 
 (ambuscade) 
 
 en-bouloque 
 
 
 higgledy piggledy 
 
 
 ensembe 
 
 
 together 
 
 ensemble 
 
 espoues 
 
 
 purposely 
 
 expres 
 
 mal, malment. 
 
 malouque 
 
 badly 
 
 mal 
 
 miex 
 
 
 better 
 
 mieux 
 
 pdfoce 
 
 
 forcibly, reluctantly 
 
 par force 
 
 pele-mele, en 
 
 peque-mele 
 
 confusedly 
 
 pele mele 
 
 piame-piame 
 
 
 so so, by degrees 
 
 
 poc-a-poc (Sp.) 
 
 gradually, little by little 
 
 
 ric-d-rac 
 
 
 up to the brim 
 
 ric a ric 
 
 sang foete 
 
 
 calmly, in cool blood 
 
 de sang froid 
 
 sans fote 
 
 
 without fail 
 
 san faute 
 
 sans honte 
 
 
 shamelessly 
 
 
 sans pider 
 
 
 immodestly 
 
 sans pudeur 
 
 shout 
 
 
 especially 
 
 surtout 
 
 so-so (Eng.) 
 
 
 indifferently 
 
 
 tant-soet-pe 
 
 
 very little, however small 
 
 (tant soit peu) 
 
 tout-din-coup 
 
 
 all of a sudden 
 
 {tout d'un coup) 
 
 touop 
 
 
 too, too much 
 
 trop 
 
 touop pe 
 
 
 too little 
 
 trop peu 
 
 tout-a-faite 
 
 
 altogether, entirely 
 
 (une fois) 
 
 yon-fois 
 
 
 at once 
 
 tout a fait 
 
 Of Affirmation, Denial, &c. 
 
 absoliment , assoliment 
 
 a-coup-s'i 
 
 aussi 
 
 bien si 
 
 qasse-pe 
 
 cetelement 
 
 coument-non^ 
 
 jamain 
 
 na (in songs) 
 
 non 
 
 non coument 
 
 assuredly 
 
 of course 
 
 also 
 
 very true 
 
 perhaps 
 
 certainly 
 
 how so? most decidedly 
 
 never 
 
 (do) not 
 
 no 
 
 no indeed 
 
 absolument 
 a coup sur 
 
 bien sur 
 
 cela se peut 
 
 certainement 
 
 comment done!' 
 
 [amais 
 
 ne
 
 ADVERBS— PREPOSITIONS 
 
 69 
 
 Creole. 
 
 pas 
 
 pas piece 
 
 pCitete 
 
 pou-toute-bon, toute-bon 
 
 sans doute 
 
 san die menti 
 
 English. 
 
 not 
 
 not at all 
 
 perhaps 
 
 really, in good sooth 
 
 doubtless 
 
 truly 
 
 French 
 
 pent etre 
 
 {pour tout de bon) 
 
 (sans dire mentir) 
 
 Of Quality, Number, Sec, 
 
 a-bime-so 
 
 abundantly 
 
 
 assez 
 
 enough 
 
 
 assez con qa 
 
 a pretty good deal 
 
 
 au-moens 
 
 at least 
 
 au moins 
 
 autant 
 
 as many, as much 
 
 
 beaucoup 
 
 a great deal, a great many 
 
 
 commen, combe 
 
 how many 
 
 combien 
 
 di-plis 
 
 in excess 
 
 de plus 
 
 encor 
 
 more 
 
 
 en- pile 
 
 much, a great deal 
 
 en pile 
 
 Ger (with pas) 
 
 (not) much 
 
 guere 
 
 gran-choie 
 
 much 
 
 grand' chose 
 
 ho-to-to 
 
 in abundance 
 
 
 moence 
 
 less 
 
 moins 
 
 pe 
 
 few, little 
 
 peu 
 
 pi is 
 
 more 
 
 plus 
 
 tant 
 
 so much 
 
 
 PREPOSITIONS 
 
 Prepositions are put before the words they govern, to show the 
 relation which these words bear to others, as: — 
 
 Cr. Bef nans code ce* pou CHouer. 
 Eng. Ox in rope is to (be) killed. 
 Fr. Boeuf a la corde est pour etre tue 
 
 * This word represents the French c'esf, it is: but as neither ce nor est is 
 used singly in Creole, and as the combination c' est does duty for the verb to be, 
 we shall in future adhere to the spelling given above, for reasons already stated 
 at pages 1 2 and 47.
 
 70 
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 Cr. Live moen endidans sac ous. 
 Eng. My book (is) in your bag. 
 Fr. Mon livre est dans votre sac. 
 
 The following list contains the prepositions commonly used in 
 Creole: 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 French. 
 
 a-ce-pou 
 
 
 as to, with 
 
 regard to 
 
 
 alentou, lentou 
 
 around, about 
 
 (alentour) 
 
 apoues 
 
 
 after 
 
 
 apres 
 
 avant 
 
 
 before 
 
 
 
 compte 
 
 
 about, with 
 
 regard to 
 
 sur compte de 
 
 conte 
 
 
 against 
 
 
 contre 
 
 deier 
 
 
 behind 
 
 
 derriere 
 
 depts 
 
 
 since 
 
 
 depuis 
 
 di 
 
 
 of 
 
 
 de 
 
 did, dicite 
 
 
 from 
 
 
 d'ici 
 
 dirant, dirant temps 
 
 whilst 
 
 
 durant 
 
 en 
 
 
 in 
 
 
 
 en-bas 
 
 
 under, beneath 
 
 
 en-didans 
 
 
 within 
 
 
 (en dedans) 
 
 en-Gise 
 
 
 instead of 
 
 
 (en guise de) 
 
 en-haut 
 
 
 above 
 
 
 
 en-tirant 
 
 
 excepting 
 
 
 
 en-travers 
 
 
 across 
 
 
 
 ente 
 
 
 between 
 
 
 entre 
 
 envers 
 
 
 towards 
 
 
 
 epis * 
 
 
 with 
 
 
 
 excepte, cepte 
 
 except 
 
 
 excepte 
 
 fote 
 
 
 for want of 
 
 
 faute de 
 
 bode 
 
 
 out of 
 
 
 hors de 
 
 j'lque, jisse. 
 
 jouque, jousse 
 
 up to 
 
 
 j usque 
 
 lacd'ie 
 
 
 at the house 
 
 of 
 
 
 la-sous 
 
 
 upon, on 
 
 
 (lu-dessus) 
 
 lote-bod 
 
 
 beyond 
 
 
 Ad ['autre bord de) 
 
 * epis, with, so spelt to distinguish it from et-pis, and — both representing 
 the French connective et puis, and then, after that, etc.
 
 PREPOSITIONS— CONJUNCTIONS 
 
 71 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 magre 
 
 in spite of 
 
 nans 
 
 in 
 
 nans mi tan 
 
 amidst 
 
 Pfl 
 
 by 
 
 pami 
 
 amongst 
 
 pendant, pennant 
 
 while 
 
 pou 
 
 for 
 
 poues 
 
 near 
 
 sans 
 
 without 
 
 sove 
 
 save 
 
 silon, soulon 
 
 according to 
 
 suivant 
 
 according to 
 
 vis-a-vis 
 
 opposite 
 
 French. 
 
 walgre 
 dans 
 
 par 
 
 parmi 
 
 pendant 
 
 pour 
 
 pres 
 
 sauf 
 selon 
 
 CONJUNCTIONS. 
 
 Conjunctions join words and sentences together; as, moen et-pis 
 fouer nous, I and our brother, Fr. moi et notre frere; 'i se cnet ca 
 yon genement, si 'i te nans chimen li, he would have called that an 
 obstacle, if it were in his path, Fr. // aurait appeler cela un obstacle, 
 s'il se trouvait dans son chemin. 
 
 The Conjunctions usually heard in Creole are:- 
 
 Creole. 
 
 ainsi, alosse 
 
 avant 
 
 conga 
 
 davoer 
 
 et, et-pis 
 
 magre 
 
 mdgre-si 
 
 ni — ni 
 
 o, 
 
 oben 
 
 pace 
 
 si 
 
 English. 
 
 so, therefore 
 rather than 
 so, therefore 
 because 
 and 
 
 although 
 however if 
 neither- — nor 
 
 or 
 
 because 
 if 
 
 French. 
 
 (ainsi, alors) 
 (avant de) 
 (comme cela) 
 (d' avoir) 
 {et puis) 
 malgre 
 
 (ou, ou lien) 
 parceque
 
 72 
 
 ETYMOLOGY INTERJECTIONS DEVELOPMENTS 
 
 Creole. 
 
 soet — o, soet- 
 pisse 
 poutant 
 none 
 
 -oben 
 
 English. 
 
 either- 
 
 — or 
 
 since 
 
 
 yet 
 
 
 then, 
 
 therefore 
 
 French. 
 
 soil 
 
 puisque 
 pouctant 
 done 
 
 INTERJECTIONS. 
 
 Interjections are ejaculations by which we give vent to suciden 
 emotions; as, 
 
 Oui foute! // flambel Oh dear! he is done for! 
 
 In Creole there is an infinitude of these ejaculations. To 
 attempt to translate them, as is done in some books, is simply 
 absurd; inasmuch as the correct rendering of any of them by a 
 particular expession must depend upon tones and other cu-um- 
 stances which no grammar can take into account. We content 
 ourselves, therefore, with submitting a few examples, under head 
 of the emotion which n70sr usually gives utterance to them: — 
 
 Anger: — cri blel tombeau! toulouse! temponl tonner, tonner dt 
 sort! tonner di boesel tonner mecoul tonner melenguel 
 totie, totie terl sanicoton! etc. 
 
 Joy: — bouavol hourrel bienl etc. 
 
 Grief: — aiel aie aie aiel helas! woi! etc. 
 
 Apprehension: — oui foute! oui pipe! oui maman! etc. 
 
 Surprise: — ah ah! eh eh'- oh oh! eh ben! etc. 
 
 DIALECTIC DEVELOPMENTS. 
 
 Spoken as it is by thousands upon thousands of human beings, 
 to most of whom all other language is unkonwn, the Creole would 
 have been a singular dialect indeed, if, from its formation up
 
 ETYMOLOGY— DEVELOPMENTS 73 
 
 to the present time, it had continued to be a mere jumble of 
 French words, uncouthly pronounced, and, at best, pervertedly 
 understood. A language spoken and yet inert is an impossibility. 
 Hence this rude patois, though abandoned to the ignorant, and 
 used only occasionally among instructed persons, yet exhibits one 
 of the vital characteristics of living tongues in its capability of 
 generating new terms from radicals within itself. Of course, the 
 operation of this procreating energy is but fitful and limited; 
 but to a true philologer it suggests a curious speculation on 
 what the Creole might have been, were circumstances favourable 
 to its independent growth and cultivation. 
 
 In the foregoing portions of this work we have given specimens 
 of peculiar word-formations; but only in illustration of general 
 statements, and without reference to the principles followed in 
 the construction of those which are not mere corruptions but 
 real developments of other forms. We will here offer a few remarks 
 on these, but our attention will be confined to nouns and verbs, 
 as they are more extensively formed in Creole than any other 
 kinds of words. 
 
 NOUNS. 
 
 In framing nouns, generally from verbal roots, the most common 
 termination is ade; as, from 
 
 VERB NOUN 
 
 devirer (Fr. devier) to turn back, dcoirade, a turning back 
 
 boulevessec (Fr. bouleverser) to upturn, boulevessade. an upturning. 
 
 rimen (Fr. remuer) to stir, rimade, a stirring, 
 
 soucrer (Fr. secouer) to shake, soucrade, a shaking. 
 
 In fact, a great number of verbs may, by means of this termina- 
 tion, be converted into perfectly intelligible Creole nouns. Nor 
 are these new formations superfluous, even when the legitimate 
 derivatives are also used; for these synonomous terms, in the lips 
 of even the most ignorant, express those distinctions in a general 
 idea which are so apt to be confounded. For example, the 
 French substantive from secouer, to shake, is secousse, in Creole 
 soucousse. The usual meaning of this word in Creole as in 
 
 K
 
 74 ETYMOLOGY— DEVELOPMENTS 
 
 French, is, a shock, or sudden agitation. The Creole soucrade, 
 on the other hand, signifies a shaking. Of course, the general 
 notion of agitation adheres to both words; but even they who 
 cannot see the difference between a shaking and a shock, could 
 not fail to learn it, — from a little practical experience of both. 
 At all events, a Creole, if he has felt a shock, would say, moen 
 senti yon soucousse; but if he got a shaking, say, from the jolting 
 of a cart, moen trapper yon soucrade, must be his language, or he 
 will not have said what he intended. 
 
 A little less common than ade, and often substituted for it, 
 is the noun-ending age, Creolice die. But, unlike ade, which 
 usually denotes the act of doing, die mostly signifies the thing 
 done. The former answers, therefore, to the English ing, and 
 the latter to ion: the one often used for the other, as age, or d'e is, 
 in Creole, iorade. We subjoin specimens of words in aie: — 
 
 VERB. NOUN. 
 
 direr (Fr. durer) to last, la diraie. duration. 
 
 velopper to wind, veloppdie, a winding or fold. 
 
 maron to flee, marondie flight. 
 
 soucrer to shake soucrdie, agitation 
 
 maconen to sew clumsily, macondie, a clumsy suture. 
 
 The other nominal terminations are ment and te, of which, we 
 believe, the latter is most rarely used. In fact, the only words that 
 we have discovered with this ending, are bouavete, bravery, from 
 bouave, brave (Fr. noun, bravoure) : and make distress from mat, 
 in the Creole sense of being "hard up," or in low circumstances. 
 We find ment in toUnement, a turning from tounen. Fr. tourner, 
 to turn, genement obstacle, impediment, from genen. (Fr. gener) 
 to impede, — or, what is not unlikely, genement might be formed 
 from gene by apapoge of ment. 
 
 VERBS 
 
 Exclusive of a number of verbs of genuine Creole growth, there 
 are a few from French etymons to which we shall devote a mom- 
 ent's attention. To be brief, we shall speak only of those con- 
 structed from verbs; as they are somewhat curious. The termination
 
 ETYMOLOGY— DEVELOPMENTS 75 
 
 of these, as indeed of most verbs in the dialect, is er, which replaces 
 whatever other ending the original verb may have. Between the 
 termination and the root, the syllable a'i is inserted, and this gives 
 a frequentative meaning to the new formation; e.g.: — 
 
 SIMPLE 
 
 FORM. 
 
 
 
 FREQUENTATIVE. 
 
 driver. 
 
 
 to 
 
 stagger 
 
 driva'ier. 
 
 to stagger much. 
 
 rimen. 
 
 
 to 
 
 stir 
 
 rima'ier. 
 
 to agitate. 
 
 tounen. 
 
 
 to 
 
 turn 
 
 touna'ier. 
 
 to turn often 
 
 vim. 
 
 
 to 
 
 come 
 
 vindier, 
 
 to come frequently 
 
 We here close the Second Part of this Grammar. For a full 
 and satisfactory discussion of individual words, the pages of a 
 dictionary are the most fitting place. 
 
 K2
 
 Part III. 
 
 SYNTAX. 
 
 Syntax treats of the proper arrangement of words in sentences. 
 
 SENTENCES. 
 
 Before proceeding to the syntactical details of the Parts of 
 Speech, we shall offer a few general remarks on the framing ot 
 sentences in Creole. 
 
 A sentence or proposition may be affirmative, negative, or in- 
 terrogative. 
 
 Affirmative Sentences. 
 
 When the subject of a proposition is followed by a simple 
 attributive, by an adverb of place, — in short, by any word denoting 
 its quality, situation, or posture, no substantive verb is employed 
 in Creole as a connective, if present time is intended; as, 
 
 Creole. English. French. 
 
 moen bon, I am good, jes suis bon. 
 
 ous malice, you are cunning, oous ctes ruse, 
 
 yeaux la, they are there, lis sont la. 
 
 It assise, he is seated, il est assrs. 
 
 But if a noun, or any word representing it, follows in apposi- 
 tive relation to the subject, then ce comes in as copula, in the 
 present tense; as,
 
 STRUCTURE OF SENTENCES 11 
 
 Creole, English. French. 
 
 nous ce mounes, we are human beings, nous sommes humains. 
 
 zotes ce angles, you are English people, vous etes anglais. 
 
 When the verb is in a compounded tense, the adverb does not, 
 as generally in French, come between the auxilliary and principal 
 verbs, but after the latter; as, 
 
 Cr. Gens nous te oner en-pile fois, our people had often seen, 
 Fr. nos gens avaient souvent vu; nous se va connaite zotes bien, 
 we would have known you well; Ft. nous vous aurions bien connus. 
 
 When the verb has two regimens, a direct and an indirect, the 
 latter must in Creole come first; as, 
 
 Cr. Se-se 'i bate mounonque nous baggdie la, his sister gave our 
 uncle the thing, Fr. sa soeur a donne V object a notre oncle. 
 
 The French dative construction agrees with the Creole only 
 in particular cases; as when the indirect regimen is a personal 
 pronoun, etc. 
 
 Negative Sentences. 
 
 Are formed by means of pas, which is supplemented by jamain, 
 or by piece according to circumstances, if there is no verb expressed. 
 The place of pas is always after the subject or its accessories; 
 but when there is a verb, it comes immediately before this last, 
 whether simple or compounded; as, 
 
 Cr. Moen pas malice, I am not cunning, Fr. je ne suis pas ruse. 
 
 Cr. Joupa la qui nans place la pas grand, the hut that is in the 
 place (is) not large, Fr. la cabane qui est dans ce lieu n' (est) 
 pas grande. 
 
 Cr. Macaque pas ca die iche li laide, monkey does not say its 
 young is ugly, Fr. le singe ne dit pas que ses petits sont laids. 
 
 To strengthen a negative, jamain is often used with pas; as, 
 
 Cr. Gens bon-temps pas jamain connaite Iher temps yeaux bon, 
 people (seeing) good times never know when their times are 
 good, Fr. les heureux ne savent jamais lorsqu'ils le sont.
 
 78 SYNTAX— THE ARTICLES 
 
 In compounded tenses, jamain generally comes between the 
 auxilliary and principal verbs; but it may sometimes precede the 
 former; as, 
 
 Cr. BomSance pas ca jamain ganen meci, or pas jamain ca ganen 
 meci extravagance never buys thanks. Fr. la prodigalite n'achete 
 jamais de remerciments. 
 
 Piece, coming in a sentence after pas, forms an absolute and 
 total denial; as, 
 
 Cr. Ous pas pieter li piece, you did not follow him up at all, 
 Fr. vous ne I'avez pas epie du tout. 
 
 This word, when thus used adverbially, must always follow 
 the principal verb, the accusative or its accessories. 
 
 Interrogative Sentences. 
 
 We have, at page 61, explained that a question is asked in 
 Creole either by the tone of the voice or by means of ece placed 
 before the subject. With respect to sentences that have a present 
 substantive import, no change of construction is required; except 
 when the question is asked by means of qui rnoune, qui ga, qa, etc., 
 in which case ye* {am, is, are) must come after the subject or its 
 accessories; as, qui moune ous ye? who are you, qui etes vous^ 
 
 Cr. Qui ga baggdie la qui la-sous tabe la ye .'' what is that thing 
 which is on the table? Fr. quel est I'objet qui est sur la table? 
 
 SYNTAX OF THE ARTICLES. 
 
 T^he Indefinite Article. 
 
 The Indefinite Article, yon, is used in Creole, to denote a single 
 indeterminate object; as, yon nomme ea mor, a man dies,, (Fr. un 
 homme meurt.) 
 
 * From yest the Creole pronunciation of est is. See note on yeaux, page 12, 
 and that on ce, page 69.
 
 THE ARTICLES 79 
 
 It is used in Creole, but not in French, before words, denoting, 
 the nationality, rank, or calling of persons; as, 
 
 Cr. Papa moen pas yon fouances, my father is not a Frenchman, 
 Fr. mon pere n'est pas Franqais. 
 
 Cr. Missier la ce yon gouvener, that gentleman is a governor, 
 Fr. ce monsieur est gouverneur. 
 
 Cr. Fouer li ce yon soliciter, his brother is a solicitor, Fr. son 
 frere est procureur. 
 
 It is also employed, contrary to French usage, before a noun 
 placed in an appositive relation to another; as, Jean ca modet 
 doegt; yon baggaie moen te save te pou river, John is biting (his) 
 finger (i.e. repenting bitterly) : a thing I had known would come 
 to pass, Fr. Jean se mord le doigt (i.e. se repent amerement) : 
 chose que j' avais su devoir se faire. 
 
 The Indefinite Article is also used after ga before nouns occur^ 
 ring in exclamations; as, gd yon zaffairl what a business! Fr. quel 
 affaire! 
 
 The Definite Article. 
 
 The Creole Definite Article, la, is appended to common nouns 
 of both numbers and genders, when used in a specific sense; as, 
 
 Cr. Ca'ie la ous montrer madame la, the house you showed to 
 the woman, Fr. la maison que vous avez montree a la femme. 
 
 But it is not used, as in French, with a noun governing the 
 possessive;* e.g.: — 
 
 Cr. Caie papa moen, the house of my father, Fr. la maison de 
 mon pere. 
 
 Besides being employed as above, la comes at the end of every 
 sentence in which there is a relative pronoun expressed or under- 
 stood; as, 
 
 Cr. Papelon la ga zotes gahen la, the sugar-loaf which you 
 bought, Fr. le papelon que vous avez achete. 
 
 Cr. Sima'ie la yeaux fair epis zeffets moen la, the dispersion they 
 made of my things, Fr. la dispersion quits ont faite de mes effets. 
 
 * In fact in every case where the faintest gcnetivc notion is involved; e.g., 
 pouete Arime. the Arima curate, estimar fouances, the French steamer, gouvener 
 Labdbade, the Governor of Barbados.
 
 80 SYNTAX 
 
 The Definite Article is omitted in Creole after the preposition 
 nans, in, when mentioning places familiar to both speaker and 
 hearer, to either, or to the subject of discourse; as, nous pas sa 
 jouer nans savane jordhi, we cannot play in the savannah to-day, 
 Fr. nous ne pouvons jouer aujourd'hui dans la savane. 
 
 Cr. Se-se moen aller nans pit. my sister is gone to the well, Fr. 
 ma soeur est allee au puit. 
 
 Cr. Lher nous aller lacaie li, 'i te assise nans lacou, when we 
 went to his house, he was sitting in the yard, Fr. lorsquenous 
 etions chez lui il etait assis dans la cour. 
 
 Use of the French Definite Articles. 
 
 The French Definite Article construction may be preserved in 
 speaking of weight, measure, and time: as, 
 
 Cr. Sique ca vende a cinque goudes li baril, or, sique ca vende 
 cinq goudes pou yon baril, sugar is selling at five dollars a barrel, 
 Fr. le Sucre se vend a cinq gourdes le baril. 
 
 Cr. Toele con ga-la doe yon goude la ydde, cloth like this must 
 (be) one dollar a yard, Fr. du drop comme ceci doit etre a une 
 gourde le metre. 
 
 Cr. Li oni ca chanter toute la jounen, he only sings the whole 
 day, Fr. il ne fait que chanter toute la journee. 
 
 In French, to denote a portion of any sensible object or abstract 
 quality, the partitive article {du. de V , sing, mas.; de, la, de V , 
 sing, fem., and des, plural for both genders) is placed directly 
 before substantives; as, 
 
 (a) // mangeait du beurre sans pain. 
 
 He was eating butter without bread. 
 
 (b) On a verse de I'encre sur mon habit. 
 They have spilt ink on my coat. 
 
 (c) La femme me donna de la farine. 
 The woman gave me (some) flour. 
 
 But in Creole the singular form of the partitive is never used, 
 as may be seen in the ensuing translation: — 
 
 (a) 'i te ca manger ber sans pain. 
 
 (b) yeaux jeter lenque la-sous habit moen. 
 
 (c) madame la ba moen farine fouance.
 
 THE ARTICLES 81 
 
 The plural partitive is sometimes used; even when in French it 
 is replaced by the simple preposition, de; e.g., 
 
 Cr. Tint des mounes qui touo' betes, there are persons who are 
 too silly, Fr. il y a des gens que sont tres simples. 
 
 Cr. Ldbbe la bate des belles lives,, the priest gave (some) beau- 
 tiful books, Fr. le pretre donna de beaux livres. 
 
 SYNTAX OF NOUNS. 
 
 The accidents and constructions of Nouns have already been 
 so fully discussed and illustrated above, that little remains for 
 us here but to remark on a few points omitted, or but slightly 
 alluded to, in our previous strictures on this class of words. 
 
 Compounded Nouns 
 
 It has already been seen that the Creole Possessive Case is ex- 
 pressed by placing the noun or pronoun denoting the owner 
 immediately after that denoting the possession; without any 
 other sign of the relation existing between the words so arranged. 
 It has also been seen that the Creole construction is the French 
 construction with case-sign de omitted. 
 
 This suppression of de is almost universal in the dialect; and 
 gives rise to the following usages with regard to those noun-rela- 
 tions that are indicated in French by that preposition. A noun 
 denoting the material or species of another, comes immediately 
 after it, a genitive relation being implied in cases of this sort; 
 
 Creole. English. French. 
 
 yon cotiche bois a sandal of wood une sandale de bois 
 
 lamoelle bef ox marrow de la moele de boeuf
 
 82 SYNTAX— COMPOUND VERBS 
 
 Sometimes though in French another relation between two 
 nouns is indicated by a, the Creole formula is the same; as, 
 
 Cr. nomme gouos ziex la, the man with the large eyes, Fr. 
 I'homme aux gcos yeaux. 
 
 This occasions ambiguities which are not possible in English or 
 French, owing to the difference of construction employed to express 
 the different relations above referred to; thus, 
 
 Creole. English. French. 
 
 yon sac caco, often means a bag of cacao un sac de cacao 
 
 though usually, a cacao-bag un sac a cacao 
 
 To prevent mistakes, when expressions like sac caco, boete cap- 
 siles, panen pain, etc., have any but their ordinary meaning, it 
 is usual to employ some such circumlocution as, sac pou mettet 
 caco, boete qui te tni capsiles, pahen yeaux ca mette pain, etc. 
 
 Sometimes again, the words connected by de or a are all taken 
 together as a sim^ple appellative, — and generally limited from a 
 general to a particular application; as, louile-a-bouiler (Fr. de 
 I'huile a bruler, i.e., oil to burn) , lamp-oil. From the elements 
 of this compound, it is clear that all oil for burning may be thus 
 indicated; but in Creole (at least the Trinidad Creole), it is used 
 exclusively for fish-oil, and one would be thought ridiculous were 
 he to describe pitch-oil, cocoa-nut-oil, or any other used for 
 for burning, as louile-a-bouiler. We must, however, own that 
 in English the same thing is observable; for few persons (we 
 allude to those born and bred here) , ever think of any but fish-oil 
 when lamp-oil is mentioned, or ever use the term except with 
 that specific meaning. 
 
 The Creole abounds in compounded nouns, many of which it 
 is not easy for strangers to understand; e.g.,
 
 ADJECTIVES sy 
 
 Creole. English. 
 
 yon passe-pd-ter, "a pass by land," i.e., one who has come from out the Bocas. 
 
 pousscr-dite, '"shover of fire," a stirrer up of strife. 
 
 vent-menen, "wind brought," same as passe-pd-ter. 
 
 vienti-vati* (Fr. viens-tu, va-tu,) a gadder about. 
 
 pied-cochon, "hog's foot," an illusory promise. 
 
 causer -ououge, "red-talk," indelicate conversation. 
 
 To express " "crowd," or "multitude," the Creoles employ bane, 
 (Fr. bande) band, or rafale, before the nouns denoting the objects; 
 as, yon bane mounes te la, a crowd of persons were there, Fr. une 
 foule de personnes y etaient; — // bate yon rafale cappars, he gave 
 a great quantity of coppers, Fr. il a donne une quantite de sous. 
 
 SYNTAX OF ADJECTIVES. 
 
 From what we have endeavoured to explain with regard to 
 the Adjectives in Creole, it follows that there can be no regularity 
 of concord between them and the nouns they qualify. The fol- 
 lowing sentences, containing as they do the current and the 
 fortuitous forms of certain adjectives, will illustrate our doctrine: 
 that when nouns denoting animals or inanimate objects have been 
 adopted into Creole by themselves, adjectives qualifying them 
 will have the form current in the dialect; but if they have been 
 adopted in such close combination with the adjectives as to convey 
 a single idea, the adjectives will have the form required by French 
 usage t : — 
 
 Creole. English. 
 
 Ouobe h te faite epts yon toele gris. Her gown was made with (of) a 
 
 qui te ca bien semble toele-grise. gfoy cloth which very much re- 
 
 sembled holland. 
 Ece dleau -blanche ce yon dleau blanc.'' Is a white liquid? 
 
 * Sometimes a verb. See List of Idioms for more of these compounds. 
 
 t Part Second, page 2 8. 
 
 L2
 
 84 ADJECTIVES 
 
 Creole. English. 
 
 Jordhi ce la-pleine-line, et laline plein To-day it is full moon and the moon 
 
 dleau. (is) full of water. 
 
 Moune ca crier in-pe boessons dieaux They call spirits "strong waters:" 
 
 forts, main yeaux pas faibes passe but they are less strong than aqua- 
 
 dleau-forte. fortis. 
 
 Medicine-douce pa medicine qui doux, A black draught is not by any means 
 
 toujous. a sweet medicine. 
 
 From the above examples it follows also that nouns denoting 
 animals and inanimate objects have no grammatical gender. 
 
 Position of Adjectives. 
 
 The place of the Adjectives in Creole, as in French, is usually 
 after the Noun; e.g., 
 
 Creole. English. 
 
 yon nomme gangan et-pJs yon femme a showy man and a cock-eyed wo- 
 ziex-coqui. man. 
 
 There are certain adjectives which, when used singly, precede 
 their nouns in French. Of these we shall notice a few, which, in 
 Creole present some difference either as regards their usual position, 
 or otherwise. 
 
 Cher, dear, is placed oftener before than after nouns denoting 
 persons, and oftener after than before those denoting things; as, 
 
 Creole. English. 
 
 "Cher maman moen, pas lapeine pie- My dear mother, its of no use crying, 
 
 rer, cher zamie nous ' ja maron our dear friend has already deserted 
 
 nous." us. 
 
 Voela yon toele cher: quale escallins Here is a dear cloth: forty cents for 
 
 pou yon yddel one yard! 
 
 Doux. sweet, never precedes its substantive, at least not as far
 
 SYNTAX 85 
 
 as we have ever heard; as, domplines doux li ca vende pou bonbons, 
 sweet dumpHngs which she sells for cakes. 
 
 Riche, rich, always follows its noun; e.g., yon moune riche, 
 a rich person. 
 
 Trisse (Fr. triste) sad, more often follows than precedes the 
 noun, especially when a person is spoken of; as, moen ouer tois 
 tits gdgons trisses oti moen te aller la, I saw three melancholy boys 
 where I went. 
 
 According to the French Grammar, un grand homme means a 
 great man, and un homme grand, a tall man. In Creole only 
 the former phrase is used, and it invariably means a full grown or 
 full aged man; e.g., yon grand nomme can qa pas te doe jouer epis 
 ces jenesses la. a mature man like that should not have played with 
 those youths. To indicate a "great" man, the phrase "grand 
 tete" is commonly employed; as, ous te sa ouer li te yon grand tete, 
 you could see he was a great personage. 
 
 Government of the Adjectives. 
 
 Adjectives expressing plenty, or scarcity, want, absence, and 
 others of similar import, require, in French, the preposition de 
 before their regimen. 
 
 In Creole, ihey either take no preposition at all, or, what is 
 more generally the case, any other than di, as may be seen by 
 the ensuing illustrations: — - 
 
 French. English. Creole. 
 
 il etait plein de bonte he was full of kindness 'i te plein bonte 
 
 beaucoup de gens many persons yon pile mounes 
 
 Capable de le faire in French, "is capable of doing it;" but in 
 Creole, capdbe fair li, the literal translation, does not mean exactly 
 the same thing. 
 
 Capdbe, seldom used in a laudatory sense, always involves 
 a reference to the character of its noun, while sa is the word em-
 
 86 SYNTAX 
 
 ployed in all cases to express ability, without any implication of 
 censure. If we wish to say of a person with dishonest habits, that 
 he is likely to tell an untruth, etc. we must in Creole use capdbe; 
 e.g., // ce yon bougue qui capabe menu, he is a fellow who (is) 
 capable of lying; i.e., he is just the kind of person to do so. If 
 we spoke simply of his ability to run a mile, capdbe would give 
 place to sa: — / sa cououi yon mile; but should we mean that 
 he would run that distance for the purpose of stealing, capdbe 
 must be used:— 'r capabe cauoui yon mil pou fair yon vole; he is 
 capable of running a mile to commit a theft. Perhaps a more 
 striking illustration may be found in the proper Creole tran- 
 slation of the English phrase: "he is quite capable of protecting 
 himself," Fr. il est fres-capable de se proteger. Here, no censure 
 being intended, capdbe is not admissible: we must translate: 
 // sa pouend soen corps-li bien. Negatively, however, capdbe is 
 only a stronger expression of ability than sa; e.g., moen pas 
 sa bouanen jambe moen, is the same as, moen pas capabe bouanen 
 jambe moen, the former being "I cannot move my leg," while 
 the latter may be understood as, "I am wholly incapable of moving 
 my leg." The fluctuations of meaning observable in capdbe is 
 common to most of the following adjectives, which reject or take 
 the prepositions we have placed after them, according as they 
 are placed before nouns or before verbs: — 
 
 French. English. Creole. 
 
 charge de laden with chdge evec, cpis 
 
 desole de disconsolate for desole pou 
 
 las de weary of, with lasse evec, cpis 
 
 prepare de prepared for. to pouepare, pou 
 
 prete a ready to pouete pou 
 
 rassasic de satiated with rassasie cpis, evec 
 
 tourmente de tormented with toumente epis, evec 
 
 In Creole, such adjectives as oblige, lasse, rassasie, honte, etc., 
 may in general, take no preposition before verbs and infinitives 
 used as nouns; e.g.: —
 
 ADJECTIVES 87 
 
 English. Creole. French. 
 
 You ought to be ashamed Ous doe honte paler con Vous devez avoir honte 
 
 of speaking so. fa. de parler ainsi. 
 
 The ox is never weary of Bef pas ca jamain lasse Le boeuf n'est jamais la. 
 
 carrying his horns. poter cones li. de potter ses comes. 
 
 I am sick of eating. Moen rassasie epis man- Je suis rassasie de 
 
 ger. manger. 
 
 It frequently happens, however, that, in order to be understood, 
 the French must be translated into Creole by synonomous terms. 
 An ancient inhabitant of some country district, who has had 
 but few opportunities of hearing, and less of learning, French, 
 (or even what we may call the high patois,) would find it difficult 
 to comprehend our meaning, if we told him, nomme la digne di 
 louange, the man is worthy of praise. Doubtless, the two first 
 words of our statement would be very plain; but all the rest 
 might have been so much Greek, for all he should understand about 
 it. But if we come down to his vernacular, and try, nomme la 
 meriter yeaux vanter li, the man deserves (that) they (should) 
 praise him, or, n6m,me la meriter bate ton nom, the man deserves 
 to be given good name, it would be all clearness, all light, to our 
 rustic friend. 
 
 The examples we have given above of the prepositions required 
 by adjectives might be multiplied greatly; but we believe they 
 suffice to show the points of difference, in this respect, between 
 the dialect and the parent speech. 
 
 Comparatives. 
 
 To express than before infinitives, the French employ que de, 
 but the Creoles passe pou and sometimes passe alone; e.g.: — 
 
 Creole. English. French. 
 
 Li die simie zotes te He said it is better you had // dit que ce setait mieux 
 battle li passe pou te beaten him than to have que vous I'auriez battu 
 bd 'i yon tape conga. played him such a trick. que de I'avoir joue un 
 
 pareil tour. 
 
 It is better for him to die Mieux pour lui serait de 
 Meier li mor passe dri- than to keep wandering mounr que de vagabonder 
 va'ier topdtout. about.
 
 88 
 
 SYNTAX— PRONOUNS 
 
 Before any tense of the Indicative, the French express than 
 by que ne, when the sentence is not interrogative: in Creole passe 
 is the word employed in this case also. Pou, being an infinitive 
 sign, is not admissible: — 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 Ous plis rncle passe moen You arc more astute 
 te ca coer. than I thought. 
 
 / plis bon passe ous ca He is better than you 
 die. are saying. 
 
 French. 
 
 Vous ctes plus fin que 
 
 re nc pensais. 
 II est nzeilleur que vous 
 
 ne dites. 
 
 Before numerals the Creoles generally omit plis, using passe alone 
 in comparisons: the French plus equires de immediately before the 
 numeral; as, 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 French. 
 
 Tim passe tois ca'ies lote- There are more than three 11 y a plus de froi's maisons 
 bod cela-moen. houses beyond mine. au-deld de la mtenne. 
 
 Li metier passe yon douzaine He has put in (cheated) // a trompe plus d'une 
 mounes endidans. more f/7on a dozen persons douzaine de gens. 
 
 SYNTAX OF PRONOUNS. 
 
 Personals. 
 
 The place of the Personal Pronouns in the nominative case, 
 is invariably before the verb, v/hatever may be the nature of the 
 proposition; as. 
 
 Creole. 
 
 "Moen coucher nans serein, 
 Dos moen tout mouie: 
 
 Zotes bd moen lade la 
 
 P'oP m'aller changer." 
 
 English. 
 
 I lay in the dew, 
 
 My back is all wet: 
 Do you give me the key 
 
 That / may go and dress.
 
 PERSONAL PRONOUNS 89 
 
 Creole. English. French. 
 
 Ot'i nous ye/ fa zotes ca Where are we? what Oti sommes-nous? que 
 
 boei ? dring ye? buvez-vous? 
 
 In exclamatory phrases, the French often place the nominative 
 pronouns after the verb, as is done in interrogatories; but the 
 Creole, inflexible and prosaic, allows no such latitude. Impassion- 
 ed utterances must therefore conform to immutable usage, which 
 requires the verb to always follow its nominative; for example: — 
 
 French. English. Creole. 
 
 "Soldats!" s'ecria-t-[\, "Soldiers!" exclaimed he, Li beler, "Soldats!" 
 
 "qui m'aime me suive!" "'let him that loves me "ga qui aimen moen 
 
 follow me!" souive moen!" 
 
 Que viens-je d'entendre! What have / just heard! Qui ga moen sott tcnde la! 
 
 "When there are two or more pronouns in the nominative case, 
 a resuming pronoun, such as nous, vous. Us, is generally used in 
 French as the subject of the following verb; as, 
 
 French. English. Creole. 
 
 Vous et moi, nous par- You and I will depart. Ous et pis moen cder 
 tirons. pdti. 
 
 Vous et nous, nous page- You and we will pay."* Zofes epis nous va pa- 
 tons, yer. 
 
 As may be seen in the foregoing illustrations, the Creole coincides 
 with the English in having no resuming pronoun. 
 
 In imitation of French colloquial custom, the Personals are 
 often repeated at the end of clauses or sentences, to give prominence 
 to the individual they represent. This use of the pronouns is 
 equivalent to the English "for my part," "as to you," etc.; thus — 
 
 * Delille's French Grammar, page 265. 
 
 M
 
 90 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 French. 
 
 English. 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Vous dites que vous etes You ha%'e said you are "Zotes die zotes lasse jouec; 
 fatigues de jouer; je vvtary playing; I for moen pdncor lasse, moen. 
 ne le suis pas, moi. my part am not yet 
 
 weary. 
 // a de I'argent, lui. As to him, he has Li tint lagent, li. 
 
 money. 
 
 Before pas and aller, the first personal pronoun, moen is usually 
 abbreviated: — 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Yeaux ca die m'pas* vie travaie; et 
 Iher mailer travaie yeaux pas ca vie 
 payer. 
 
 English. 
 
 They say / do not want to work; 
 and when / go to work, they do 
 not wish to pay. 
 
 The position of the Personal pronouns with regard to each 
 other, when there are two or more governed by the same verb, 
 is a very perplexing matter in French. But the Creole arrange- 
 ment of these words is the same as with regard to nouns: datives 
 immediately following the verb and accusatives after. Of course 
 if the sentence has not a dative, the accusative is next to the verb: — • 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Moen machicoter /if 
 Ous pas marer nous. 
 
 louer li. 
 
 Moen pdncor die 'i li, 
 
 Bd 'i li. 
 
 English. 
 
 French. 
 
 I chew If. 
 
 You did not bind us. 
 
 Je Vai mache. 
 \'ous nous avez pas amar- 
 res. 
 He saw it. 11 le vit. 
 
 I have not yet told if to Je ne le lui ai pas encore 
 
 him dit 
 
 Give If to her. Donnez-h lui. 
 
 * Pronounced: Yo deem-pah-ulay trah-vigh, etc. 
 
 t Bearing in mind the relation in which the first concoctors of the Creole 
 stood towards those who supplied them with the vocabulary and general frame- 
 work of their dialect, we should perceive that the difference of arrangement 
 existing between the French and Creole pronominal accusative, though striking 
 at first- sight, is nevertheless, as respects the Creole, a servile following of.
 
 SYNTAX— POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS 
 
 91 
 
 In reply to questions, the French use le, etc., in agreement 
 with the word to which the question refers; but in Creole the 
 answer is either a simple oui (yes), or non (no), or the word 
 together with the noun and verb are repeated; e.g.: — 
 
 French. 
 
 Est-ce Id votre frere? 
 Non, ce ne Test pas. 
 
 Sont-ce Id vos plumes!' 
 Oui, ce les sont. 
 
 English. 
 
 Is that your brother? 
 No, it is not. 
 
 Arc those your pens? 
 Yes, they are. 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Ce fouec ous ga? 
 
 Non: or non, cc pas fouer 
 
 moen. 
 Ece ce plimes ous ga.' 
 Oui; ce plimes moen. 
 
 The French pronoun y is sometimes represented in Creole by 
 la-sous ga, on that, la-sous li. on it after penser, combiner, and 
 other verbs signifying to think or reflect; as. 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Ous c'allec combiner 
 la-sous ga 
 
 English. 
 
 You will reflect 
 on it 
 
 French. 
 
 Vous y penserez 
 
 En, denoting a part, and used relatively in French, is not found 
 in Creole, except as an insignificant syllable of the hortatory 
 words, tempouie (i.e. t'-en-prie) , and soye-ous-en-si {soyez-vous 
 en sur) .* The partitive sense of en is sometimes represented by la- 
 dans, in it; e.g.: — 
 
 French. 
 
 Je n'en ai regu que trois. 
 
 English, 
 
 Creole. 
 
 I have not received but Moen pas touver passe 
 three (of them.) (ois la -dans. 
 
 rather than a departure from French usage. Between two classes of men so 
 different in nationality, race, position, no conversation strictly such was possible. 
 From the ruling class the subject people received only commands — and having 
 a language to frame for themselves, they fashioned it according to the model 
 most most frequently presented to them. "Prenez-le." "coupez-h," "arrangez- 
 le." exemplify the kind of construction likeliest to strike the hearing of the 
 Negroes: and it is no wonder that, with no teacher to guide and explain, they 
 should believe this construction to be universal, while, in fact, it was only 
 common. These considerations will, we think, assist towards determining the 
 actual derivation of the verbs cited at page 48 as originations from the Imperative. 
 or, with slighter probability, from the second person plural Indicative. 
 
 * Of ensouhaite also. 
 
 M2
 
 92 
 
 SYNTAX — POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS 
 
 Where en is used personally, in the sense of "from him," "of 
 him," and so forth, the Creole generally employ nans lamain li. 
 compte li, in "his hand," "about him," etc.; e.g.: — 
 
 French. 
 
 English. 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Jen at regu des bienfalts. I have received benefits Moen ricivoer bienfets 
 
 from him. nans lamain li. 
 
 Nous en parlerons. We shall speak of him Nous caller paler com- 
 
 (or it.) pte li. 
 
 Possessive Pronouns. 
 
 In French the Possessive Pronouns are replaced by the Definite 
 Article, when the sense of the phrase clearly indicates the pos- 
 sessor; but in Creole no such substitution occurs: either the posses- 
 sive must be used, or some other construction resorted to; as. 
 
 French. 
 
 English. 
 
 J'ai froid aux mains. My hands are cold. 
 
 Vous auez mal a la tete. Your head aches. 
 
 // a le corps trop gros et His body is too large 
 
 and his head too 
 
 small. 
 You owe your life to 
 
 him. 
 
 la tete trop petite. 
 Tu lui dois la vie. 
 
 Nous vinmes les mains 
 liees derriere le dos. 
 
 We all came with our 
 hands tied behind our 
 backs. 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Lamains moen foetes. 
 Tete ous ca fair ous mal. 
 Corps li touop gouos, et- 
 pis tete li touop pitit. 
 
 Ous ca doe li lavie ous. 
 
 Nous toutes vim evec 
 lamain nous marees 
 deier dos nous. 
 
 To express "one of," as in the phrase, "one of my friends," 
 the Creole expression is identical with the Spanish, and differs 
 from the English and French in both of which the preposition 
 is used: — 
 
 French ^ English. 
 
 Creole ^ Spanish. 
 
 un de mes freres 
 one of my brothers 
 
 yon fouer moen 
 un hermano mio 
 
 Relative Pronouns. 
 
 For the rules that regulate the employment of the relative, qui. 
 ga, etc., see Second Part, page 39.
 
 DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS 
 
 93 
 
 Celui-ci, this one, the latter, and celui-la, that one, the former, 
 are represented in Creole by ga-la. this one, and lote-la the other 
 one: but chiefly with reference to visible objects. The use of 
 them in the following literal translation would be puzzling to 
 a mere Creole: — 
 
 French. 
 
 "L'opulence et le repos 
 sont a une si grande 
 distance I'un de l' autre 
 que plus on approche 
 de celle-la, plus on s'e- 
 loigne de celui-ci. 
 
 English. 
 
 Opulence and tranqui- 
 lity are at so great 
 a distance from each 
 other, that the more 
 we approach t }i e 
 former, the more 
 we remove from the 
 latter."* 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Richesse et-pis lavie- 
 doux si loen yone-d- 
 lote, plis nous ca vim 
 poues 16te-la, ce plis 
 nous caller loen qa-la. 
 
 Instead of using I6te-la and ca-ld in a statement like the above, 
 a Creole would repeat the substantives; — plis nous ca vim poues 
 richesse, ce plis nous ca alter loen lavic-doux: — or he might use 
 yone di yeaux and I6te-ld: which would destroy the definiteness 
 of the statement, although without changing its meaning; for 
 wealth and tranquility being removed from each other, it follows 
 that approaching either is receding from the other: — plis tnoune 
 aller poues yone di yeeaux, ce plis li ca quitter 16te-la deier, the 
 more one approaches one of them, the more he leaves the other 
 behind. 
 
 Ce, this or that, the French demonstrative, is used before etre, 
 to be, in the sense of it, they, etc., according to the number and 
 person of the verb; e.g.: c'est moi — it is I: ce sonf mes gens — they 
 are my people; but in Creole the expressions c'est. it is, and c'etait, 
 it was, are considered as single words. They retain their demon- 
 strative mean only in part, and, especially ce, discharge the func- 
 tions of the substantive verb in attributive clauses; e.g.: — 
 
 * Delille's French Grammar
 
 94 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 French. 
 
 Moen cc* yon bon moune.l am a good person. Je suis une bonne personne. 
 
 Ous ce papa nous You are our father. Vous etes notre pere. 
 
 Li ce gouous pague He is a great personage. // est un grand homme. 
 
 Plural. 
 
 Nous cete* louois. We ivere kings. 
 
 Zotes cete pions.f You were day-laborers. 
 
 Yeaux cete bons mounes. They were decent folks 
 
 Nous etions des rois. 
 Vous etiez des laboureurs. 
 lis etaient des gens de- 
 cents. 
 
 After the verb ouer, the Creole demonstrative gala (as well as 
 la) is added to moen and ous. to direct particular attention to the 
 speaker or the person addressed. Li, nous, zotes, and yeaux 
 usually take la alone, for the same purpose; e.g.: — 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Ous te ouer moen-gala la- 
 
 ca'ie ous? 
 Ous ouer li-la, 'i bon cote 
 
 baton It, ua.** 
 
 Ous-gala bd moen zetren- 
 ne I 
 
 English. 
 
 Did you see me at your 
 house? 
 
 You see him there? he 
 is good at his stick 
 (I can tell you.) 
 
 Kou, make me a Christ- 
 mas present I 
 
 French. 
 
 Wavez-vous vu, moi. 
 
 chez vous 
 Lc voyez-vous? il est 
 
 ma'itre de son baton. 
 
 Vous. me donner des 
 
 etrennes 
 
 When used as in the last example, ous-qa-la and moen-gala, 
 express incredulity, indignation, or contempt, on the part of the 
 speaker. 
 
 * Not to speak of securing uniformity, (as in the case of te, sere, etc..) the 
 abandonment of the inflected forms c'est and c'etait would be desirable if it were 
 only for our being accustomed to see them exclusively in the third person 
 singular. 
 
 t Sp. peon. 
 
 ** Such interjections as va, toujous, out, and others cannot be translated, 
 though they produce distinct impressions on the hearer's mind.
 
 INDEFINITE PRONOUNS— VERBS 
 
 95 
 
 Indefinite Pronouns. 
 
 Like on in French, moune and yeaux arc employed by Creoles 
 to indicate in a vague and general way, many, some, and all per- 
 sons; e.g.: — 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 Mounc ca die Lacotefeme People say that the 
 loen: ga pas voue, tou- Spanish Main is far: 
 jous. that is by no means 
 
 true. 
 Yeaux ca atterir stimac They are stranding the 
 \a pou ranger It. steamer in order to 
 
 repair her. 
 
 French. 
 
 On dit que La Cote- 
 ferme est loin : ce 
 n'est pas vrai du 
 tout. 
 
 On fait a t t e r i r le 
 bateau-d-vapeur pour 
 le reparer. 
 
 After toute-moune, every body, chaquin, each one, and other 
 distributive pronouns, the Creoles use yeaux, they, them, their, 
 instead of the singular //; e.g.: — 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 Toute moune ca chdcher 
 pou name yeaux. 
 
 Every glow worm sheds 
 light for their (its) 
 soul 
 Toute moune ca ch cher Every body seeks good 
 been pou corps-yeaux. for themselves (him- 
 
 self.) 
 
 French. 
 
 Chaque bete-d-feu eclaire 
 pour son dme. 
 
 Chaqu'un cherche du 
 bien pour soi-meme. 
 
 For quiconque, whoever, quelconque, whatever, the Creole 
 equivalent is quicon which is used adjectively; e.g.: — quicon 
 moune ous die ga pas c'aller coer, whoever you tell that to will 
 not believe; quicon bagga'ie ous vie, whatever (thing) you desire. 
 
 SYNTAX OF VERBS. 
 
 Verbs With Two Regimens 
 
 We have already seen that when in Creole a verb has two 
 cases, a dative and an accusative, after it, the latter must invariably 
 come first.
 
 96 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 No sign of the dative is used in Creole after the following 
 verbs, which take in French the preposition a before substantives 
 in that case: — appouende, to teach; bate, to give; confier, to en- 
 trust; die, to tell; doe, to owe; eerie,, to write; moutrer, to show; 
 pomette, to promise; poueter, to lend; rimette, ritounen, to give 
 back; sementer, to swear; etc.: — 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Examples. 
 English. 
 
 Moen pas sa eerie papa I cannot LVrite that to 
 
 ous ga. your father. 
 
 Madame la rimette iche The lady returned the 
 
 //' bagga'ie la. object to her child. 
 
 Si ous poueter Jean qa- If you lend the kite to 
 
 volant la, li c'aLer Jean, he will give a 
 
 bale tit se-s ous cinq- ftalf-bit to your little 
 
 sous. sister. 
 
 French. 
 
 Je ne puis ecrire cela a 
 
 uofre frere. 
 La dame remit I'objet a 
 
 son enfant. 
 Si vous pretez le cerf- 
 
 volant a Jean, il don- 
 
 nera cinq sous a votre 
 
 petite soeur. 
 
 Government of Verbs. 
 
 There are verbs which in French require the preposition a 
 or de before an infinitive. 
 
 In Creole, the following take no preposition, though in French 
 they require a: — accoutimen, to accustom; aimen, to like; ap- 
 pouende, to teach; chdcher, to seek; habit ouer, to accustom; 
 pessister, to persist; poueferer, to prefer; rider, to help; rinoncer, 
 to renounce; simter, to prefer; vaiumier, to prefer; etc. 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Examples. 
 
 English. 
 
 French. 
 
 Moen accoutimen corps- I have accustomed my- Je me suis accoutume a 
 
 moen lever nans som- self to wake at dawn. 
 
 mei douvant-jou. 
 
 Xotes pas aimen rider You do not like to help 
 
 gens zotes fair piece one to do any work 
 
 travai. at all. 
 
 Nous pas ca rinoncer We would not renounce 
 
 i'anser bellairs. dancing bellairs. 
 
 me reveiller au point 
 du jour. 
 
 Vous n'aimez pas a 
 aider (a) vos gens a 
 faice nul travail. 
 
 Nous ne renoncerions 
 pas a danser des bel- 
 lairs.
 
 GOVERNMENT OF VERBS 
 
 97 
 
 The following, with d in French, usually take pou in Creole 
 before infinitives; — balancer, to hesitate; consenti, to consent; 
 encourager, to encourage ; engager, to engage ; offer, to offer ; sevi, 
 to serve; travaie, to work; etc. 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Examples. 
 English. 
 
 Yon nomme qui tint les- A sensible man does 
 
 pouit pas ca balancer not hesitate to do his 
 
 pou fair douvoir li. duty. 
 
 Moen consenti pou aller I consented to go for 
 
 ba ous. you. 
 
 / te engager po$ travaie He had engaged to 
 
 yon mois tout-set. work for only one 
 
 month. 
 
 French. 
 
 Un homme sense ne 
 
 balance pas a faire 
 
 son devoir. 
 Je conscns a aller pour 
 
 vous. 
 II s'etait engage a tra- 
 
 Vailler pour un mois 
 
 seulement. 
 
 The following verbs requiring de in French, usually take no 
 preposition before an infinitive: — cesser, to cease; chdger, to com- 
 mission; coumencer, to begin; conseier, to advise; consenti {potj.) , 
 to consent; continouer, to continue; craine, to fear; defende, to 
 forbid; mander, to ask; empecher, to prevent; entoupouende, to 
 undertake; envie, to long for; focer, to force; honte, to be ashamed; 
 menacer, to threaten; meriter, to deserve; obliger, to compel; 
 odonner, to order; oblier, to forget; pouengdde, to take care; per, 
 to dread; power, to pray; rifiser. to refuse; rigretter, to re- 
 gret; ristier, to risk. 
 
 Examples. 
 Creole. English. 
 
 Moen (ca) craine trapper I fear to obtain what 
 ga moen mander pou. I have asked for. 
 
 / per metter cocps-li nans He is afraid to place 
 tete bane la. himself at the head 
 
 of the band. 
 
 French. 
 
 Je crains d'obtenir ce 
 que i'ai demande. 
 
 II a peur de se mettre 
 a ta tete de la bande.
 
 98 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Pouqui ous rifiser alleri' 
 
 Moen honte poter ces p6- 
 trets-qa-la. 
 
 Gens qui ca consei'er 
 moune ganen chouval 
 gouos boudin, pas ca 
 rider moune noun li. 
 
 English. 
 
 Why have you refused 
 
 to go? 
 I am ashamed to carry 
 
 these pictures. 
 They who advise one 
 
 to buy a big-bellied 
 
 horse, do not help to 
 
 feed him. 
 
 French. 
 
 Pourquoi avez-vous re- 
 fuse duller^ 
 
 J'ai honte de porter ces 
 tableaux-ci. 
 
 Ceux qui vous conseil- 
 1 e n t d'acheter un 
 cheval a gros ventre, 
 ne vous aident pas a 
 le nourrir. 
 
 The following verbs of the same class in French, are usually 
 employed in Creole with the prepositions placed after them: affliger 
 pou, afflict for; bldmer davoer, to blame for; convini pou, to 
 agree to; deliberer pou, to deliberate to; disconvini pou, to dis- 
 agree to; fouemi pou, to shudder to; offer poia, to offer to; sem- 
 enter pou, to swear to; ripouocher davoer, to reproach for; tddet 
 pou, to delay to; tenter pou, to attempt to; trembler pou, to 
 tremble to. 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Examples. 
 English. 
 
 I tenter pou ba nous yon He attempted to cheat 
 bote; main nous te la us, but we were 
 poU corps-nous. alive to our in- 
 
 terests. 
 
 Yeaux fouemi poii ouer They shuddered to see 
 coument nomme la how the man vcn- 
 
 ristier mouter en-lair tured to climb to 
 
 mat la. the top of the mast 
 
 Li pas sa tader pou He cannot delay in 
 vim coming 
 
 French. 
 
 II tenta de nous tromper ; 
 mais nous gardions nos 
 interets. 
 
 lis ont fremi de uoir com- 
 ment I'homme se ris- 
 
 quait en montant le mat. 
 
 II ne peut tarder de ve- 
 nir. 
 
 The foregoing examples are intended as illustrations only of 
 general usage. For the duties required of a living language are 
 so manifold and various, that their complete fulfilment demands
 
 USE OF THE MOODS AND TENSES 99 
 
 a vocabulary nothing less than infinite. Yet every language, 
 however copious, is but a limited assemblage of words; and these, 
 if restricted each one to a special signification, would be hopelessly 
 inadequate to the vast requirements of human intercourse. Hence 
 the necessity of multiplying constructions and app^xations of 
 single terms; and hence, also, the impossibility of binding certain 
 words to certain constructions, as may be seen by the changes of 
 prepositions allowable in French and Creole to almost every one 
 of the verbs we have cited above. 
 
 USE OF THE MOODS AND TENSES. 
 
 Verbs with ca. 
 
 Indicative Mood Present Tense. 
 
 The Present Tense is very often used in Creole, as in other 
 idioms, to describe past occurrences with greater vividness and 
 force. But, as it is the Present Tense of only verbs with ca that 
 can be so employed, a very tiresome effect is often produced by a 
 too frequent recurrence of that monosyllable. This a skilful 
 speaker avoids by a judicious mingling of past tenses with the 
 historical present, e.g.: — 
 
 Creole. English. French. 
 
 Con moen ca soti nans As I come out of the Comme je sortais par 
 
 lapote la, i ca fair door he deals me a la porte, il me donna 
 
 moen yon coude ba- blow with a stick; un coup de baton; 
 
 ton; Iher moen trap- when I received the lorsque je regus le 
 
 per coup la, etc. stroke, etc. coup, etc. 
 
 As in French and English, the Present Tense is often cm- 
 ployed for the Future; especially when an action shortly to take 
 place is spoken of; e.g.: — 
 
 Creole. English. French. 
 
 Moen ca vini dematn meme. I come to-morrow. Je viens demain meme.
 
 100 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 The Imperfect Tense. 
 
 The employment of this tense is the same in Creole as in other 
 languages. It denotes an action going on at the occurence of 
 another that is past; e.g.: — 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 French. 
 
 Nomme la passer la-sous The man passed on the L'homme p a s s a s u r 
 
 lanse la Iher ces tvara- beach when the Wa- I'anse lorsque les iva- 
 
 hons la te ca halcr rahoons (Indians) o-'ere rahons tiraient leur 
 
 cou'ial yeaux. dragging their canoe. courial. 
 
 The Imperfect also denotes actions habitually or frequently 
 done; e.g. : — 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 French. 
 
 Comment zotes te ca fair How did you manage Comment faisiez vous pour 
 reter sans pomenen to dispense with tak- vous dispenser de vous 
 
 nans nouite? ing walks at night.'' promener dans la nuit? 
 
 Preceded by si (if), the Imperfect is used in relation to present 
 time, and implies that the speaker is persuaded to the contrary of 
 his hypothetic statement. The same usage obtains in French: as. 
 
 Creole. 
 
 English. 
 
 French. 
 
 Si moen te vini la, moen 
 se ouer compte za- 
 ffaire la moen-meme. 
 
 If I were in the habit 
 of coming there, I 
 should have looked 
 after the business 
 myself. 
 
 Si je venais la, je verrais 
 a ces affaires moi- 
 meme. 
 
 After si, the Imperfect has sometimes the force of a conditional; 
 e.g.: —
 
 THE SUBJUNCTIVE 
 
 101 
 
 Creole, 
 
 English. 
 
 French. 
 
 Si ous te ca die ga qui If you would tell what Si vous disiez ce que 
 
 nans lidee ous, moune is in your mind, one vous avez a I'esprit, 
 
 se save ga yeaux doe should know what to on auralt su que (aire 
 
 fair pou ous. do for you. pour vous. 
 
 Subjunctive Mood. 
 
 In connexion with si, we may notice and dispose of that usage 
 of the verb which in the paradigms we have called the Subjunctive 
 Mood. 
 
 Its Present Tense is the same as the Past of the Indicative, with 
 si or some other conjunction prefixed; e.g.: — 
 
 Indicative Past. 
 
 Cr. Moen manger. 
 
 Eng. I ate. 
 
 Fr. Je mangeai. 
 
 Subjunctive Present. 
 
 Si moen manger. 
 If I eat. 
 Si je mange. 
 
 The Past Subjective in Creole is the Pluperfect Indicative, with 
 a conjunction prefixed; as, 
 
 Indicative Pluperfect. 
 
 Cr. Moen te manger. 
 Eng. I had eaten. 
 Fr. J'avais mange. 
 
 Subjunctive Mood. 
 
 Si moen te manger. 
 If I ate, or had eaten. 
 Si j'avais mange. 
 
 It is evident from the above that what we have called the Sub- 
 junctive in Creole has little in common with that mood in French. 
 The latter is an independent form and usage of the verb, totally 
 distinct from the Indicative, while the former, that is to say, 
 the Creole Subjunctive, is a mere variation of the Indicative con- 
 struction. It would be a waste of time to write a disquisition on 
 so barren a theme.
 
 102 SYNTAX 
 
 VERBS WITHOUT CA. 
 
 As has been shown,* the verbs conjugated without this auxiUiary 
 are few in number, and differ from the other verbs only m the 
 Present and Imperfect Tenses. Their Imperfect, Preterite, 
 Perfect, and Pluperfect are identical. 
 
 When constructed with ca, they express an habitual action or 
 state of mind contingent on and resulting from another; e.g.: — 
 Moen hdi wounes qui meprisants, I hate disdainful people (as a 
 present existing sentiment) : — moen ca hai mounes Iher yeaux ca 
 fair betise ep'is corps li, It is my custom to hate persons when they 
 make fools of themselves. Yeaux honte mander nous ga, they 
 are (at this present moment) ashamed to ask us that; yeaux ca 
 honte mander pou qa yeaux bisoen. They are (habitually; ashamed 
 (whenever they are) to ask for what they require. From which 
 examples it will be seen that the distinction between the conjuga- 
 tions is not a matter of mere fancy, but a fact of some importance. 
 
 Sometimes the meaning given to the verbs by the addition of 
 ca is inceptive, and denotes the beginning of a mental feeling or 
 condition; as, m.oen ca airen place la. I am getting fond of the 
 place; yeaux ca honte gens yeaux, apouesent, they are growing 
 ashamed of their people, now. 
 
 The Present and Past Perfect Tenses. 
 
 The Present Perfect Tense of verbs conjugated with ca is 
 simply the Infinitive placed after a nominative case: as cheper, to 
 excel greatly, li cheper noas, he has greatly excelled us. 
 
 The Past Perfect is formed by prefixing te to the foregoing tense; 
 as, li te cheper nous, he had greatly excelled us. 
 
 As the Preterite and Perfect meanings of a verb are not indicated 
 by any difference of construction, it is sometimes found necessary 
 to employ, as a perfect sign, ja, an abbreviation of deja, already; 
 e.g., // ja casser toutes zassiettes la deja, qui lapeine bougonnen? he 
 
 * Part Second, page 60.
 
 INFINITIVES— PARTICIPLES 103 
 
 has broken all the plates already, what is the use of grumbling? 
 We are aware that ja does ordinarily mean the same as deja; bu in 
 the simultaneous use of them, as in the foregoing sentence, there 
 is something deeper than the seeming tautology. 
 
 The Infinitive Mood. 
 
 Every infinitive in Creole is used as a substantive. This license 
 has given rise to a variety of singular constructions. Commonest 
 among these is the repetition of the infinitive with a possessive 
 pronoun, as a complement to some other mood of the same verb; 
 e.g.: domi domi ous, "sleep your sleep," i.e., go on sleeping; moen 
 coucher coucher moen, Iher moen tende battdie Id, "I lay my lying 
 when I heard the fight; i.e., I remained lying when I heard the 
 fight; — tempouie, lessez-nous soti soti nous, "Pray, let us go out 
 our going out;" i.e., allow us to carry out our intention of going 
 out. In this way a variety of impressions is conveyed; but the 
 cardinal notion underlying them all, is the continuance or prose- 
 cution of an inchoate state or action. 
 
 Besides their employment as above illustrated, the infinitives 
 supply the place of participles. 
 
 Participles. 
 
 Especially in verbs ending in er, the Creoles present participial 
 termination is ant; as, mangeant, dansant. eating, dancing. But 
 generally speaking, the use of this mood is very limited. Verbs 
 ending otherwise than in er have generally no participial form; 
 as, coude, to sew, repone, to answer. This defect it is attempted 
 to remedy in the following ways: the preposition en is placed 
 before the verb; e.g., en coude yon moceau la-sous lote, ous ca 
 gdter ces toeles la, by sewing one piece on the other you are spoiling 
 the cloths. 
 
 Sometimes ca is placed before the Verb; e.g.: — 
 
 Creole. English. 
 
 Ca die yon baggdie, ca ridie yon bag- Saying and repeating a thing every 
 ga'ie tous-le-mouments, ca embeter minute, bothers me. 
 
 moen.
 
 104 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 Con {Ft. comme) , as, placed before ca, also gives the verb a 
 participial sense; e.g.: — 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Con canote la ca boucler poente la, 
 gddez comment li belle! 
 
 English. 
 
 Se how beautiful the boat looks, 
 as it is rounding the point! 
 
 The simple infinitive may sometimes have the force of a present 
 participle; e.g. : — 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Moen save batte yon mamma'ie pou 
 toute tit bagga'ie pas ca fair li bon. 
 
 English. 
 
 I know that beating a child for 
 every little fault does not make 
 him good. 
 
 On the whole, it would appear that present participial con- 
 structions, pure and simple, are not much favoured in Creole. 
 
 Past Participles. 
 
 Verbs in er may be credited with a past participle whenever it 
 may be found necessary in Creole; thus, '/ te assire qa he was as- 
 sured of that — nous rester bien coupes, "we remained well cut; 
 i.e., we were thoroughly disappointed. But, as has been already 
 observed, (p. 63,) these past participles retain but little, if any, 
 verbal energy; having subsided into mere adjectives. Altogether 
 this is a most difficult point, the complete investigation of which 
 requires more time and research than we can devote to it. The fol- 
 lowing facts, however, may be noticed in connexion therewith. 
 
 Few French verbs whose past participles end in sounds different 
 from that of their infinitives, have past participles in Creole. 
 Consequently, if we frame a passive construction having an in- 
 strumental case, (governed by par.) the infinitive must be 
 employed; e.g., jilet moen te coude pa yon bon taier. my waistcoat 
 was seivn by a good tailor. If we use the French cousu instead 
 of coude, no mere Creole would understand us. But, besides the 
 probability of being misunderstood, if too Frenchified in his patois,
 
 IDIOMATIC CONJUNCTIONS 105 
 
 an affected speakei incurs the certainty of being ridiculed for his 
 pains. Whosoever condescends to talk Creole, must, for the while, 
 forget his French, and believe (for it is a fact) that he is using 
 a dialect fully capable of expressing all ordinary thoughts, provided 
 the speaker is master of, and understands how to manage, its 
 resources. 
 
 Idiomatic Conjugations. 
 
 To express the act of doing, or being on the point of doing, in 
 time past or present, infinitives are, in Creole, constructed as 
 follows: — 
 
 Ce' or cete is placed before them, and a nominative case with 
 some other mood of the same verb after; as, 
 
 Creole. English. 
 
 Ce gader moen ca gader ga. I am just looking at that. 
 
 Cete gader moen te ca gader. I was in the act of looking. 
 
 To denote an intention on the point of being carried out, aller 
 is employed: as; 
 
 Ce aller /( te ca aller bd moen dteau He ivas just about to give me the 
 
 la. water. 
 
 Ce aller li caller die ga. He is on the point of saying so. 
 
 To intimate that an action has just been done, soti, to come 
 out from, is used with the verb, as in the following examples; — 
 
 Creole. English. French. 
 
 Moen soti contrer epis yon I have just met one Je viens de rencontrec 
 moune moen pas te sou- whom I had but lit- quelqu'un que je n'a- 
 
 ^ter ouer. tie desire of seeing. vais pas un grand 
 
 desir de voir. 
 
 A repetition of soti, adds force to the idea of recentness; e.g.: — 
 
 Ce soti yeaux soti man- They have been eating lis viennent de manger: 
 
 ger: pas bd yeaux but this instant: ne leur donnez rien 
 
 piece encor. don't give them a bit de plus. 
 
 more.
 
 106 SYNTAX 
 
 Additional Remarks on a Few Verbs. 
 
 Fr. Avoir, ) 
 
 To Have; Etre, To Be. 
 Cr. Tim, 
 
 The place of avoir, as a principal verb, is filled in Creole by 
 tint while as an auxilliary it has been displaced, as we have seen, 
 by different parts of etre. 
 
 With regard to tini, it is curious to observe how it has supplant- 
 ed avoir, not only in ordinary phraseology, where the primary 
 import of both, — namely, possession — suggests and explains the 
 substitution, but also in some of those idioms in which the pos- 
 sessive notion is by no means so prominent. Not less singular is 
 the coincidence of Creole with Spanish, and other Romance dialects, 
 in preferring tenir to avoir in posesssive and other analogous con- 
 structions. We subjoin examples, with Spanish equivalents: — 
 
 French ^ English. Creole ^ Spanish. 
 
 J'ai un tres-joli livre Moen tini yon bien belle live. 
 
 I have a very handsome book. Yo tengo un muy hevmoso libro. 
 
 II avait lie I'argent. Li te-tini Idgent. 
 He had money. El tenia dinero. 
 Nous avions raison. Nous te-tini reson. 
 
 We were in the right. Nosotros teniamos razon. 
 
 N'ayez pas peur. Pas tini per. 
 
 Be not afraid. No tenga euidado. 
 
 The French construction d' avoir (as after bldmer. accuser, etc., 
 where d' avoir signifies for having, with having, etc.) is in Creole 
 a pure conjunction; viz., davoer. This word, like other con- 
 junctions derived from verbs, retains much of its radical import, 
 though, of course, deflected and obscured; as, 
 
 Creole. English. 
 
 Papa moen bimen moen davoer moen My father beat me, because I did not 
 
 pas te vie fair ga 'i die moen. want to do what he told me.
 
 ADVERBS 107 
 
 Another part of avoir found in Creole, is aura, employed as in 
 French to express probability or likelihood; as, 
 
 Creole. English 
 
 Li aura vini lacate Iher nous te nans He must have come to our house 
 leghse. when we were in church. 
 
 The third person singular Indicative Present of avoir; viz., a, 
 is found in the Creole phrase napoent (i.e., n'a point) which 
 means, "there is no," "there was no;" as, 
 
 "Celesse Sainte Anne, O! Celeste of St. Anne's! 
 
 Si napoent tambouier , If there is no drummer, 
 
 N'a virer." We shall return. 
 
 Yeaux chdcher couteau, napoent cou- We searched for a knife, there a'as 
 
 feau. no knife (to be found.) 
 
 The infinitive of the Frendh verb to be is but rarely used in 
 Creole; no substantive verb being ever expressed in attributive 
 propositions relating to present time. 
 
 Etant, the present participle, is a Creole conjunction meaning, 
 inasmuch as, since, etc. ; as, 
 
 Camarades zotes etant te la, pouqui Since your companions were pre- 
 
 yeaux pas bate zotes lamain? sent, why did they not aid you? 
 
 Est, pronounced in Creole yest, serves in particular cases, 
 through all the persons of the Present Indicative of the verb.- — - 
 See page 78. 
 
 Concerning the other parts of etre commonly used in Creole, 
 see Auxilliaries pp. 50 — 52. 
 
 SYNTAX OF ADVERBS. 
 Adverbs, as a general rule, come after the word they qualify; as.
 
 108 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Yeaux ca vim dri. 
 
 Moen se ja alter belle-drive. 
 
 Yon tit gdgon coH a -cote 
 
 English. 
 
 They come often. 
 I would have gone long since. 
 A boy with his neck awry. 
 
 When used interrogatively, the Adverb commonly begins the 
 sentence, as in other languages; e.g.: — 
 
 Main, jisse oti zofes ca menen nous.'' But, hoit' far are you leading us.' 
 Coumcnt zotes si- vie nous mouter How could you wish as to go up 
 yon cetain mone con-qal a vast mountain like that? 
 
 Adverbs of Manner present no peculiarity save in very few- 
 exceptional cases. The following are purely native formations: — 
 
 Li fair ca'ie la tout caba-caba, con si ce 
 pas te Idgent yeaux te ca ba li pou 
 travdi li. 
 
 Yeaux ba li coups jisse temps boudins 
 yeaux pleins; apoues, yeaux assise 
 a-dada la-sous li. 
 
 Chein la ca mdcher canan-caiian; por 
 bete, zangane tomber abord HI 
 
 Pas lapeine gader moen cn-benc en 
 bene con-ca; moen va fin'i piece la 
 ba ous au-bicoule. 
 
 He built the house quite clumsily, 
 as if it was not money they were 
 giving him for his labour. 
 
 They gave him blows (beat him) 
 till their bellies were filled (they 
 were satisfied) : after that, they 
 sat astride on him. 
 
 The dog walks painfully slow; poor 
 brute, evil days have overtaken 
 him ! 
 
 It is useless to watch me thus fur- 
 tively; I shall finish the piece for 
 you in masterly manner. 
 
 Comparison of Adverbs. 
 
 In Creole Adverbs are usually compared, like Adjectives, by plis, 
 more, or moence, less, placed before them; e.g., plis doucement, more 
 softly; moence lony-temps, a shorter while since. 
 
 As in the case of Adjectives also, the most favoured mode of 
 expressing absoluteness of the notion conveyed by the Adverbs, is 
 by iteration; as, moen pas vie ga piece, piece, I do not by any means 
 want that; li vim four bosale, bosale, he came in the rudest possible 
 
 manner.
 
 OF PREPOSITIONS 109 
 
 SYNTAX OF PREPOSITIONS. 
 
 The Creole Prepositions, as may have been seen, (p. 70.) are, 
 in general, corruptions or compoundings of French prepositions 
 or adverbs. We shall content ourselves with noticing one or two 
 that present features worth noting: — 
 
 Ba or ba'i—pou, for. 
 
 That these two prepositions are not always exchangeable, may 
 be seen in the following examples: — 
 
 Creole. English 
 
 Ous vie gahen yon chapeau ba moen? Do you wish to buy a hat for me? 
 
 (i.e., to save mc the trouble of 
 going myself.) 
 Tempouie ganen yon chapeau pou Pray buy me a hat for (my use.) 
 
 moen. 
 Yeaux ca fair bonbon la ba moen. They arc making the cake for me, 
 
 p<jce ce moen qui louer yeaux, because I hired them; but it is 
 
 main ce pas pou moen, pisse ce pas not for me (my use), since it is 
 
 moen qui caller manger li. not I who am to eat it. 
 
 Nans, in. 
 
 After such verbs as soti, tirer, etc., this preposition means from 
 or out of in Creole; as. 
 
 Nous pas soti nans 6o(s. We are not come from the woods. 
 
 Qui moune caller tirer moen nans Who will take me out of this scrape? 
 
 horcope qala? 
 
 Epis — evec, with. 
 
 We may be wrong, but our impression certainly is that epis 
 is more often used among us than evec. Both of them, besides 
 serving to unite words, often denote the instrument or means; as, 
 
 Li taller lote la a-ter cpis yon coude He felled the other to the ground by 
 
 bouique. a blow with a brick. 
 
 Moen natter qa evec lamains moen. I plaited that with my hands.
 
 110 SYNTAX— CONJUNCTIONS 
 
 La-sous — en-lair. upon. 
 
 These are every day used convertibly; e.g.: — 
 Creole. English. 
 
 Tit gagon la la-sous dos yon gouosc The boy is on the back of a big 
 
 houval, or, Li en-lair dos yon. etc. horse. 
 
 But there seems to be some difference between them after all, 
 as for example in, 
 
 La-sous tete moen. On my head (on the side, back.) 
 
 En-lair tete moen. On my head (on the crown, above.) 
 
 Li la-sous pied-bois la, main U pas He is on the tree, but not on top 
 
 enlair It. of it. 
 
 SYNTAX OF CONJUNCTIONS. 
 
 As a general rule, Conjunctions are but sparingly used in Creole. 
 In the following lines, for example, there is none, and none is 
 needed, as the meaning is perfectly clear. But it would not be 
 easy to translate them correctly into English or French without 
 connectives of some sort: — 
 
 "Femmes tombees, lever Though women fall and rise 
 Sept fois nuns lavie : Seven times in their lives, 
 
 Antoenette tomber. Yet Antoinette has fallen, 
 Li pas sa lever!" And cannot rise again I 
 
 We prcKeed to illustrate the use of some conjunctions: — 
 
 Ainsi — so, therefore. 
 
 Moen ' ja die ce pou ous aller, ainsi I have already said you are to go: 
 
 ce pas lapeine douboute Id. so it is useless standing there. 
 
 Avant — rather than. 
 
 "Avant moen coer Rather than think 
 
 M'a scvt beques, I'd serve the whites, 
 
 M'a piler ter I shall tread the earth 
 Grand-chimin la Of the broad road 
 
 Fn-bas pieds moen." Beneath my feet.
 
 INTERJECTIONS 111 
 
 Mdgre, si — however, if. 
 
 Creole English 
 
 Ous doe aller, moncher; magre, si You ought to go, my friend; how- 
 ous vaumter assise Id, assise assise ever, if you prefer sitting there, 
 
 ous. sit on. 
 
 Soet, oben — either, or 
 
 Li pas die zotes dex; It die soet yone He did not say you two; he said 
 
 oben lote. either one or the other. 
 
 None, then. 
 
 This word which is, properly speaking, an interjective particle 
 in Creole, represents the French done, by the same change of d into 
 n, as appears in nans for dans. It comes at the enci of most affir- 
 mative phrases; especially those that convey a consequential or 
 resultive import; in fact, just like its original, done, and the English 
 then; e.g.: — 
 
 Li vie goumen? Does he wish to fight? 
 
 Eh-ben quittez-li goumen, none. Well, let him fight, then. 
 
 Poutant, yet. 
 
 Yeaux sementer die diabe, yeaux te la, They swore by everything sacred, 
 
 et moen pas te ouer yeaux, poutant. that they were there, yet I did 
 
 not see them. 
 
 INTERJECTIONS. 
 
 As these are not significant words, they are not subject to rules 
 of construction. But the ensuing interjectional particles deserve 
 notice, as they are of constant occurrence in Creole discourse: — 
 ein hein, or oun houn, yes; ein ein or oun oun, no; and the exple- 
 tives, non, no, oui. yes, which come respectively at the end of nega- 
 tive and affirmative declarations, and impart a certain admonitory 
 emphasis to what is said; as,
 
 112 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Ce pas poP ous vim, non. 
 Ce pou ous vini, oui. 
 
 English. 
 
 You must not come (mind you.) 
 You must come (do you hear?) 
 
 Toujous occurs at the end of affirmations in which a strong, 
 and, in general, a hostile opinion is expressed; as, 
 
 Ce yon bagga'ie moen bien hd'i, toujous. 
 
 It also intensifies a negative; as. 
 
 Pas moen li 'a touver nans lair It, 
 toujous. 
 
 It is a thing I utterly detest. 
 
 It would not be me he will find in 
 his way.
 
 Part IV. 
 
 INTERPRETATION— IDIOMS. 
 
 We have now ended the Grammar proper of the Creole patois. 
 The composition of its vocabulary as a whole, the accidents of its 
 individual words, and their arrangement into sentences, have all 
 been discussed with more or less minuteness. It is now our 
 purposes to treat, in a few brief paragraphs, of the meaning of 
 words, both individually and in specific constructions. In doing 
 this, we are sensible of exceeding, in some points, the limits of our 
 present undertaking, which is a grammar, and not a dictionary. 
 But, considering the peculiar nature of the subject, and the fact 
 that there is, as yet, no work devoted to the exposition of the 
 patois — of this Island at least — we anticipate the ready for- 
 giveness of the reader, and promise that the indulgence granted will 
 not be abused. 
 
 In order that some notion may be formed of the divergence of 
 the Creole from the French with regard to the import and use of 
 individual words, we shall give a few specimens of French words 
 with meaning deflected, contracted, or diverted to totally different 
 applications: and of French words with their ordinary Creole 
 equivalents. 
 
 /. — French Words in Their Usual Creole Acceptation. 
 
 French. Creole. 
 
 Abimer, v. to destroy, ruin, etc. Bimen, to beat severely. 
 
 Acajou, mahogany. Cajou, cedar.
 
 1 14 
 
 INTERPRETATION 
 
 French. 
 
 Achat, s. a purchase. 
 
 Aplanir, v. to make plain, to level. 
 
 Aligner, v. to put in or according to 
 
 a line. 
 Aneantir, v. to annihilate. 
 Bagage, s. luggage, baggage. 
 Balloter. v. to ballot. 
 
 Bamboche, s. dwarf. 
 Bananier, s. a large rose. 
 Bombe, s. bomb. 
 Botte, part, booted 
 
 Bout, s. end 
 
 Brigand, s. brigand, robber. 
 
 Brigandage, s. robbery, etc. 
 Cabane, s. cabin, hut. 
 Camisole, s. waistecoat, jacket. 
 Camouflet, s. a. lighted paper held 
 
 under one's nose, an affront. 
 Capon, s. a. sharper. 
 Capote, s. a riding-hood. 
 Carrefour, s. cross-road. 
 Case, s. small house, hut. 
 Casuel, adj. casual, accidental. 
 Chaudiere, s. cauldron. 
 Cbicoter, v. to quarrel about trifles. 
 
 Commerce, s. commerce, traffic. 
 
 Crier, v. to bawl out. 
 
 Crise, s. crisis. 
 
 Courage, s. courage, fortitude. 
 
 Decapiter, v. to cut off the head. 
 
 * This contraction coming after a 
 Creole the same import as in French. 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Achat id.* — any transaction. 
 
 Plant, to swoop down (of birds.) 
 
 A/iner-corps, to put ones-self on a 
 level with. 
 
 Aneanti, to worry out, to ill-treat. 
 
 Bagga'ie, id. — thing, object. 
 
 balloter, to sway to and fro, to stag- 
 ger, to dawdle. 
 
 Bamboche, dissipation, revelry. 
 
 Bananier, 21 plantain-garden. 
 
 Bombe, a beaver hat. 
 
 Botte id. (rarely) — to be violently in 
 love. 
 
 Bout {e) id." — cigar. 
 
 Bouigund, a pugnacious blackground 
 a dissolute fellow. 
 
 Bouiganda'ie, uproar, dissipation. 
 
 Cabane, bed. 
 
 Camisole, jacket. 
 
 Camouflet, a back-handed slap. 
 
 Capon, a coward. 
 
 Capote, a bonnet. 
 
 Callefou, hut, hole, obscure corner. 
 
 Caie, house residence. 
 
 Casouel, s. perquisites. 
 
 Chodier, iron pot, copper. 
 
 Chicoter, 
 
 Chi pot er, 
 
 Commece id. — mess, confusion. 
 
 Crier, to call to name. 
 
 Cnse, a fit, hysterics. 
 
 Courage, endurance, effrontery 
 
 Di'capiter to slander. 
 
 word signifies that it sometimes has in 
 
 to pester, to worry.
 
 INTERPRETATION 1 1 5 
 
 French. Creole. 
 
 Ecraser, v. to crusi: in pieces. Ecraser, to depreciate, to cast a slut 
 
 upon. 
 
 Fricassee, v. to fricasse. Fouicasser, id. — to fling down vio- 
 
 ...Jently, to give angrily. 
 
 Mal-a-propos, adv. unseasonably, Malapouopos, causelessly, 
 
 untoward. 
 
 Marchand, e, s, a dealer, shop-keeper. Mdchdne, a hawker about of vendi- 
 
 bles. 
 
 Jappe, s. prattling. Jappe, manner of barking: a bark. 
 
 Jurer, v. to swear, blaspheme. Jirer, to curse, to abuse. 
 
 Jurement, s. an oath, blasphemy. Jiement, abuse. 
 
 Pere, s. father. Per, priest. 
 
 //. — French Words With Their Ordinary Creole Equivalents. 
 
 Almost all the sentences in this book illustrate the fact that the 
 Creole, like all dialects of synthetic languages, is essentially analyc- 
 tical. A vast number of words common in French not being used 
 in the patois, it is often necessary to recur to those which are 
 current and convey the same general notion in both idioms: — 
 
 French. English. Creole. 
 Aboyer, to bark — japper. 
 Aigutse, sharp — file. 
 Aimable. aimable — meriter aimen. 
 Auare, avaricious — safe piou Idgent, chice. 
 Bienveillant, benevolent, qui tini ton CHer. 
 Demarche, gait — mdche, game mdcher. 
 Dessein, design — fa yon moune compter fair. 
 Donner, to give — bdie. 
 Etage. story — grihvn 
 Evidemment, evidently — claiment. 
 S'habiller, to dress — changer. 
 Hideux, hideous — bien laide. 
 Impartial, impartial — ni pou yone ni pou lote, jisse. 
 
 P2
 
 116 
 
 IDIOMS 
 
 French. English. Creole. 
 
 Inexorable, inexorable — qui tini CHer fer, sans pitie. 
 
 Lit, bedspread — couche. 
 
 Mur, wall — maqonne. 
 
 Parupluie. umbrella- — -parasol. 
 
 Parer, to adorn — fair belle. 
 
 Plafond, ceiling — ciel ca'ie. 
 
 Porte cochere, gate — baier. 
 
 Recompenser, reward — payer pou lapeine. 
 
 Se reconcilier, to be reconciled — fair zamis. 
 
 Se reveiller, to awake — lever nans domi 
 
 Tate d'oretller, pillow-case — sac zorier. 
 
 Tableaux, pictures — portrets. 
 
 Toit, roof — combe. 
 
 Des vitces, window panes — glaces finetes. 
 
 IDIOMS. 
 
 Idioms are modes of expression peculiar to a language, and 
 which if Hterally rendered into another, will not give the right 
 meaning. In Creole the number of idiomatic expressions is very 
 large; and, sometimes, owing to the extreme fancifulness of many 
 of them, most difficult of interpretation. The following are 
 samples of these singular locutions: — 
 
 Creole 
 
 Bale lelemis laite pou 
 boer la-sous tete ous. 
 Bate coude ouoche, et 
 p%s die ci' laboue. 
 
 Bale yon moune Bon- 
 die sans confesser. 
 
 Barer lair yon moune. 
 
 Literal. 
 
 Meaning. 
 
 Give enemies milk to To act so as to justify 
 
 drink on your head. their worst imputations. 
 
 To hit with a stone, To insult under pre- 
 
 and then say it is with fence of jestma 
 mud. 
 
 To give a person God To repose unlimited 
 
 without confession. confidence in him. 
 
 To stop up a person's To cut him short. 
 room.
 
 IDIOMS 
 
 117 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Batte buuche compte 
 yon baggdie. 
 
 Batte tambou et-p'is 
 danser li. 
 
 Bouef la-sous yon 
 causer. 
 
 Chdgez waia o u s, 
 moncher. 
 
 Numme la tint yon tit 
 cochon ca noun pou ous. 
 
 Li casser bois nans.. 
 zoreies li. 
 
 Li eraser toutes mem- 
 bes moen. 
 
 Coui con dos, dos con 
 coui. 
 
 Ce yon couteau phe- 
 macie. 
 
 Chauffer deier zoteie 
 yon moune. 
 
 Soutfler zoreie li. 
 
 Danser con tambou ca 
 batte. 
 
 Decapiter yon moune. 
 
 Employe laca'ie Flani- 
 gan (i.e. ca flanner.) 
 
 Entrer nans venle yon 
 moune. 
 
 Fair "riviens-helas." 
 
 Fair gouos mageoles. 
 
 Literal. 
 
 To beat the mouth 
 about a thing. 
 
 To beat a drum and 
 dance it. 
 
 Brief on a discourse. 
 
 Load your hamper. 
 
 That man has a pig 
 feeding for you. 
 my friend. 
 
 He broke wood in 
 his cars. 
 
 He smashed all my 
 members. 
 
 Calabash like back, 
 back like calabash. 
 
 He is an apothecary's 
 knife. 
 
 To warm behind a 
 person's ear. 
 
 To blow his ears. 
 
 To dance as the drum 
 beats. 
 
 To decapitate a per- 
 son. 
 
 Employed at Flani- 
 gan's. 
 
 To get into a per- 
 son's belly. 
 
 To make return alas. 
 
 To make large dew- 
 laps. 
 
 Meaning. 
 
 To talk incessantly, to 
 babble, to boast, about a 
 thing. 
 
 To flatly contradict 
 one's own previous state- 
 ments. 
 
 To stop short in a dis- 
 course. 
 
 Take a long sivill at 
 the bottle. 
 
 He owes you a grudge. 
 
 He turned a deaf ear 
 to. 
 
 He moved me to deep 
 commiseration. 
 
 Utterly disappointed 
 in one's expectations; 
 destitute. 
 
 A man with two., 
 taces. 
 
 To incite or urge him 
 to some deed. 
 
 To give him private 
 warning or information. 
 
 To accommodate one's 
 self to prevailing cus- 
 toms. 
 
 To slander him with- 
 out stint. 
 
 To be out of employ. 
 
 To cheat him out and 
 out. 
 
 To take up again 
 what had been aban- 
 doned. 
 
 To give one's self airs.
 
 1 1 8 IDIOMS 
 
 Creole. Literal. Meaning. 
 
 Fair yon moune rnal. To do a person harm. To injure him by 
 
 means of witchcraft. 
 Li fourer doegt nans He poked his finger He presumed on my 
 
 ziex mo'en. into my eye. good nature to insult 
 
 me grossly. 
 Cens qui ca manen People who handle Persons addicted to 
 
 zebes. grasses. obeah. 
 
 Coder moune a-cote. To watch a person To mistrust or sus- 
 
 aside. pect a person. 
 
 Ganen la-sous lespouit To gain on our sense. To persuade us to our 
 
 nous. disadvantage. 
 
 Cazou'ier nans pdouo- To babble in his To be random, tnco- 
 
 les U. talk herent, wandering, i n 
 
 one's speech. 
 
 Gens qui tint poeles People who have stiff Pugnacious, stubborn 
 
 raides. bristles. people. 
 
 Pas moen caller haler Not I will pull this / decline to discuss 
 
 piquant gala epis zotes. thorn with you. (or to dispute on) this 
 
 matter with you. 
 
 Lapeau ziex yeaux Their eyelids are They are utterly ig- 
 
 bien raides. very stiff. norant of reading and 
 
 writing. 
 
 Yeaux doe lasses laver They ought to be They should be weary 
 
 lamains la-sous zotes. weary washing hands on of beating you so often. 
 
 you. 
 
 Lever boucan d e 'i e r To raise a bonfire be- To reprimand them 
 
 mounes. hind persons. noisily. 
 
 Mdrer yon moune. To tie a person. To cast an obeah spell 
 
 over him. 
 
 Mdrer vente pou yon To tie the belly for To endure every pri- 
 
 haggaie. a thing. vation, strain every fa- 
 
 culty, for its attainment. 
 
 Mater yon moune. To put a mast on To lift him suddenly 
 
 some one. otf his feet. 
 
 Li metter dleau nans He put water in the He occasioned them 
 
 ziex fam'ie It. eyes of his relations. grief. 
 
 Ous va moder doegt You shall bite finger You shall bitterly re- 
 
 Iher h touop tad. when it is too late. pent, etc.
 
 IDIOMS 
 
 119 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Yeaux peser la-sous 
 laaue li. 
 
 Pieter yon moune pod 
 yon baggaie. 
 
 Li tint yon plomb. 
 
 Pouend dithe pou la- 
 t'ii'Ve yon moune. 
 
 Literal. 
 
 They have pressed on 
 his tail. 
 
 To wait for a person 
 with the determination 
 of extorting satisfaction 
 of some kind from him. 
 
 He has a lead. 
 
 To take tea for some 
 one's fever. 
 
 Quitter chein manger To let dogs eat a 
 
 yon moune. person. 
 
 Mocn pende chapeau I hang up my hat 
 
 moen oti lamain moen te where my hand could 
 
 sa river. reach. 
 
 Pousser zaile zoies. 
 
 To shove goose wing. 
 
 Sans coucou sans Without (bored) ca- 
 
 graine-dor. labash, without gold 
 
 bead. 
 
 Sauter ba'i mounes qui To jump give per- 
 
 ca bd li bon bouche. sons who are giving 
 
 him good mouth. 
 
 Pas sevi pessone lam- 
 pion. 
 
 Yon nomme simpe. 
 
 Don't serve as a lamp 
 to any body. 
 
 A simple man. 
 
 Gens qui tini zoreies People who have their 
 
 yeaux plis hauls passe cars above their heads. 
 tetes yeaux. 
 
 Meaning. 
 
 They have fined or 
 charged him heavily. 
 
 He is tipsy. 
 
 To interest one's self 
 in a business more zea- 
 lously than those it 
 really concerns: to take 
 the least notice of an 
 individual. 
 
 To allow every one 
 that lists to oppress him. 
 
 I went according to 
 my abilities, or afford- 
 in gs. 
 
 To handle a pen; to 
 write rapidly. 
 
 Without kith or kin: 
 utterly destitute. 
 
 To be impetuously 
 insolent towards those 
 who address him with 
 civility. 
 
 Do not hang on his 
 skirts, dog his steps, be 
 
 a parasite. 
 
 A man ignorant of 
 witchcraft ; having no 
 o b e a h charms, etc., 
 
 wearing. 
 
 Insubordinate persons.
 
 \12 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Ce pas poP ous vim, non. 
 Ce pou ous vim, oui. 
 
 English. 
 
 You must not come (mind you.) 
 You must come (do you hear?) 
 
 Toujous occurs at the end of affirmations in which a strong, 
 and, in general, a hostile opinion is expressed; as. 
 
 Ce yon bagga'ie moen bien hah toujous. 
 
 It also intensifies a negative; as. 
 
 Pas moen li 'a touver nans lair U, 
 toujous. 
 
 It is a thing I utterly detest. 
 
 It would not be me he will find in 
 his way.
 
 Part IV. 
 
 INTERPRETATION— IDIOMS. 
 
 We have now ended the Grammar proper of the Creole patois. 
 The composition of its vocabulary as a whole, the accidents of its 
 individual words, and their arrangement into sentences, have all 
 been discussed with more or less minuteness. It is now our 
 purposes to treat, in a few brief paragraphs, of the meaning of 
 words, both individually and in specific constructions. In doing 
 this, we are sensible of exceeding, in some points, the limits of our 
 present undertaking, which is a grammar, and not a dictionary. 
 But, considering the peculiar nature of the subject, and the fact 
 that there is, as yet, no work devoted to the exposition of the 
 patois — of this Island at least — we anticipate the ready for- 
 giveness of the reader, and promise that the indulgence granted will 
 not be abused. 
 
 In order that some notion may be formed of the divergence of 
 the Creole from the French with regard to the import and use of 
 individual words, we shall give a few specimens of French words 
 with meaning deflected, contracted, or diverted to totally different 
 applications: and of French words with their ordinary Creole 
 equivalents. 
 
 /. — French Words in Their Usual Creole Acceptation. 
 
 French. Creole. 
 
 Ab'imer, v. to destroy, ruin, etc. Bimcn, to beat severely. 
 
 Acajou, mahogany. Cajou, cedar.
 
 122 
 
 PROVERBS 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Bon-bouche ca ganen chouoals a- 
 credit. 
 
 Meme baton qui batte chein noer la 
 pe batte chein blanc la. 
 
 Canari vie ne chodier. 
 
 Ous poncor travesser Idtvier, pas 
 jirez maman caiman. 
 
 English. 
 
 Fair words buy horses on credit. 
 
 The same stick that beat the black 
 dog can beat the white. 
 
 The clay-pot wishes to laugh at the 
 iron -pot. 
 
 You have not yet crossed the river, 
 do not curse the crocodile's mo- 
 ther. 
 
 As Mungo Park, in his "Travels," has truly observed, the dead- 
 liest affront that can be offered t?o a Negro, is to abuse his mother. 
 This proverb, therefore, means that men should beware of un- 
 pardonably offending those into whose power they possibly may 
 fall. 
 
 Si crapaud die ous caiman tint mal- 
 ziex, coer-li. 
 
 If the frog tells you the crocodile 
 has sore eyes, believe him. 
 
 In the testimony of one man concerning another, his neighbour- 
 hood and similarity of habits and living should be allowed great 
 weight. 
 
 Ce langue crapaud qui ca trabi cra- 
 paud. 
 
 It is the frog's own tongue that 
 betrays him. 
 
 But for the clamourous self-proclamation of some mortals, 
 they might have lived through a life, the obscurity of which alone 
 could save them from the world's contempt. 
 
 Crapaud pas tint chimise, ous vie li 
 poter caneqonl 
 
 Cououi laide, temps lafoce pas la. 
 
 Frog has no shirt, (the necessary,) 
 and you wish him to wear draw- 
 ers (the superfluous) ! 
 
 To run away is not ugly, when one 
 has no strength. 
 
 Discretion is the best part of valour.
 
 PROVERBS 
 
 123 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Couyenade ce pas limonade. 
 
 Crabe pas mdcher, It pas gras; li ma- 
 cher touop, et li tomber nans cho- 
 dier. 
 
 English 
 
 Nonsense is not sugar-water. 
 
 Crab has not walked, he is not fat; 
 he has walked too much, and has 
 fallen into the pot. 
 
 A judicious activity is here inculcated. 
 
 De'ier chein, ce "chein;" 
 Douvant chein, 
 
 Ce "missier chein." 
 
 Behind dog's back, it is "dog;" 
 But before dog. 
 
 It is "mister dog." 
 
 We take more liberties with men in their absence than when 
 they are present. 
 
 Cens qui ca bd ous conse'i ganen chou- 
 val gouos boudins nans Ihouvenaie, 
 nans careme pas ca rider ous nouri 
 li. 
 
 * Si couleve pas te fonte femmes se 
 pouend li fair cibans jipes. 
 
 They who advise you to buy a big- 
 paunched horse in the rainy season 
 (when grass is abundant) don't 
 help you to feed him in the dry 
 season (when grass is scarce.) 
 
 If the adder were not so brazen dan- 
 gerous) women would take it for 
 coat-strings. 
 
 But for the spirit of resistance known to be dormant in even 
 the quietest of men, the freaks of tyranny would go to greater 
 lengths. 
 
 Causer ce manger zoreies. 
 
 Manger yon fois pas ca riser dents 
 
 Dents pas jamain rie bans bagga'ies. 
 
 Dents pas ca poter dei. 
 Dents pas CHers. 
 
 Conversation is the food of the ear. 
 Eating once docs not wear out teeth. 
 Teeth never laugh at things that 
 arc good. 
 
 Teeth do not wear mourning. 
 Teeth are not hearts. 
 
 Innocence or lightness of heart must not always be inferred 
 from displays of the teeth in laughter. 
 
 Q2
 
 116 
 
 IDIOMS 
 
 French. English. Creole. 
 
 Inexorable, inexorable — qui imi CHer fer, sans pitie. 
 
 Lit, bedspread — couche. 
 
 Mur, wall — maqonne. 
 
 Parapluie, umbrella — parasol. 
 
 Parer, to adorn — fair belle. 
 
 Plafond, ceiling — del ca'ie. 
 
 Porte cochere, gate — bd'ier. 
 
 Recompenser, reward — payer pou lapeine. 
 
 Se reconcilier, to be reconciled — fair zamis. 
 
 Se reveiller, to awake — lever nans domi 
 
 Taie d'oreiller, pillow-case- — sac zorier. 
 
 Tableaux, pictures — portrets. 
 
 Toit, roof — combe. 
 
 Des vitres. window panes — glaces finetes. 
 
 IDIOMS. 
 
 Idioms are modes of expression peculiar to a language, and 
 which if literally rendered into another, will not give the right 
 meaning. In Creole the number of idiomatic expressions is very 
 large; and, sometimes, owing to the extreme fancifulness of many 
 of them, most difficult of interpretation. The following are 
 samples of these singular locutions: — 
 
 Creole 
 
 Bate lelemis laite pou 
 boer la-sous tete ous. 
 Bate coCide ouoche. et 
 p^s die ce laboue. 
 
 Bate yon moune Bon- 
 die sans confesser. 
 
 Barer lair yon moune. 
 
 Literal. 
 
 Meaning. 
 
 Give enemies milk to To act so as to justify 
 
 drink on your head. their a'orsf tmputattons. 
 
 To hit with a stone. To insult under pre- 
 
 and then say it is witii tence of jestina 
 mud. 
 
 To give a person God To repose unlimited 
 
 without confession. confidence in htm. 
 
 To stop up a person's To cut him short. 
 room.
 
 IDIOMS 
 
 117 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Butte bouche compte 
 yon baggdie. 
 
 Batte tambou et-pis 
 danser li. 
 
 Bouef la-sous yon 
 causer. 
 
 Chagez waia o u s, 
 moncher. 
 
 Nomme la ttm yon tit 
 cochon ca noun pou ous. 
 
 Li cassec bois nans. 
 zoreies li. 
 
 Li eraser toutes mem- 
 bes tnoen. 
 
 Coui con dos, dos con 
 coui. 
 
 Ce yon couteau phe- 
 macie. 
 
 Chauffer deier zoreie 
 yon moune. 
 
 Soufflec zoreie li. 
 
 Danser con tambou ca 
 batte. 
 
 Decapiter yon moune. 
 
 Employe laca'ie Flani- 
 gan (i.e. ca flanner.) 
 
 Entrer nans vente yon 
 moune. 
 
 Fair "riviens-helas." 
 
 Fair gouos mageoles. 
 
 Literal. 
 
 To beat the mouth 
 about a thing. 
 
 To beat a drum and 
 dance it. 
 
 Brief on a discourse. 
 Load your hamper, 
 
 That man has a pig 
 feeding for you. 
 my friend. 
 
 He broke wood in 
 his cars. 
 
 He smashed all my 
 members. 
 
 Calabash like back, 
 back like calabash. 
 
 He is an apothecary's 
 knife. 
 
 To warm behind a 
 person's ear. 
 
 To blow his ears. 
 
 To dance as the drum 
 beats. 
 
 To decapitate a per- 
 son. 
 
 Employed at Flani- 
 gan's. 
 
 To get into a per- 
 son's belly. 
 
 To make return alas. 
 
 To make large dew- 
 laps. 
 
 Meaning. 
 
 To talk incessantly, to 
 babble, to boast, about a 
 thing. 
 
 To flatly contradict 
 one's own previous state- 
 ments. 
 
 To stop short in a dis- 
 course. 
 
 Take a long swill at 
 the bottle. 
 
 He owes you a grudge. 
 
 He turned a deaf ear 
 to. 
 
 He moved me to deep 
 commiseration. 
 
 Utterly disappointed 
 in one's expectations; 
 destitute. 
 
 A man with two . 
 faces. 
 
 To incite or urge him 
 to some deed. 
 
 To give him private 
 warning or information. 
 
 To accommodate one's 
 self to prevailing cus- 
 toms. 
 
 To slander him with- 
 out stint. 
 
 To be out of employ. 
 
 To cheat him out and 
 out. 
 
 To take up again 
 what had been aban- 
 doned. 
 
 To give one's self airs.
 
 126 PROVERBS 
 
 caudal region. Liberties and encroachments may proceed to great 
 lengths; but there is a point at which they rouse the sleeping devil 
 in the meekest of men, 
 
 Creole. English. 
 
 Miser ca fair macaque manger piments. Want makes monkey cat pepper. 
 
 The iron pressure of Necessity drives men to concessions foreign 
 to their natuiral predilections. 
 
 Mathers pas ca chager con laplie. Accidents do not threaten like rain. 
 
 Baggaie qui fair ziex fair nez. Whatever affects the eye affects the 
 
 nose. 
 
 Qui melee zefs nans calenda ouoches? What business have eggs in the dance 
 
 * Qui meler rose nans paquet bois of stones.' 
 
 Jacques!' What business has a rose in Jacque's 
 
 bundle of wood.'' 
 
 This is to meddlers in matters they know nothing about; to men 
 eager after, and moving in, society which they cannot enjoy with- 
 out injury or self-abasement; in short, to all who, through their 
 own folly, are, and suffer for being, where they ought not to have 
 intruded. 
 
 Paler touop ca lever chem nans domi. Too much talking rouses the watch- 
 
 dog from sleep. 
 
 The eager whisperings of irresolute thieves are as sure to produce 
 the result above described, as the babblings and childish indis- 
 cretion of some men are to bring ruin on their projects by putting 
 the vigilance of envy on the alert. 
 
 Paler pas rimede. Talking is no remedy. 
 
 Pdouoles pas tint couler. Words have no colour. 
 
 This is generally said in rebuke of persons who stare a speaker 
 out of countenance. 
 
 * Faut paouoles mor pou mounes pe Words must die that men may live. 
 
 vive. 
 
 Very short will be the earthly existence of a person who does
 
 PROVERBS 
 
 127 
 
 not allow slander to die a natural death, but fumes and frets at 
 every thing said against him. 
 
 Creole. 
 
 Ravette pas jamain tnt nitson douvant 
 poule. 
 
 English. 
 
 Cockroach never is in the right where 
 the fowl is concerned. 
 
 The reign of injustice, during which the insect symbolished the 
 Negro, and the bird, his oppresscr, is slowly passing away. There 
 is now some chance for the roach, and day by day he is vindicating 
 his claim to a little more. 
 
 Rasters tint zoreies. 
 
 Ce soldiers tout-sel qui save si has 
 tini tous. 
 
 Tambou tint grand tram pace en- 
 didans li vide. 
 
 Tampee ca ganen malhers ga doublons 
 pas sa Gen. 
 
 Traviit pas mal; ce ziex qui capons. 
 
 Ce Iher vent ca venter moune ca ouer 
 lapeau poule. 
 
 Bush has ears. 
 
 Shoes alone know if the stockings 
 have holes. 
 
 A drum makes a loud noise because 
 it is empty within. 
 
 A penny buys troubles which dou- 
 bloons cannot cure. 
 
 Work is not hard: it is the eyes that 
 are cowards. 
 
 It is when the wind is blowing that 
 we see the skin of a fowl. 
 
 The true character a man can be seen only under circumstances 
 that ruffle the every-day monotony of his life. 
 
 Voyer chein, chein voyer laCUe li. 
 
 Send dog, dog sends his tail. 
 
 The reference here is to that conceited laziness which likes to 
 obey by proxy. 
 
 Nomme mort, zebes ca lever douvant 
 lap ate li. 
 
 Si zandoli te bon vidne It pas se ca 
 driver. 
 
 The man has died, grass grows be- 
 fore his door. 
 
 If the lizard had eatable flesh, it 
 would not be so common.
 
 128 
 
 TRANSLATIONS. WC 
 
 CREOLE TRANSLATIONS, ^c. 
 
 The following specimens, (which are all wc have room for,) 
 are intended to exemplify two modes of translating into Creole. 
 Our first piece, from the Gospel of St. John, is a close translation, 
 which was made, experimentally, from the Latin; and afterwards 
 compared with Greek. In some verses we have departed from 
 the formula "answered and said:" and have substituted " "made 
 for answer," or simply "answered," the latter renderings being 
 the only ones allowable in Creole. In the 12th verse, we begin 
 the woman's question with die moen. "tell me," for which there 
 is no equivalent in the English nor French translation; but we 
 think it answers to the interrogatory particle in the original, which 
 is represented in the Latin version by num. Our other pieces 
 are paraphrases, more or less free, from Perrin, AEsop and 
 La Fontaine. The last is a sample of Haytian, by M. I'Herisson, 
 surnamed the Beranger of Hayti. 
 
 JOHN IV.— 6-19. 
 
 Creole. 
 
 6. Apouesent, pits Jacob 
 te nans place la. Jesis, 
 con li tc Insse epis route 
 li, assise bod pits la; et 
 cetc cote mindi con-qa. 
 
 French. 
 
 6. C'elait la qu'etait le 
 puits de Jacob. Jesus 
 clone, etant fatigue du 
 chemin, s'assit pres du 
 puits: c'etait environ la 
 sixieme heure du jour. 
 
 English. 
 
 6. Now Jacob's well 
 was there. Jesus there- 
 fore, being wearied with 
 his journey, sat thus on 
 the well : and it was 
 about the sixth hour. 
 
 7. Yon femme, gens 7. Une femme sama- 
 
 Samaric. vini haler dleau. litaine etant venue pour 
 
 Jesis die li: Ba-moen puiser de I'eau, Jesus lui 
 
 boer. dit : Donne-moi a boire. 
 
 7. There comcth a 
 woman of Samaria to 
 draw water: Jesus saith 
 unto her, Give me o 
 drink. 
 
 8. (Discipcs li etant te 8. Car ses disciples etai- 8. (For his disciples 
 
 aller nans boiiq la gaiien ent al'es a la ville, pour were gone away unto 
 povisions. ) ccheter des vivres. the city to buy meat).
 
 TRANSLATIONS, iiC 
 
 129 
 
 9. Alosse, femme sama- 
 ritaine la die li: coumcnt 
 fair ous, qui yon Juif, ca 
 mander dleau pou boer 
 nans lamain moen, qui 
 yon fcmme samaritaine? 
 p.kc Juifs pas ca meler 
 cpis gens Samarie. 
 
 9. Cette femme samari- 
 taine lui repondit: Com- 
 ment toi, qui es Juif. 
 me demandes-tu a boire. 
 a moi qui suis femme 
 samantcune? car les Juifs 
 n'ont point de communi- 
 cation avec les Samari- 
 tains. 
 
 9. Then saith the wo- 
 man of Samaria unto 
 him. How is it that 
 thou, being a Jew, askest 
 drink of me, which am 
 a woman of Samaria? 
 for the Jews have no 
 dealings with the Samar- 
 itans. 
 
 10. Jesis fair li pou la 
 reponse: Si ous te con- 
 naite qa Bondie bale, et- 
 pis qui moune ^a qui ca 
 die ous: Ba-moen boer, 
 ous se mander, et li se 
 va ba ous, dleau vivant. 
 
 10. Jesus repondit et 
 lui dit: Si tu connais- 
 sais le don de Dteu, et 
 qui est celui qui te dtt : 
 Donne-moi a boire, tu 
 lui en aurais demande 
 toi-meme, et il t'aurait 
 donne-une eau vice. 
 
 10. Jesus answered and 
 said unto her, If thou 
 knewcst the gift of God, 
 and who it is that saith 
 to thee. Give me i^o 
 drink; thou wouldest 
 have asked of him, and 
 he would have given 
 thee living water. 
 
 1 1 . Femme la die li: 
 Maite, ous pas tnt aien 
 pou haler dleau evec, et 
 pits la fond; ainsi, oti 
 ous tni dleau vivant la? 
 
 11. La femme lui dit: 
 Seigneur, tu n'as rien 
 pour puiser. et le puits 
 est profond; d'ou aur- 
 ais tu done cette eau 
 vive? 
 
 1 1 . The woman saith 
 unto him. Sir, thou hast 
 nothing to draw with, 
 and the well is deep: 
 from whence then hast 
 thou that living water? 
 
 12. Die-mocn, ecc ous 
 plis grand-tete passe pa- 
 pa nous Jacob, qui ba 
 nous pits qa-la, oti li- 
 meme, zenfants li, et-pis 
 betes li, te ca boer? 
 
 12. Es-tu plus grand 
 que Jacob notre pire, 
 qui nous a donne cf 
 puits, ct qui en a bu lui- 
 mcme, aussi bien que ses 
 enfants et ses troupeaux? 
 
 12. Art thou greater 
 than our father Jacob, 
 which gave us the well, 
 and drank thereof him- 
 self, and his children, 
 and his cattle? 
 
 13. Jesis reponc li: 13. Jesus lui repondit: 13. Jesus answered and 
 
 Moune qui ca boer nans Quiconque boit de cette said unto her, Whosoever 
 
 dleau ccla-la. va socf en- eau aura encore soif ; drinkcth of this water 
 
 cor; shall thirst again: 
 
 14. Main qa qui boer 14. Mais celui qui 14. But whosoever 
 
 nans dleau la m'a ba li, boira de I'eau que je lui drinketh of the water
 
 130 
 
 TRANSLATIONS, KC 
 
 pas ca soef pou jamain; 
 main dleau la m'a ba li 
 la, va vini endidans li 
 yon souce dleau qui 'a 
 simonter jouque lavie 
 etenelle. 
 
 15, Femme la die li: 
 Maite, ba-moen dleau 
 cela-la, pou moen pas 
 soef encor, ni vini ici 
 pou haler. 
 
 1 6. Jesis die li: Allez, 
 cricz mari ous, et-pis 
 vini ici, 
 
 17. Femme la fair li 
 pou la reponse: Moen 
 pas tini mari. Jesis die 
 li: Ous bien die: moen 
 pas tni mari: 
 
 18. Pace ous ja tini 
 cinq maris, et, apouesent, 
 qa ous tini la pas mari 
 ous: nans ga ce la verita 
 ous paler. 
 
 19. Femme la die li: 
 Maite, moen ca ouer ous 
 ce yon pouophete. 
 
 donnerai n'aura jamais 
 soif. mats I'eau que je 
 lui donnerai deoiendra 
 en lui une source d'eau 
 qui jaillira jusqu'a la 
 vie eternelle. 
 
 15. La femme lui dit: 
 Seigneur, donne-moi dc 
 cette eau, afm que je 
 n'aie plus soif, et que je 
 ne vienne plus ici pour 
 en puiser. 
 
 16. Jesus lui dit: Va, 
 appelle ton man, et viens 
 ici. 
 
 1 7- La femme repon- 
 dit: Je n'ai point de 
 mari. Jesus lui dit : Tu 
 as fort bien dit: Je n'ai 
 point de man; 
 
 1 8. Car tu as eu cinq 
 maris; et celui que tu 
 as maintenant n'est pas 
 ton mari; tu as dit vrai 
 en cela. 
 
 \9. La femme lui dit: 
 Seigneur, je oois que tu 
 es un prophete. 
 
 that I shall give him 
 shall never thirst; but 
 the water that I shall 
 give him shall be in him 
 a well of water spring- 
 ing up into everlasting 
 life. 
 
 1 5. The woman saith 
 unto him, Sir, give me 
 this water, that I thirst 
 not, neither come hi- 
 ther to draw. 
 
 16. Jesus saith unto 
 her. Go, call thy hus- 
 band, and come hither. 
 
 17. The woman an- 
 swered and said, I have 
 no husband. Jesus said 
 unto her. Thou hast 
 well said, I have no 
 husband : 
 
 18. For thou hast had 
 five husbands; and he 
 whom thou now hast 
 is not thy husband; in 
 that saidst thou truly. 
 
 19. The woman saith 
 unto him. Sir, I per- 
 ceive that thou art a 
 prophet. 
 
 FABLES. «c. 
 
 Canari et-pis Chodier-fer. 
 
 From Perrin. 
 
 Yon vousse dleau te ca ehaier yon chodicr-fer epis yon canari 
 aller. Chodier-fer la ca die ba'i canari: — "Pas per, non, fouer;
 
 TRANSLATIONS, «C 131 
 
 moen pas caer fair ous ditort." Main canari repone li: — "Tempouie, 
 halez-corps-ous loen moen, sousplet; pace, con corps moen ct-pis 
 cela-ous pas mcmes piece, piece, si lai'vier la jeter ous la-sous moen, 
 aio pitit pou moen! pisse m'a erase en mille miettes." 
 
 Mounes qui tini sentiment pas vie companie gens qui forts passe 
 yeaux ni cote poche, ni en grander, ni coument coument. 
 
 Mouche et-pis Bef. 
 
 From Perrin. 
 
 Yon mouche qui te posee la-sous cone yon gouos papa bef, tc per 
 bef la pas te pe sippoter poids li. Alosse, i ca die ba'i bef: — "Mis- 
 sier, padon pou davocr moen assise icite; main si moen ca pcscr tete 
 ous touop, die moen, et m'a soti, pou soulager ous. Bef, apoucscnt, 
 ca mander: — "Main, ^a ca paler la.''" — "Ce moen." — "Qui 
 'moen'?" — "Mi moen ici." — "O ho, ce ous, manze' mouche.'' Pas 
 toublez corps-ous, macher. Ous pas loiid piece con ous ca coer. 
 Moen pas se 'a save ous te la, si ous pas te paler — et Iher ous soti 
 la-sous cone moen, fair-ous coer moen pa c'aller senti Iher ous aller." 
 
 Toute moune ce grand qucchoie — silon /caux-mcme; main lezo- 
 tes la pou jiger ^a yeaux ye pou-toute-bon. Qualite yon nommc 
 pas faite pa coueyance li. 
 
 Rindd et-pis Baboune. 
 Paraphrased from AEsop's Fox and Ape. 
 
 Temps moen tc jene — jcne, jene tit boua'i encor — 
 
 Moen te aimen lie face louoi Baboune: 
 
 Con li gaficn yon royomc pa belle danse, 
 
 Et-pis coument li pede qa pa bctise. 
 
 Toutes betes sauvaVes semblcr pou feter fete: — 
 
 Lcphant, lion, tigue, matapcl, tatou, 
 
 Lape, couenque, agouti, biche, potcpiquc, radcne- 
 
 Enfin, toutes betes Bondie mctter nans bois, 
 
 Touver yeaux la, farauds eon pas possibe.
 
 132 TRANSLATIONS, BC 
 
 Moen pas cetain qui danser yeaux danser, 
 
 Si te tambou, o si cete vielon; 
 
 Si festin la pouend-coup en-bas yon tente, 
 
 Oben nans caie, la-sous plancher cire; 
 
 Main moen connaite, pami toutes ces betes la. 
 
 Ce maite Baboune qui te plis fine danser. 
 
 Li "batte lezailes," li "chasser," "dechasser," 
 
 "Tomber en quate," evec yon grace finie. 
 
 Ces lezotes la, etounens, chames, fous, 
 
 Applaudi li epis "bouavo," "hurre;" 
 
 Yeaux die: "Ah oui, voela yon bon danser! 
 
 Potez couronne pou tete comper Baboune: 
 
 Yon bon danser doe fair yon bon louoi!" 
 
 Jisse lion meme daccord nans zaffair la. 
 
 Et mi Baboune louoi la-sous touone li, 
 
 Epis toute bete paree pou scvi li! 
 
 Malhercsemxent, zaffairs la-sous later, 
 
 Ni qa louoi, ni ga por CHocofin, 
 
 Toujous tini quechoie pou gater li. 
 
 Pami sijets louoi Baboune, yon sel 
 
 Tirer tete li nans bonnete lezotes la;— 
 
 Cete Rinad. Lher danser te fini, 
 
 Toute respect li pou ouoi Baboune tomber. 
 
 Pace li compouende yon nomme pe fair belles zesses 
 
 Sans ii connaite diriger pas lezotes: 
 
 Con-ca, yon jou li bander yon zatrappe, 
 
 Et-pis metter yon gouos papai'e ladans. 
 
 Lher toute te pouete, li inviter louoi 
 
 Pou fair yon tou ouer possessions li. 
 
 Temps yeaux river nans zatrappe la, li die: 
 
 "Mon ouoi, gadez, main ^a yon belle papai'e! 
 
 Malhercsement, lamain moen touop boutou 
 
 Pou river li." Baboune pas ba li temps 
 
 Fini esquise li: main, con yon gouos safe, 
 
 Li ca lancer pou happer papaie la. 
 
 Zatrappe bandec pas jamain nans somei! 
 
 Alosse Baboune touver corps-li bien pouis. 
 
 Comper Rinad. evec yon lair dedain, 
 
 Die li conga: "Retez la, cher Baboune:
 
 TRANSLATIONS, ac 133 
 
 Asile yon sotte ce la oti ous ye 
 
 Ous touop couyon pou gouvcner lezotes." 
 
 Gens nous content meriter toute baggaie: 
 N'a fair you saint epis yon grand canaie; 
 Main fair con fair, natie yon nomme va vainque: 
 Yon saint foce va jirer "foute" et "fouenque!" 
 
 Cigale et-pis Fomi. 
 
 Paraphrased from La Fontaine. 
 
 Cigale, toute temps solei te chaud. 
 Pas fair dote cho'ie, passe chanter. 
 
 Ace pou manger, pas yon moceau 
 Li pas chacher pou li serrer. 
 
 Lhouvenai'e vin!: con-ga, toute bete 
 
 Fourer corps-yeaux nans callefou yeaux. 
 
 Et qa qui te tm tit lot yeaux faite 
 Die bate laplic: "Allez coco!" 
 
 Main por Cigale, nans tou-bois li, 
 Senti lafaim la-sous dos foete: 
 
 Pas yon tit bete, afoce laplie; 
 
 Li heler: "Helas, moen nans boete!" 
 
 Apoues, li chonger dame Fomi. 
 
 Yon voesine nans villa'ie li mcme; 
 Pou li, li pas te ca domi, 
 
 Non-plis chanter nans temps careme. 
 
 Nans chaque tit coen nans tou-tcr li 
 
 Li semblcr graines pou temps bisoen. 
 Yon jou, pendant yon lembelli, 
 
 Apoues yeaux die yone-a-16tc bonjou, 
 Cigale coumencer bate fomt bouchc-doii: 
 — "Macher macoumcr, moen vint ouer si 
 Ous se vie agi pou touver mcci.
 
 134 TRANSLATIONS, «C 
 
 Gadez! ous pas ouer coument moen changce? 
 
 Moen fini douboutc, et ce fote manger. 
 
 Nans graines ous tni, si ous se poueter, 
 
 M'a rende ous li doube, Iher laplie reter." 
 
 — "Poueter! Main, die, qa ous te ca fair 
 
 Pendant careme, Iher soici te clair?" 
 
 — "Pou ca, macoumer, pas compte mal pou rende; 
 
 Nans temps careme goge moen pouesse te fende, 
 
 Afoce moen chanter calendas, bellairs, 
 
 Et mille dotes chanters, baie les travaiers." 
 
 • — "Ein heini fair belle voix, et poueter apoues! 
 
 Toulouse, macher, ous tni font epes! 
 
 Pisse chanter careme te si bon baggai'e, 
 
 Allez danser passer Ihivenaiel" 
 
 "Badinez bien avec Macaque." 
 
 L'Herison. 
 
 Grand' maman moin dit: Nans Guinee, 
 Grand mouche rassemble youn jour 
 Toute pcpe li contre nan tournee, 
 Et pis li parle sans detour: 
 Badinez bien avec macaque, 
 "Quand zot allez foncer nan raque, 
 "Connain coument grand moune agi: 
 Mais na pas magnie queue a li.'' 
 
 Grand'mam moi'n dit moin bon qui chose, 
 
 L6 li prend bon coup malavoume.* 
 
 Li dit moin con ca: "Monrose, 
 
 Nan tout' grand zaffaires faut dit: Houme!" 
 
 Mais peut-on flanque moi'n youn claque, 
 
 Ou pitot terminer ainsi: 
 
 Badinez bien avec macaque. 
 
 Main na pas magnie queue a li. 
 
 * That is, Ihec li te pouend yon bon coude ouome, when she had taken a strong 
 swill of grog.
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
 r^,fSm practice'SS^creole gramma 
 
 3 0112 02531 
 
 0449