Kweyol St. Lucia's Fascinating Folk Language

Would you like to learn to speak St. Lucian Kweyol? Start with a Kweyol Dictionay. Email us and we will send you a PDF free!

Many St. Lucians are more fluent in the French-based Creole, also referred to as a French patois, than English. The proper name for this language is Kweyol, which some say is the only indigenous Caribbean language. Kweyol is spoken not only on St. Lucia but Martinique, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Marie Galante, Dominica, Haiti and slightly in Grenada and Trinidad.

Since the 1990s, Kweyol has become more of a living language due to the publication of several important Kweyol-related books. The first English-Kweyol and Kweyol-English dictionary ever was published in 1992 but, unfortunately, its cost of several hundred dollars EC put it well out of the reach of most people. A Kweyol version of the New Testament that took 15 years to complete at a cost of US$ 1 million was completed in 1999; thousands of free copies were distributed. Finally, the first inexpensive Kweyol dictionary brought lines of eager buyers to the bookstores in 2002.

As yet, Kweyol is not taught in St. Lucia schools and the country’s one Kweyol newspaper closed down. However, brief news segments are presented on the radio in Kweyol and public figures frequently give addresses in Kweyol and English.

Learn how to pronounce properly some important places around St. Lucia:

Anse de Sables - ants deh SAb
Anse-la-Raye - Ants lay ray
Babonneau - BAH boh noh
Barre de l'Isle - bahr deh LiL
Cas en bas - KAHS eh bah
Canaries - kah nah REES
Choiseul - shwah ZEHL
Coubaril - koo bah RiL
Dennery - dehn REE
Des Cartiers - dehs kahr tee YAY
Fond D'or - foh DOOR
Fond Galet - FOHN gah LAY
Gros Islet - grow zee-LAY
Hewanorra - hyew ah NOR ah
Jalousie - zha loo ZEE
Jounen Kweyol - zhoo nay KWAY ohl
Laborie - LAH bree
Marigot - MAH ree goh
Mahaut - mah HO
Mamiku - mah mee KOO
Micoud - mee KOO
Moule A Chique - mool ah SHEEK
Mount Gimie - morne JIM mee
Praslin - PRAH leh
Reduit Beach - ray-DWEE Beach
Savannes - SAH vahn
Soufrière - soo frAY
St. Lucia - St. LOO-sha , not St. LOO-see-a
Vigie - vee GEE