What is Kweyol?

Kwéyòl is a language which is spoken in Saint Lucia. It is one of our country’s official languages. Most of the words in the Kwéyòl language come from French. Some of the words come from English, African languages, and Amerindian languages. The way words are put together to form sentences in Kwéyòl is based on various African languages.

How was Kwéyòl created?

Saint Lucia was first settled by Amerindians. Then English and French settlers came to the island. The English and French fought over control of St. Lucia. Saint Lucia was under British control seven times and under French control seven times as well. These European settlers brought slaves from Africa to work on their plantations. Slaves were brought from different parts of Africa and spoke different languages. Over time, in order to be able to communicate with each other, they created a language. They used mostly French words, some words from other languages and the structure of their own African languages. We call this language Kwéyòl .

Attitudes towards Kwéyòl

A long time ago, speaking Kwéyòl was not widely accepted in St. Lucia. Many parents did not want their children to speak Kwéyòl . Often, students were not even allowed to speak Kwéyòl in schools. However, over time attitudes toward the language have changed a lot. Kwéyòl is now accepted as one of St. Lucia’s official languages. Kwéyòl has also become a written language. There is a Kwéyòl alphabet and a Kwéyòl dictionary. There is even a Kwéyòl version of the Bible. Soon, Kwéyòl will be taught in our schools.