| French Guianese Creole | |
| Nativename: | Kriyòl gwiyannen,[1] kréyòl (gwiyanè) [2] [3] [4] |
| States: | French Guiana |
| Speakers: | 134,000 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| Ref: | e25 |
| Familycolor: | Creole |
| Fam1: | French Creole |
| Iso3: | gcr |
| Glotto: | guia1246 |
| Glottorefname: | Guianese Creole French |
| Lingua: | 51-AAC-cd (varieties:51-AAC-cda to -cdd) |
| Notice: | IPA |
| Nation: | French Guiana |
French Guianese Creole (Kriyòl; also called variously Guianan Creole, Guianese Creole in English and Créole guyanais in French) is a French-based creole language spoken in French Guiana, and to a lesser degree, in Suriname and Brazil. It resembles Antillean Creole, but there are some lexical and grammatical differences between them. Antilleans can generally understand French Guianese Creole, though there may be some instances of confusion. The differences consist of more French and Brazilian Portuguese influences (due to the proximity of Brazil and Portuguese presence in the country for several years). There are also words of Amerindian and African origin. There are French Guianese communities in Suriname and Brazil who continue to speak the language.
It should not be confused with the Guyanese Creole language, based on English, spoken in nearby Guyana.
French Guianese Creole was a language spoken between slaves and settlers. But the conditions of French Guianese Creole's constitution were quite different from the Creole of the West Indies, on the one hand because of the conflicts between French, English, Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish, and French dialects such as the Caen have greatly influenced French Guianese Creole, which has made it significantly different from the Creoles of Martinique, Haiti, St. Lucia and Guadeloupe.
There are, therefore, in French Guianese Creole many words in common with the Creoles of the West Indies. However, a number of words differentiate them significantly.
In addition, in French Guiana, the letter
| Vocabulary | Pronunciation in French | In French Guianese Creole | Meaning in English | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riz | Ri | Douri | Rice | |
| Dormir | Dormir | Dronmi | Sleep |
| In French | In French Guianese Creole | In English |
|---|---|---|
| Ma maison | Mo kaz | My house |
| Leurs enfants | Yé timoun | Their children |
| Sa femme | So fanm/So madanm | His wife |
French Guianese Creole is largely written using the French alphabet, with only a few exceptions. 'Q' and 'X' are replaced by 'k' and 'z' respectively. 'C' is not used apart from in the digraph, ch, where it stands for pronounced as /[ʃ]/ (the word for horse is chouval, similar to French's cheval). Otherwise, it is replaced by 'k' when it stands for pronounced as /[k]/ (Standard French's comment (how) is written kouman) and 's', when it stands for pronounced as /[s]/. Silent 'h' is never written, unlike in Standard French, where it remains for etymological reasons. The diphthong 'OU' is replaced by 'w' when it stands for pronounced as /[w]/. The diphthong 'OI' is replaced by 'we', but by 'o' in the words "mo" and "to".
| French Guianese Creole (IPA) | Metropolitan French | English |
|---|---|---|
| Bonswè pronounced as //bõswɛ// | Bonsoir | Good evening |
| Souplé pronounced as //suːple// | S'il vous plaît | Please |
| Mèsi pronounced as //mɛsi// | Merci | Thank you |
| Mo pronounced as //mo// | Moi, me, je | Me, I |
| To pronounced as //to// | Toi, te, tu | You |
| I, L, Li pronounced as //i, l, li// | Lui, le, la | He, She, Him, Her, It |
| Roun pronounced as //ʁuːn// | Un, une | One |
| Eskizé mo pronounced as //ɛskize mo// | Excusez-moi | Excuse me, pardon me |
| Lapli ka tonbé pronounced as //laˈpliː ka tõbe// | Il pleut | It's raining |
| Jod-la a roun bèl jou pronounced as //ʒodˈla a ruːn bel ʒu// | Aujourd'hui, il fait beau | Today is a beautiful day |
| A kouman to fika? pronounced as //a kumã to fika// | (Comment) ça va? | How are you? |
| Mari a mo manman pronounced as //maʁi a mo mãˈmã// | Marie est ma mère | Marie is my mother |
| Rodolf a to frè pronounced as //ʁodolf a to frɛ// | Rodolphe est ton frère | Rudolph is your brother |
| I ka alé laplaj pronounced as //i kaːle laˈplaʒ// | Il va à la plage | He's going to the beach |
| Mo pa mélé pronounced as //mo pa mele// | Je m'en moque | I don't care |