Trinidadian French-Creole

Trinidadian French Creole (also known as Patwa or Patois) is a French creole of Trinidad spoken by descendants of the French Creole migrants from the French Antilles (islands such as Grenada, Guadeloupe and other French islands). All the creoles have slight differences in words, especially with regional dialects. Trinidad also has different ways to say or spell the same word in Creole.

The Cedula of Population of 1783 laid the foundation and growth of the population of Trinidad. French planters and the Africans they enslaved, free coloureds and mulattos, from the French Antilles of Martinique, Grenada, Guadeloupe and Dominica, migrated to Trinidad during the French Revolution. The immigrants established local communities in Blanchisseuse, Champs Fleurs, Paramin, Cascade, Carenage, Laventille, etc. Trinidad's population, which numbered less than 1,400 in 1777, soared to over 15,000 by the end of 1789.

In 1797, Trinidad became a British crown colony, with a French-speaking and Patois-speaking population. Today, Trinidadian French Creole can be found spoken in regional pockets among the elders, particularly in the villages of Paramin and Lopinot. The language is facing a slow revival in these villages, other rural and fishing villages also have Creole remnants. The language was the lingua franca for parts of Trinidad for many decades in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The language is still spoken in Paramin, Blanchisseuse and other smaller villages, and there are efforts both online and in person (schools) to try preserve and revitalise it.

Singers such as Mighty Sparrow have sung in Trinidadian Creole (which is very similar to other Creoles, most notably Grenadian Creole French). Songs such as 'Gade Zinah' and 'Par Quiea Mweh (Pa Kwiye Mweh)' are sung exclusively in Trinidadian Creole.

Many Trinidadians went to Venezuela during the oil boom and brought Creole along with them and hence known as Venezuelan French Creole, which is also a dying language which has ongoing preservation efforts.