Patois
Caribbean creole language
A patois is a regional dialect or nonstandard language variety, typically spoken by ordinary people rather than educated elites.
The term often carries a dismissive tone, implying the speech is rustic or inferior to a prestige language: The villagers spoke a patois incomprehensible to Parisians.
In the Caribbean, Patois (often capitalized) refers specifically to English- or French-based creole languages: Jamaican Patois.
Improvised contact language
- creoleNativized pidgin tongue
- argotGroup-specific coded speech
- lingoGroup-specific vocabulary
- cantSanctimonious insincerity
sociolect · brogue · accent · parlance · mother tongue · native tongue · nonstandard · provincialism
Informal in-group vocabulary
- colloquialismCasual conversational expression
- idiomFixed phrase, opaque meaning
- street talkInformal urban vernacular
- jargonSpecialized professional vocabulary
lingo · vernacular · casual speech · everyday language · conversational · common speech · unpretentious · relaxed
Improvised contact language
- lingua francaShared tongue between peoples
- HaitianOf a Caribbean republic
- LouisianaGulf Coast pelican state
- MartiniqueFrench territory, eastern Caribbean
Guadeloupe · Mauritian · Cajun · Gullah · Trinidadian · substrate
Jamaican offbeat music style
- dancehallPaid venue for social movement
- RastafarianJamaican spiritual movement adherent
- KingstonCaribbean nation's capital
- MaroonBrownish-red hue
Afro-Caribbean · West Indian · sound system · Bob Marley · yard · riddim · ska · roots
pidgin
Improvised contact language
cant · sociolect · brogue · accent · parlance · mother tongue · native tongue · nonstandard · provincialism · regionalism
slang
Informal in-group vocabulary
- colloquialismCasual conversational expression
- idiomFixed phrase, opaque meaning
- street talkInformal urban vernacular
jargon · lingo · vernacular · casual speech · everyday language · conversational · common speech · unpretentious · relaxed · familiar
pidgin
Improvised contact language
- lingua francaShared tongue between peoples
- HaitianOf a Caribbean republic
- LouisianaGulf Coast pelican state
Martinique · Guadeloupe · Mauritian · Cajun · Gullah · Trinidadian · substrate
reggae
Jamaican offbeat music style
- dancehallPaid venue for social movement
- RastafarianJamaican spiritual movement adherent
- KingstonCaribbean nation's capital
Maroon · Afro-Caribbean · West Indian · sound system · Bob Marley · yard · riddim · ska · roots · Babylon
- French LanguagesFrench, Picard, Norman, Walloon, Bourguignon
- languagesEnglish, Arabic, Chinese, German, French
- FrancophoneFrance, Paris, French language, French grammar, Canadian French
- Saint LuciaCanaries, Independence Day, Lucian, Creole culture, Creole language
Patoisstandard language
Codified, official linguistic form
Queen's English · King's English · official language · BBC English · national language
Patoislingua franca
Shared tongue between peoples
world language · global English · universal language · global language · dominant language