What language is spoken in Port of Spain Trinidad?
Although English is the official language, most people speak Trinidad English, a creole language. A few people, mostly in rural areas, speak a French-derived creole, Spanish, or Hindi.
What was Trinidad first language?
The official language of Trinidad and Tobago is English, although we do have segments of the population that speak other languages, including “patois”, a slang version of French that was brought to the islands by French settlers in the colonial period.
Where did the Trinidadian accent come from?
Trinidadian English was initially based on a standard of British English, including having a non-rhotic accent. In the Americas, TE now uses many Americanisms, including apartment and trunk (of a car).
What language did the Europeans bring to Trinidad?
Trinidad thus became a British crown colony, with a French-speaking population and Spanish laws.
Is Trinidadian Creole a language?
Trinidadian Creole is a creole language commonly spoken throughout the island of Trinidad in Trinidad and Tobago. It is distinct from Tobagonian Creole – particularly at the basilectal level – and from other Lesser Antillean English creoles.
Why does Trinidad not speak Spanish?
Due to the country’s proximity to the coast of Venezuela, the country is currently slowly developing a relationship with Spanish-speaking peoples, and therefore the government requires that Spanish be taught in secondary education.
What language did the African bring to Trinidad?
What is Trinidadian Creole called?
Patois (Creole) Language.
Do they speak Creole in Trinidad?
Trinidad English Creole is spoken by some 1,200,000 people in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, an archipelagic state consisting of two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago. They are situated in the Southern Caribbean Sea, with Trinidad just seven miles off the Venezuelan coast.
How did the Spanish come to Trinidad?
In 1498, Christopher Columbus claimed Trinidad as a Spanish colony. The indigenous peoples resisted for almost 100 years before the Spaniards could permanently settle on the island. When the dust finally cleared, Trinidad’s era of colonialism began. During this era, the Spanish Monarch was obsessed with gold.
Is patois and Creole the same?
Jamaican Patois, known locally as Patois (Patwa or Patwah) and called Jamaican Creole by linguists, is an English-based creole language with West African influences.
How did the Spanish came to Trinidad?
When did the Spanish first came to Trinidad?
1498
Tobago was first sighted by the Spanish in 1498, and recorded Spanish names for the island include Bella Forma, Isla de Asunción, Isla de Concepción and Isla de Magdalena. The Spanish visited or claimed Tobago at various other times, including 1591 and 1614, but they left no real impact on that island.
What language did the Caribs and Arawaks speak?
Peculiarly, the Carib language was spoken only by the men; women spoke Arawak. Raids upon other peoples provided women who were kept as slave-wives; the male captives were tortured and killed.
Was Trinidad French?
It remained a Spanish possession until 1797, when it was captured by a British expeditionary force under Sir Ralph Abercrombie, and was officially ceded to the British crown by the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. It remained a British colony until it became independent in 1962. Trinidad has hence never been French.