Start talkin' like a Looshan...

Imagine having to communicate when no one speaks your language! Especially when the dominant language changes - sometimes during your own lifetime - from French to English back to French again and again. Fourteen times depending on who was in power!

The Looshan Solooshan is Kwéyòl (Creole) - a language developed mostly from the Indigenous Peoples' language and including words from the African languages, East Indian languages, French, English and Portuguese languages

Kwéyòl words are pronounced as written.

Sometimes a Kwéyòl word combines a French preposition or an article plus a noun like the words lavi (la vie), nanj (un ange), dlo (de l’eau).
Kwéyòl has fewer vowels than French because multiple vowels in French words are often shortened to a single Kwéyòl vowel.

The sound of the vowel u in French becomes the i sound in Kwéyòl like tòti for tortue (turtle).
Also, the different sounds of r and w in French disappear in Kwéyòl like awété for arreter (to arrest) or fwè for frère.

Want to understand Looshan? Wespe! (Respect!) Here's a few phrases to start talkin' like a Looshan...

Kwéyòl: Bozu Bon jou

French: Bonjour

English: Good Morning

Kwéyòl: Boswé Bonswe

French: Bon Soir

English: Good Evening

Kwéyòl: Kommau ou ye? Sa'w fe?

French: Comment ca va? Ca va?

English: How are you?
Kwéyòl: Mwen byen

French: Je suis bien

English: I am fine

Kwéyòl: Wi

French: Oui

English: Yes

Kwéyòl: No

French: Non

English: No

Kwéyòl: Su plé

S'il vous plait
English: Please

Kwéyòl:  Mési boku
Merci beaucoup
English: Thank you very much

Kwéyòl: Padon Mwe
Pardon-moi
English: Excuse Me
Kwéyòl: Ki lé i yé?

Quelle heure est-il? Quelle heure il-est?
English: What time is it?

Kwéyòl: Sa ca fete

Q'uest-ce que fait?
What is happening?
Kwéyòl: Vini!

Venez!

Come!

Kwéyòl: Alé

Aller

Go

Kwéyòl: Ki kote au ca aller

De quel coté aller?
Where are you going?
Kwéyòl: Koté mwe?

De quel coté suis-je?
Where am I?
Kwéyòl: Ki bél péi!

Quelle bel pays!
What a lovely country!
Kwéyòl: Mwe vlé o bwé.

French: Moi veut a boire. (Je veut a boire.)
English: I want a drink.
Kwéyòl: Wum
French: Rhum
English: Rum
Kwéyòl: Mwen pa konnèt sa
French: Je ne connais pas ca
English: I don't know this
Kwéyòl: Pwéso Poisson Fish

Kwéyòl: Bef Boeuf Beef

Kwéyòl: Pul Poule (Poulet) Chicken
Kwéyòl: Sa bon
French: C'est bon
English: That's good
Kwéyòl: Listwa

French: L'histoire

English: The story
Want a smile from a stranger... here's some common Looshan proverbes

Kwéyòl: Jou ka ouvè pou tout moun

French: Le jour ouvre pour tout le monde

English: The day breaks for everyone

Don't take offense but...

Leave your shoes at the door before entering someone's home. Looshans sweep their house and entry often (usually with a tightly bound grass or branch broom).

Calling people by their skin color or the many shades of brown such as "red" "yellow" "black" or "white" man/woman is politically-correct Looshan.