Around the House in Saint Lucian Kwéyòl

Household words are perfect for daily practice because you can look around and name what you see. Try labelling a few things at home with their Kwéyòl names and saying them out loud each time you use them.

In the kitchen

Setting the table is a good way to practise: name each thing out loud in Kwéyòl as you put it down.

Around the house

Everyday objects around the home, from the broom to the umbrella you should not forget when rain is coming.

Tools

Tools and building words, the kind you would hear on a building site or when fixing up a house.

Patterns to notice as you learn

As you start reading and hearing Saint Lucian Kwéyòl, a few patterns come up again and again. Knowing them makes new sentences much easier to follow:

• "The" comes after the word. Where English puts the in front of a noun, Kwéyòl adds a short word after it, joined with a hyphen, such as -la, -a or -an. When you see one of these endings, think the.
• The ending changes with the sound before it. Which of those endings appears depends on how the word ends, so let your ear guide you rather than trying to memorise a rule on day one.
• Plurals often use sé. When a sentence talks about several things, look for sé in front of the noun, with the ending still after it.

You do not need to master grammar to start. Hearing and reading the words in real sentences, in the games and in everyday life, is how these patterns become natural.

Practise these words

Reading a list is a start; recalling the words is what makes them stick. Try:

• Quiz Challenge: test yourself on what each word means
• Jumble: rebuild the words from mixed-up letters
• Typing Test: type real Kwéyòl sentences