The Background

• The main language spoken on the two islands is called Trinidad Vernacular English. The vernacular spoken on the islands is not a creole, but rather a dialect. This dialect is English. However it is also a mixture ofAfrican dialects, as well as French, Spanish, creole, and Hindi. Another dialect spoken on the island is Caribbean Hindi. It is spoken by 45,000 people or 10% of the East Indian population who make up 36% of the entire population. More than 90% of the East Indians speak the Trinidad Vernacular English, the mother tongue of the country.
• Creole English is another spoken among Trinidadians. It is very close to the Jamaican and perhaps Bahamas Creoles, which are a mixture of Spanish, French and African dialects. Creole English is only spoken on Tobago, not in Trinidad. An estimated 36,000 Tobagoians speak the language.
• Trinidad Creole French is the only other major language that is spoken in Trinidad and Tobago. Villages of the Northern range, Fishing communities in the island coastal settlements along the peninsula to the west of Port of Spain, are the prime speakers of this language. In these settlements around Dragon Mouths, children under ten speak the language; elsewhere speakers are middle-aged or older. Only a small and remote number of people speak the language; less than 10,000. Trinidad French Creole is a French based language. Speakers have contact with French Creole from the Grenadines and St. Lucia, which contribute to the language in Trinidad. However, the language is not intelligible with standard French.
• If you go to Trinidad, you will not be able to understand half of the things the people are saying. So now that you understand a little bit about the language, here are some Trinidadian words to help you understand some more:

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       Bacchanal - Big Party, noise do, confusion, heavy quarreling, good party
       Back Back - Reverse in a car, to change one's mind
       Back Chat - Argumentative, insolent response
       Badjohn-  A Bully
       Bath Suit - Swim Suit
       Bawlin' - To be broke, without financial means
       Biscuit - Cookie
       Bobolee-  A person who is always taken advatage of
       Butty - Sandwich
       Chips - French Fries
       College - Secondary School
       Commesse-  Confusion, Controversy
       Cunumunu-  A stupid, foolish person
       Cutters - Finger food, snack, hors d'ouveres
       Deputy - Mistress, other woman
       Dingolay-  To dance with joyful indifference
       Down the Islands - Excursion to West End Islands and area
       Drop - A lift offered by motorists
       Fresh-water Yankee- A person who spends a short time in U.S. and returns with a heavy American accent
       Fete - Party
       Grog - Rum
       Horn- To cheat on a boyfriend of girlfriend
       Jamet-  a prostitute
       Jus' Now - Wait a minute, in a little while
       Lagniappe- a little extra, a bonus
       Lime or Limin' - hanging out, loafing, having fun i.e. let's go down to the corner and lime
       Maco-  someone who minds other people's business
       Makin style - Showing off
       Mamaguy - To put someone on, to make fun of
       Mamapoule-  a derogatory term for a husband who is controlled by his wife
       Mas - Masquerade
       Mincemeat - Hamburger
       Now Fuh Now - Instantly, while you wait
       Obzokee- awkward, out of place, misshapen
       Ol Talk - Chit-Chat, idle chatter, nonsense
       One Time - Right now, immediately
       Parang-  someone who serenades from on place to another
       Peong- Someone who is addicted or obsessed with something
       Patois - Local dialect
       Picong - Ridicule
       Pik'Ant - Thorn, Sharp point
       Pot Hound - Mongrel, mixed breed of dog
       Saga Boy- a male who is boastful of his physical attributes
       Sampat- an unfair attack, ambush
       Screw Pan-  an angry look on a persons face; usually makes them look humorously ugly
       Small Room - Rest room
       Soucouyant- Usually used in ghost stories, an old woman who turns herslf into a ball of fire and suck's people's blood
       Sweet too Bad - real fine
       Sweeties - Candies
       Tabanca- The feeling of hurt when a close relationship ends
       Toutoulbay- a gullible person
       Trini Terrier - Mongrel, mixed breed of dog
       Vex - angry, cross or upset
       Yampee- nastyness found in the corner of the eye after a long night's sleep
       Wee - Ours
       Wine - to rotate hips in a suggestive manner

 
       Buljol- shredded saltfish with onions and tomatoes, avocado, pepper and olive oil
       Buss-up-shut - flaky bread served with curries; derives from "burst-up-shirt," a reference to the torn-cloth appearance of the bread

       Callaloo

                              soup or stew of African origin made from dasheen leaves with ochroes, boiled
                              with pumpkin, coconut, salt meat or crab

       Channa

                              chick-peas

       Coo-coo

                              a cornmeal pudding with ochro; a slave dish which was cooked in a simple pot
                              over coals

       Doubles

curried channa served between two pieces of fried bread

       Hops

                              crisp bread roll, often filled with ham

       Makaforshet

                              left-overs; from the French phrase "ma ca fourchette," meaning "food stuck
                              between the fork" or, by implication, food that lives on

       Mauby
                              bark of the carob tree Colubrina reclinata used to make a drink of the same name

       Melongene

                              eggplant

       Ochro

                              okra

       Pastelles

                              seasoned mincemeat mixed with olives, capers and raisins in a cornmeal casing and
                              wrapped in banana leaves; a culinary legacy of the Spanish settlement,
                              traditionally served at Christmas

       Pelau

                              peas and rice, cooked with meat and flavoured with coconut and pepper

       Pholouri

                              fritters made with split peas

       Pommerac

                              a bright red fruit with velvety white interior; could have come from the patois for
                              "Maracas apple"

       Roti

                              a thinly cooked dough which is filled with a curry mixture which can contain
                              beef, chicken, goat, shrimp, or any other meat
       Shadow Beni

                              a herb known an cilantro which is used as a distinctive seasoning in cooking

       Souse

                              pork boiled and served cold in a salty sauce with lime, cucumber, pepper, and
                              onion slices

       Toolum

                              one of the earliest T&T candies from the slave days, made with molasses and
                              grated coconut
       Zaboca

                              avocado