User:SmrtKid/Trinidadian Creole

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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. Trinidadian English Creole is the result of multiple points of colonization by the English, Spanish, and French as well as the unity of the workers brought by the settlers such as peoples from Africa and India. [make sure to leave the citations in for the original sentence and below]

History
Like other Caribbean English-based creoles, Trinidadian English Creole has a primarily English-derived vocabulary. The island also has a creole with a largely French lexicon, which was in widespread use until the late nineteenth century, when it started to be gradually replaced, due to influence and pressure from the British. In addition, Spanish settlers brought about the integration of Spanish lexicon into Trinidadian English Creole however, many of these Spanish words have become extinct in the creole over time. [is this what you mean or are they also gone from contemporary Spanish?)

Portuguese, a number of African languages (especially Yoruba), Chinese (mainly Cantonese, with some Hakka, and now Mandarin), Trinidadian Hindustani, Tamil, and other South Asian languages have also influenced the language.

Usage
Both Trinidad and Tobago feature creole continua between more conservative Creole forms and forms much closer to Trinidadian English, with the former being more common in spontaneous speech and the latter in more formal speech. Because of the social values attributed to linguistic forms, the more common varieties (that is, more creolized forms) carry little prestige in certain contexts.

The use of the pronoun allyuh is Trinidadian English Creole is used in multiple different categories of speech such as to intend inclusion, refer to a singular person from a distinct group, to avoid direct confrontation, to express aggression, and to emphasize humour. This pronoun is part of the politeness system that was a result of the impacts of the plantation system thus, it was linked to this socio-historical context however, it is now used for various different reasons and for multiple different groups or people.

Today, Trinibagonians (Trinidadian English Creole and Tobagonian English Creole) will code mix between Standard English and Creole, local Standard English being the result of British and American English. Depending on the environment, children, starting at age two, will begin code mixing in order to balance their exposure to both Standard English and Creole.

Example words and phrases

 * back chat: insolence.
 * bad-john: a bully or gangster.
 * chinksin: miserly; distributing less than one could or should.
 * calypso: a musical or lyrical comment on something, particularly popular during Carnival.
 * dougla: a person having both Indian and African parentage.
 * fête: a Trinidadian dance or party.
 * macco: someone who gets into other people's business.
 * maljo: a sickness manifested upon newborn babies and young animals (like puppies) out of envy or ill wishes.
 * manicou: a small rodent, almost like a possum.
 * pothound: a mongrel dog of no specific breed or whose breed is unknown; mutt.
 * tabanca: heartbreak.
 * tatu: the animal armadillo.
 * ups kabat: a type of game played with marbles, otherwise known as "marble pitch".
 * zaboca: avocado
 * dingolay: cheerful dance that involves fast paced movements