Ajoupa: little hut or tent
Akra: cake of flour and codfish, etc., fried in oil
Baccalaureat: examination sanctioning end of secondary studies, equivalent of “A” level. Familiarly called the bachot. (In U.S. terms it would be a “certificate” showing completion of two years of junior college.)
Bakoua: large, wide-brimmed straw hat
Bananes macang’va and bananes naines: types of bananas; the latter are green (unripe) and are cooked as regular vegetables
Béké: local white
Bel-air: type of dance
Brevet Elémentaire: elementary school teacher’s certificate
Caisse des Ecoles: school central office
Canalier: trench digger
Canari: earthenware cooking pot
Certificat d’Etudes Primaires: sanctions end of primary schooling
Choux caraibe: legume, called “tania” in anglophone West Indies; literally: Caribbean cabbage
Corrosol: soursop
Coui: calabash
Créole: the popular form of French or Spanish spoken in the Caribbean; increasingly accepted as the standard language of, for example, Haiti
Cric . . . crac: introductory calls prior to starting tales; widely used throughout the Caribbean; of African origin
Entonnoir: local game
Faire nika: to try a good-luck charm
Graisses: type of seasoning
Habitation: plantation
Laghia: type of dance, of African origin
Lelé: swizzle stick
Mabi: drink made from bark of a certain tree
Macata: species of tropical tree
Madras: gaily-colored head-tie
Manger-coulies: wild parasitic plant
Mansfenil: tropical bird
Messieurs-dames: Ladies ’n gentlemen
Migan: old plantation dish, usually made with breadfruit
Morne: hill (not used with this meaning in standard French)
Nègre, Nègrèsse: used by the blacks as terms of endearment
Palma Christi: type of plant
Pataclac: local game
Petite bande: team of young workers
Pois-doux: type of wild fruit
Pomme-liane: passion fruit
Quimboiseur: doer of evil, obeah-man
Rouge et noir: local game
Séanciere: person capable of predicting future and divining cause of troubles
Shasha: maracas or “shack shack”
Titim (Timtim): riddle, usually accompanying stories
Toloman: pap
Tonnerre!: literally “thunder” but used in swearing
Transat: popular name for Compagnie Transatlantique, operator of ocean liners taking passengers to and from France from Martinique, Guadeloupe
Violon d’Ingres: used to refer to something that is dearly loved; literally “Ingres’s violin”
Zombi: spirit, jumbie