Creole

Lou91390 -  
Raymond PENTIER Posted messages 58546 Registration date   Status Contributeur Last intervention   -
En créole martiniquais, "mamie" se dit "manman-nou."
Mercii

3 réponses

Raymond PENTIER Posted messages 58546 Registration date   Status Contributeur Last intervention   17 474
 
... or even "gran-manman".
  • Grandma is a word that appeared in France during the 20th century.
  • It comes from the English "mammy" which means "mommy". The -ie ending corresponds to the French adaptation of the word.
  • This term, too recently integrated into the French language, has not been adopted by Creole vocabulary, and therefore has no direct translation.

Kind regards to Georges.

Retirement is great! Especially in the Antilles...
Raymond (INSA, AFPA)
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georges97 Posted messages 14504 Registration date   Status Contributeur Last intervention   2 894
 
Hello Raymond,

Glad to hear from you.

A couple of small comments for our aspiring Creole speakers:

I should probably have written, like you: bonn'-manman. It's the affectionate and respectful term.

Gran-manman probably corresponds more to the expression "grandmother" in the sense of "cé gran-manman moin" (that's my grandmother) in Martinican Creole, and "cé gran-manman an moin" in Guadeloupean.

Mamie has probably not yet been integrated into the idiom, but it is almost universally used by our children and grandchildren when they address their grandmothers due to their stays or shared residences between the Hexagon and the islands.

Can you grant me your fraternal imprimatur, dear Raymond.

See you soon.
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Raymond PENTIER Posted messages 58546 Registration date   Status Contributeur Last intervention   17 474
 
Gladly, Georges.

In my discussions about Creole, I try to draw the attention of our Caucasian friends to the fact that word-for-word translation is not the rule, as they often choose expressions that do not correspond to the vocabulary of our faraway lands: lion, rhyme, grandma, or simply to the Caribbean culture ...

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Retirement is great! Especially in the Caribbean...
Raymond (INSA, AFPA)
0
georges97 Posted messages 14504 Registration date   Status Contributeur Last intervention   2 894
 
Hello,

It's said "Bonne Manman," not "Bonne maman."

Best regards
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