She’s the Caribbean Queen and her English has a bit of an accent. Since French is one of the languages spoken in the Caribbean, would the Take a Bow singer Rihanna speak French?
Rihanna does not speak French and only knows how to speak English, the national language of her home Barbados. In Barbados, they speak an English dialect known as Bajan creole. There are Caribbean islands that speak French or French-based creole like Haiti. Some celebrities from French speaking Caribbean countries are Garcelle Beauvais, Wyclef Jean, and Grace Jones.
You can read more below about the French influence on Bajan, Caribbean countries where French is the official language, and west indie celebs that speak French below.
French Etymology of Bajan
Rihanna knows how to speak Bajan creole, which is an English dialect spoken in Barbados. Unlike some forms of creole in the West Indies that are French-based, Bajan creole is an English-based dialect.
When the Caribbean was discovered by European explorers, it meant that there was a large influence of European languages on the islands. The English, French, Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish were all active on the islands. The European settlers also brought African slaves to the West Indies to work on different agricultural plantations. This meant that a slang language soon came into being that had influences from the latin languages of Europe and the African languages. The dialects were broadly termed as Creole.
Depending on what island you visit in the Caribbean, determines what type of creole you will hear there. There are three types: English-based, Portugese-based, or French-based. The main languages spoken in the West Indies are Dutch, Spanish, French, English, and Caribbean Hindustani.
Caribbean Islands That Speak French
There are a total of six islands in the Caribbean where French is the official language spoken. All of these islands also have people who speak the French-based creole dialect. Of all of the islands, only one is a country of its own. All of the other islands are considered overseas territories of France.
Haiti is the only island that is a country and its official language is French. The citizens of the small third world country also speak what is known as Haitian Creole, a French-based creole language. The islands that are all overseas territories of France are Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barthelemy, French Guiana, and Saint Martin. As you can see, Rihanna’s home of Barbados is not on the list.
Caribbean Celebrities Who Speak French
While Rihanna does not speak French, there are some well known Caribbean celebrities that do speak French and French-based creole. One of those celebrities is Garcelle Beauvais.
Garcelle Beauvais was born in Haiti in 1966. Since she was born in the French speaking country, her first language would have been French and the dialect of Haitian Creole. Beauvais moved to the US at age seven and went on to have an extremely successful career. She has had roles in films like Coming to America, Flight, and Spiderman: Homecoming. She was also a series regular on The Jamie Foxx Show and NYPD Blue.
The famous rapper, Wyclef Jean, was also born in Haiti, but in 1969. He moved to America at the age of nine. This means his first language is also French. His rapping career started with the hip hop group Fugees, but he went solo. He is often referred to as Wyclef and has been a large influence on other rappers like Young Thug.
Wyclef was a songwriter and producer of Carlos Santana’s famous song Maria Maria. In 2017, Rihanna was featured singing on DJ Khaled’s song Wild Thoughts, which featured the famous guitar riff from Maria Maria.
You can watch the Wild Thoughts music video below.
Finally, the iconic disco singer, Grace Jones, also speaks French. Although she is from Jamaica, an English speaking country, her French speaking ability is clear in her cover of the song La Vie en Rose.