A French creole, or French-based creole language, is a creole for which French is the lexifier. Most often this lexifier is not modern French but rather a 17th- or 18th-century koiné of French from Paris, the French Atlantic harbors, and the nascent French colonies. This article also contains information on French pidgin languages, contact languages that lack native speakers. These contact languages are not to be confused with creolized varieties of French outside of Europe that date to colonial times, such as Acadian, Louisiana, New England or Quebec French. There are over 15.5 million speakers of some form of French-based creole languages. Haitian Creole is the most spoken creole languages in the world, with over 12 million speakers.

History

Throughout the 17th century, French Creoles became established as a unique ethnicity originating from the mix of French, Indian, and African cultures. These French Creoles held a distinct ethno-cultural identity, a shared antique language, Creole French, and their civilization owed its existence to the overseas expansion of the French Empire. In the eighteenth century, Creole French was the first and native language of many different peoples including those of European origin in the West Indies. French-based creole languages today are spoken natively by millions of people worldwide, primarily in the Americas and on archipelagos throughout the Indian Ocean.

Classification

Americas

Indian Ocean

Pacific

Asia