Meaning of Palawala | Babel Free

Definitions

1. a local creole language, such as Antillean Creole or Jamaican Creole
   Caribbean, derogatory, uncountable
2. a member of a community speaking such a language
   Caribbean, countable

Examples

“Prior to her school days, my mother spoke French Patois [Antillean Creole] better than she spoke English. Her knowledge of Patois declined once she was at school as the nuns forbade the children from speaking their "Pala Wala" language in the school yard because they did not understand what the children were saying.”

“Patois is making (St. Lucians) backwards; it is nothing but palawala and it is merely a ploy to keep us back.”

“Such reservations were more prominent in the private high schools where teachers were vehemently opposed to the use of JC [Jamaican Creole] in education. Indeed, one teacher (Jill) expressed anger and outrage that researchers, such as myself, seem to have an obsession with this "gibberish 'palawala' nonsense".”

“So many West Indians from the smaller Caribbean islands arrived... that to this day at Wismar, there is a residential area called the “Pala-Wala” section. "Pala-Wala" is the name locals call migrants from certain West Indies islands.”

CEFR level