what does the word creol means and were does it come form?

Answer 1

Always a controversial and confusing term, the word Creole, to put it simply, means many things to many people. It derives from the Latin creare, meaning "to beget" or "create." After the New World’s discovery, Portuguese colonists used the word crioulo to denote a New World slave of African descent. Eventually, the word was applied to all New World colonists, regardless of ethnic origin, living along the Gulf Coast, especially in Louisiana. There the Spanish introduced the word as criollo, and during Louisiana’s colonial period (1699-1803) the evolving word Creole generally referred to persons of African or European heritage born in the New World. By the nineteenth century, black, white, and mixed-race Louisianians used the term to distinguish themselves from foreign-born and Anglo-American settlers. It was during that century that the mixed-race Creoles of Color (or gens de couleur libre, "free persons of color") came into their own as an ethnic group, enjoying many of the legal rights and privileges of whites. They occupied a middle ground between whites and enslaved blacks, and as such often possessed property and received formal educations. After the Civil War, most Creoles of Color lost their privileged status and joined the ranks of impoverished former black slaves. All the while, however, the word Creole persisted as a term also referring to white Louisianians, usually of upper-class, non-Cajun origin (although, confusingly, even Cajuns sometimes were called Creoles, primarily by outsiders unfamiliar with local ethnic labels). Like the Creoles of Color, these white Creoles (also called French Creoles) suffered socioeconomic decline after the Civil War. In Acadiana, newly impoverished white Creoles often intermarried with the predominantly lower-class Cajuns, and were largely assimilated into Cajun culture. Many names of French Creole origin, like Soileau, Fontenot, and François, are now widely considered Cajun. And today Creole is most often used in Acadiana to refer to persons of full or mixed African heritage. It is generally understood among these Creoles that Creole of Color still refers to Creoles of mixed-race heritage, while the term black Creole refers to Creoles of more or less pure African descent. Increasingly, both African-derived groups are putting aside old animosities (based largely on skin color and social standing) to work for mutual preservation, and as such often merely describe themselves as Creole. In 1982 they founded a preservation group, C.R.E.O.L.E., Inc. (Cultural Resourceful Educational Opportunities toward Linguistic Enrichment), which operates along the lines of CODOFIL. In 1990 they began to publish Creole Magazine, which contains articles by and about Creoles in southwest Louisiana. Their popular ethnic music, known as zydeco, is celebrated annually at the Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Festival in Plaisance. Creoles of African descent exerted a strong influence on Cajun culture (and vice versa), affecting, for example, the Cajuns' music, foodways, and religious practices. Ultimately, however, the word Creole remains murky, with some individuals (black, white, and mixed-race) futilely claiming the right of exclusive use. As the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture states, perhaps the "safest" course is to say that a Creole is "anyone who says he is one."

Answer 2

The word "Creole" if it is written with a capital letter, and with the ending of letter "e", has several meanings: 1. A mixture of European with the native of Spanish America or the West Indies. 2. A descendant of French, Spanish or Portuguese settlers of Louisiana and the Gulf States who retains his special speech or culture. 3. A black man born in the Americas, as distinguished from one brought from Africa, also known as Creole *****. 4. The French patois of Louisiana: distinguished from Cajun. 5. Any person having both Creole and ***** blood and speaking the Creole patois. 6. Creole State is the nickname given to Louisiana.

Also a dish cooked with a savory sauce, including peppers, tomatoes, onions, etc.

Answer 3

Creole is a mixture of races. I am from New Orleans. Here Creole is sexy. Tan skinned beauty with light blue eyes. That kinda thing. Creole can also mean a form of cooking kinda like cajun, but with more african american influence. And the term comes from here. New Orleans

Answer 4

Creole refers to among other things a style of cooking that is popular in Louisiana USA. Dishes like Creole chicken. It is really good.
It is characterised as being spicy and delicious. It intertwines with the "Cajun" culture.

But that's another history lesson for another day. You should do some research on Louisiana's history. And try some Creole cooking. You won't regret it!

http://www.handlethetruth.net

Answer 5

No, it's not a chicken an egg question , though, like chicken/egg ones, once the process starts both language and meaning will evolve and develop together. It is an interesting one though. 1. There is little use for a word without a meaning. However 2. we all know the feeling inside of having a meaning we can’t express eg. feelings of love which are so hard to pin down. Unhappiness can be like that too I have a dog she has thoughts but she can’t express them accurately. Thoughts but no words I can accept. Words without thoughts and meaning? No. Even 'Ouch' has has meaning. It doesn’t make sense to think of words without meaning although it does raise the next question, ‘At what level does a mental process become a thought’. I suspect that is beyond us at the moment. Interestingly babies often create words for their own meaning and we quickly learn them. I don't know if that is relevant but it is stunning. Given all that, meaning came first.

Answer 6

When used in language, a creolized language is a the resulting language or dialect that comes from the native language of a place when its society merges with that of a colony. Many eastern native american languages are creole languages because of the strong influence of the settlers.

Answer 7

CREOLE comes from the Latin creare, meaning or "create." It originally meant any settler along the south-east coast of America.

Answer 8

There's quite a few definitions:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/creole

Answer 9

if you mean creole it is a person born in the west indies or spanish america but of european, usually Spanish, ancestry.

Answer 10

It means that you are French, Native American,and A African slave descendant....They all mixed together down in the bayou and formed a mixed race.