In this paper we restrict ourselves to the dialect of the proletariat of Port-au-Prince. Accordingly, we have nothing to say about the differences between this dialect and others, but it is worth mentioning that our sketch of the phonology does apply in general to other dialects. The variations we ignore are largely subphonemic. Further, we have omitted any reference to the so-called ‘Gallicizing’ dialect or dialects and thus exclude from the system the segments /y ø œ Ч/, which occur sporadically in the speech of some individuals.