: Yes, it was called "patois" but that was a considered a derogatory and pejorative term, so it has been dropped. There are many languages in the world that were previously denigrated as "dialects" of another, more dominant tongue. Many still consider the regional languages of Spain "dialects of Spanish", and if  
 Portugal hadn't gained its independence, they'd be saying that of Portuguese too, but they are in fact separate languages, and there's no need for us to take on the words of the ignorant people who came before us...