Lecture, Session 6

Mufwene: What We Mean When We Say "Creole"

 

Languages in the Caribbean  

All languages in the Caribbean are equally capable of affording communication between the members of their linguistic communities. But, obviously, every language has rules--grammar--that allow communication.  Language is used as a form of symbolic domination: how you speak reproduces your social power or status.  Speech is an signifier of absolute inferiority and an effective barrier to upward mobility.  High status can be associated and reproduced through competence in the colonial language.  Just as ignorance and inferiority symbolized by monolingual competence in the mass vernacular, the everyday language of the people, known as Creole or patois.  The language itself is wrongly blamed as the cause of inferiority (rather than political and economic injustice and inequality).  Thus, the masses of the Caribbean have long been told that their native tongue is "not a language," that it is inferior, a stubborn sign of their immutable inferiority.  Creole has been seen as the poor masses’ attempt to produce French--a bunch of incoherent babble.  Of course, this is absurd: all languages should be seen as equals as methods of communication.

Note this insightful comment by an illiterate person:   p. 84 - Gen moun ki pale franse se pa ogèy...se pou dekonsidere ou...

The entire Haitian social system works to reproduce an artificial division between languages within Haiti.  Particularly in education, where poor masses are denied access to good schools and good teachers.  For Creole-speakers, most instruction is given in a foreign language (French), typically by teachers who are barely proficient themselves.  This plays a large role in our next book, School Days by P. Chamoiseau.

Education, therefore, becomes rote learning, performance, recitation, all with little emphasis on understanding.  As a result, even those who have gone to school are incompetent in the language of domination.  Valdman argues that French versus Creole is not the problem.  Rather, it is an unequal social, political and economic system which is reproduced through the educational institution.  As an effort to improve education, we must teach children first in their native language so they can master subjects, then teach French as a second language.  This will be discussed further in Lecture 7.

 

"Official Language" of Haiti

The colonial language was the first official language of Haiti.  Only recently did Haiti recognize Creole as an official language.  This occurred under Duvalier.  However, the law did not go far enough in recognizing that most Haitians only speak Creole.  Sadly, as one Creole speaker remarked, when Haiti seized its independence from France it chose a “bought” language, yon lang achte, rather than its own.  They should have chosen Creole.
 

Types of Language Situations in the Caribbean

Monolingual - Spanish-speaking properly refers to 3 big islands of the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic).  Here, everyone speaks Spanish and can talk to one another regardless of education. People in each of the three islands speak non-standard varieties of Spanish.  Each are linked to regions of Spain where colonizers originated and are mutually intelligible with Spanish.  Historically, the settler societies of these areas were primarily white, with fewer African slaves who were incorporated into a mixed population.  Elsewhere, similar situations cannot be found in the English- and French-speaking Caribbean (apart from Barbados, which is similar to the Spanish Caribbean). 

Bilingual - People speak two languages.  Examples include (St. Lucia, Dominica, and Grenada with English and Fr. Creole).  About 5% of Haitians, according to Valdman, have true competence in French and Creole.  These people are truly bilingual.  The rest are monolingual Creole speakers. Herein lies the paradox that in bilingual situations, where the two languages have different sources, the language spoken by masses is accorded more respect than in a situation where the two languages come from same lexical (vocabulary) source (much like reserving the greatest enmity for those most like you: Moslems and Jews, Catholic and Protestant).  In the example of French and Haitian Creole, or English and Black English/Ebonics, the latter is especially downgraded.  The reason for this difference is that these areas experienced waves of colonization by European powers speaking different languages (such as the Spanish, French, British, and Dutch). 

Diglossia refers to a situation where two varieties of the same language co-exist which share lexicons (vocabulary) but differ in grammar and pronunciation.  They are in complementary distribution, meaning usage does not overlap.  One is associated with high status, the other with low status.  Examples include Jamaica, Guyana, Antigua, Montserrat, and St. Kitts.  Here, mutually intelligible varieties of the English language are spoken.  People make use of a range of styles dependent upon social context and repertoire.

As an example, there are both "high" and "low" ways of going:

mi en a go mi was a go mi did going I was goin I was going

 

Ferguson, who authored a famous article on diglossia in 1959, classified the language situation in Haiti as diglossic.  Valdman disagrees. First, he argues that French and Creole are not two varieties of the same language but two distinct languages with shared lexicons but different sound and grammar systems.  He continues to say that precious few people can choose to use French or Creole. Most Haitians are monolingual Creole speakers. As mentioned above, only 5% have true competence in French and also speak Creole.

 

Haitian Governmental Regulations

In Haiti, French is designated for courts, the legislature, and higher education.  Creole is spoken for the rest.  Even where nations are moving to recognize the creole or patois as a legitimate, national language, they still reproduce the symbolic domination of the language of the colonizers.  For example, tv commercials feature people expressing themselves “naturally” in patois, but then the official voice (senior male) explains the meaning in the colonial “standard” (French).  Elsewhere, expensive jewelry is advertized in the standard but automotive parts in Creole.

These are examples of code-switching (shifting from one language or dialect to another dependent upon social context).  It is to speak one way in class, or in the workplace, another way with close friends or families.  Generally, people speak Creole or Patois in order to affirm their identity.  It can be fascinating to listen to speakers who switch (even in mid-sentence), and to observe why and when they switch. 

 

Variations 

There are slight variations in spoken Creole, owing to regional differences between the North, Center and South and the influence of French.  But, these are relatively minor, Valdman insists, and don’t need to be reflected in orthography--or they should not undermine the move toward a standard orthography. 

 

US Influence

The United States became anew colonial power at the beginning of the 20th century.  Haiti is nearly a neo-colony of the U.S.  The affect on language is that English is more and more mixed in.  Most of the 20% of Haitians who live abroad reside in the U.S.  A form of Creole-English is used (as is seen in the Frenketienne play, Pelin Tèt).

Today, English is both prevalent and useful in Haiti. This has occurred largely due to the weak connections between Haiti and France (compared to connections with US).  Nevertheless, there has been occasional resistance to American influence in debates concerning orthography.  Valdman argues that American policy makers have no stake in promoting English rather than French, spoken by their allies in the elite. Nevertheless, there were occasions in which Creole was promoted, even by whites.  In particular, written Creole was promoted by North American Protestant missionaries, whose translation of the bible into Creole greatly aided missionization.

 

Language Revolution

We must give up on the idea of Creole as a bridge to French.  We must respect Creole as a language in its own right.  After all, there are sufficient materials in Creole to support it as the main language of instruction.  Creole has made its way into official discourse (even in the White House; see below). Prior misuses demonstrate how speakers of the vernacular acquiesce to the dominant or hegemonic view of their language as an inferior idiom--not a language. Yet, there have always been those who resisted the view of their speech and themselves as inferior.  Language can be a means of resistance, a movement against the hegemony of communication, a protest, and a critique.  Speaking Creole can be a means asserting one’s anti-colonial, Afro-Caribbean identity, a means of resistance, a rejection of colonial domination. Using Creole for artistic expression is an act of resistance. 

Haitian Creole has been an official language since the mid 20th century.  Later in the twentieth century, there occurred a movement to empower people through promotion of Creole in literature and music.  Artists dared to compose in an idiom that signifies ignorance, poverty, illiteracy.  Recently, Aristide (click for biographical information), a linguistic genius, promoted Creole in the White House and proudly introduced a new language to the UN in September, 1991.  When he returned from that heady meeting, the creation of a violent coup to oust him was already underway.

The US government and media portrayed his ability to communicate with the masses in the “darkest” terms–his mob, incited by his Creole rhetoric, was to be feared.  His multilingual competence was undercut with criticisms of his use of Creole.

 

Debate on about origins of Creole 

Theory of pidgin to Creole -- This theory proposes that Creole began as a trade language used in the home, particularly where parents spoke different languages.  Subsequently, it became the first language of the next generation.  Soon, it becomes a full-blown language, as complicated as any other.  It develops out of complexities of the contact between speakers of different languages.  Here, the social and demographic context plays a tremendous role.

Consider the development of English Creole.  Slaves who speak different languages that are mutually unintelligible may also be multilingual “learning” English.  But, from whom do they learn English?  Complicating the picture is the fact that non-native speakers were teaching other non-native speakers.  For example, a French-born poor white in St. Vincent speaking “English” to an African-born slave.  In this situation, what dialect or dialects of English are they hearing?  They are coming into contact with different regional dialects of English spoken by colonists and indentured servants.  In other words, the teachers didn’t speak “standard” English themselves.  Finally, how important is the influence of African languages?  Remember that languages are dynamic and constantly in flux.  The language they are in contact with has great influence on them.

Another theory is that development of creoles is a reflection of universal patterns of language growth, acquisition and development.  So if the creoles share features in common, it is owing to these universal patterns of development.

 

Mufwene

Mufwene rejects this theory, arguing that there is no other explanation for its continued authority than racism.  In other words, the authors and supports of the theory acted as though a new theory of language change had to be developed to account for the case of blacks.  Mufwene argues that creoles develop out of complexities of the contact between speakers of different languages.  Here again, social and demographic context plays a tremendous role.

Consider, once again, the development of English Creole.  Mufwene argues that this was a situation of slaves who speak different languages that are mutually unintelligible but who may also be multilingual “learning” English.  But again, who were they learning English from?  Non-native speakers were teaching other non-native speakers.

 

 

List of Key terms:

• Language variety
• Vernacular
• Standard and Non-Standard
• Orthography
• Idiolect
• Sociolect

 

• Pidgin
• Creole
• Diglossia
• Code-switching
• Hypercorrection

 

• Acrolect
• Mesolect
• Basilect

 

• Hypotheses of Development of Creoles
• Substrate, Relexification
• Superstrate or dialectologist
• Universalist