Introduction

Juan R. Valdez

doi:10.1515/ijsl-2014-0050

Abstract

Given the persistent legacy of colonization and slavery in the Caribbean, a significant portion of recent scholarship on the island internationally known as Hispaniola is dedicated to debunking (neo)colonial myths (Buck-Morss 2009; San Miguel 2005). Not the least of these myths is the idea that this island’s peculiar history produced a “lower”, not fully civilized race of speakers. In keeping with the task of myth-busting, this special issue of the International Journal of the Sociology of Language (IJSL) analyzes in detail the dynamics of communicative practice, language ideologies and intercultural conflict on this island. A product of colonialism, neocolonialism and the problematic policies and practices of the leading classes, a linguistic landscape emerged in Hispaniola in which varieties of Haitian Creole, French, Spanish and (in some areas) English have played significant roles in the formation of communities, zones of contact, their boundaries, identities and racial antagonisms. From discrepancies surrounding the name of the island (“Hispaniola”, “Yspayola”, “Quisqueya”, “Saint Domingue”, “Haiti”), to what to call their languages, to controversies over which language to allow in the classrooms, speech communities and discourses in Hispaniola are conflict-ridden. While we find many examples of collaboration between the two countries, there are many forms of cultural and linguistic disputes, especially at the level of social elites who capitalize on linguistic differences in order to advance nationalist discourses and sociocultural hierarchies.

Introduction

Abstract

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