The Haitian language: defying odds and opening possibilities
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Marie Lily Cerat
Abstract
By examining the question of language in Haiti, this article aims at broadening the debate and dialogue among language policymakers and language rights advocates, scholars, researchers and educators about the effects of “linguistic imperialism” (Phillipson 1992) on the development of Haitian Creole and its impact on Haitian children's educational experience. Drawing from theoretical approaches in history (James 1989 [1963]; Fouron 2010; Dubois 2012), linguistics (Calvet 1974; DeGraff 2001; Dejan 2006), language planning and language policy research (Blommaert 2006; Spolksy 2004), and education (Madhere 2010; Plaisir 2010; Shor 1992) has helped shape the scope of this analysis, while also garnering various critical insights from the field of oral literature. In sum, this work reflects an interdisciplinary effort that highlights the impact of linguistic and cultural agents and historical events as it also sheds light on the lived experiences of Haitians within the larger Haitian democratic project begun in 1791 (James 1989; Dupuy 1997; Dubois 2004).
©2015 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Munich/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Transnacionalidad e identidades lingüísticas en la frontera dominico-haitiana
- Representing and regimenting languages in a transnational setting: the case of the Haitian-Dominican border
- Ethnic difference and language ideologies in popular Dominican literature: the case of Haitianized speech
- The Haitian language: defying odds and opening possibilities
- Research Notes
- Challenges and opportunities for Haitian Creole in the educational system of post-earthquake Haiti
- Reflections inspired by a scholarly book on the Haitian Creole language and a good old-fashioned language debate
- Book Reviews
- Book Review
- New insights into the emergence of whiteness in Dominican national discourse
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Transnacionalidad e identidades lingüísticas en la frontera dominico-haitiana
- Representing and regimenting languages in a transnational setting: the case of the Haitian-Dominican border
- Ethnic difference and language ideologies in popular Dominican literature: the case of Haitianized speech
- The Haitian language: defying odds and opening possibilities
- Research Notes
- Challenges and opportunities for Haitian Creole in the educational system of post-earthquake Haiti
- Reflections inspired by a scholarly book on the Haitian Creole language and a good old-fashioned language debate
- Book Reviews
- Book Review
- New insights into the emergence of whiteness in Dominican national discourse
