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AUTHOR Previllon, Jean TITLE What's In a Name: An Awakening of the Haitian Linguistic Consciousness (An Argument for Haitian as the Native of Haitians). PUB DATE Apr 93 NOTE 18p. PUB TYPE Reports Evaluative/Feasibility (142) Viewpoints (Opinion/Position Papers, Essays, etc.)(120)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Foreign Countries; *; *Haitians; *Language Attitudes; *Language Classification; Language Research; *Language Role; Research Needs; *Stereotypes IDENTIFIERS Connotations

ABSTRACT The use of the term "Creole" to refer to the Haitian language is discussed, and it is argued that "Haitian" is a more appropriate term. Psycholinguistic ane sociolinguistic functions of the term are examined, including its etymological and usage history and images associated with its application in a variety of locations and culturai contexts around the world. The debate over whether Creole is a non-standard of another, usually dominant European language or is a language in and of itself is examined briefly, and further formal analysis of the non-European origins of Creoles is recommended. Haitian Creole is seen as belonging to a family of Afro-centric Creole deserving of further study, rather than as a "poor relative" of French. It is proposed that linguistically, the most consistent approach is to view the modern indigenous language of Haiti as Haitian, having a status as a language equal to that of common European languages. Official acceptance of this status and terminology, including an amendment to the constitution, and its incorporation into the educational system are urged. (MSE)

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What's ina Name An Awakening of the Haitian Linguistic Consciousness

(Rn Argument for Haitianas the Native Language of Haitians)

By "PERMISSION TO U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS Office ol Educational Reeearch and Improvement BEE GRANTEDBY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 1;rfhis document has been reproducedas JEAN PHEW LLON til&t,r1 received I rom the person or orgarization originating a 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduchon quahty APRIL 1993 TO TH, EDUCATIONAL Points ot wew or opinions stated in this docu- RESOURCES ment do not nocessanly represent official INFORMATION OERI posmon or pohcy CENTER (ERIC)

CREOLE LANGUAGES

THE APPLE TREE EUROPEAN LANGUAGES

2 ILLUSTRA TED THE MANGO TREE cmantamuounsaY vaimjANBESTCOPY AVAILABLE NoN.EuRopEAN LANGuAGES Jean Previllon

Language is considered an element so centralto the identity of aperson that it is indeed wise to explain, clarify, prefaceany activity that relatesto its modification. Therefore, I would like,at the outset, at leastto disclaim whatever I intuitively feel, may bemisinterpreted by thereader/listener; and, at the same breath, share whatunderlying purpose I havein mind when I accept this challenge.

Accordingly, let it beknown that theunderlying purpose of this presentation is not to eliminate the word'Creole'; but ratherto recommend that we use it in its functionally logicalplaceso as to enthrone it.The sovereign authority investedin the word 'Creole'will, as a result, strengthen our linguistic identity. In other words, if itcan be contended thatwe Haitians speak Haitian, it will, either in thenear future or eventually, beboth psychologically and logically compelling to developall academicareasin Haitian as opposed to the current andlingering "no material"justifications often heard of educators and the public ingeneral. Also, if we speakHaitian, it will be both psychologically andlogically compellingto encouragethe maintenance of academic subjects at home inHaitian as opposed to requiring a sudden switch from Haitian to French at a certainacademic level.Logic dictates that if Italians speak Italian, Spanishspeak Spanish, Russiansspeak Russian, then Haitiansspeak Haitian. The naming ofanything may be usedas an act to designate something. As there may not be real synonyms, the new name is boundto represent new and distinct characteristics. This characterizationthen, by way of definition, becomes the references which impactson someone's imaginationas the name

3 Jean Previllon or reference is used. Whetheror not the name willgenerate a positive or negative image insomeone's mind will dependon the extent to which the person sympathizes or empathizes with the situationat hand. Again the name or reference may bringpleasure or displeasureto the person should he have the opportunityto experience the situationor to witness the reaction of authority figures towardthat situation. Accordingly, any designationwhich generates pleasurewithin a community is promoted while, in contrast,any designation which generates displeasure is discouraged. In fact, the natural tendencyis to gravitate toward the pleasure-hearing names very decisively asone wants to stay away from derisive names.

For example, whilewords such as 'patriot','classic', 'religious', 'winner', bring pride and pleasureand draw a lot of fans,other words as 'alien', 'primitive', 'atheist', 'loser',bring humiliation anddispleasure and repel anyone to whom they are assigned. It is obvious that boththe feeling of pride and of humiliationare due to one's experience eitherin living or in witnessing the consequence or the treatment of thosewho were designated by such word, or names. Thus, inspired by thegreat 16th century English poet William Shakespeare,one may rhetorically ask, "What's ina name?" In 7iew of the above discussion, theanswer to his question certainlycannot be that of Samuel T. Coleridge,a 19h century English poet, whohad a unique definition for the word 'name'. So unique is his definition that itis used to open a chapter on personal and family names. 'What are names but air? he saidboldly(Pei 1984). Withoutany linguistically sophisticatedpretense, a lay person may

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simply perceiveor recall in a name the imageor the reference carried by the definition of thatname and the reactionor the treatment engendered by the definition assigned to thatname. Therefore one can surmise that theact of naming, at the outset,predetermines, purposelyor not, the eventually attitudes and/ortreatment. Further,one can easily realize how both the attitudes and thetreatment can be justified by thosewho decide to follow the expert providers of suchnames, definitions. As a matter of fact,since these designations and definitionscome from "expert" analysis, most laymen comply with them withoutseriously analyzing both thepsycholinguistic and the sociolinguistic impact madeby these names, definitions,images on their psyche.

Undoubtedly, theact of naming carries with ita definition which is sometimes used imaginativelyif not creatively, by linguiststo influence the mind of the layman.As a result of thisexpert psychological influence, the layman finds himself/herselfblindly nurturing an attitudetoward the name and toward anyone whomay be associated with it. Thisprocess represents in part not the eventual fate, butrather the many episodes experiencedby the word 'creole' for thepast three centuries. What is 'creole'? Doesone write this word with a capitalor lower case V? Should the letter'e' in the first syllable takean accent? How many syllables does this wordhave? How doesone pronounce it? As was stated in the introduction of this positionpaper, the discussion about 'creole' will not be centered in complexareas of .Instead, comments will be concentrated on thevery first question that invitesus to determine what 4

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'creole' is.These comments will relymostly on the sociolinguistic and the psycholinguistic functions of theword 'creole' as it relatesto the international world in general andto the Haitian psyche in particular.

The word 'creole' has forthe past three centuries undergonemany sociological changes andas a result, has engenderedmany sociolinguistic attitudes. Its etymologysuggests that it carried two functions during the Sixteenth Century Portugal.Originated as 'crioulo' in Portuguese, theword on the one hand, connoted theverb 'criar' whichmeans to nurse, to breed, to nourish; on the other hand, theword 'crioulo' also meant whitepersons born in the Portuguese coloniesbrought to for housework(Mahlaiisler 1986).

It is obvious that whether theword 'crioulo' was usedas a verb or as a noun, both functions created a patronizingattitudes in the mind and in the actions of continental Europeans,while the same word at thesame instant generated a subservient demeanorin the psyche of the creoles. Thoughone has to keep in mind that thesubservient demeanorwas officially obliterated by the bravery ofsome indentured laborers of European descent andby African slaves who wereto eventually inherit thesame designation, the negative connotationsstilllinger. The Encyclopaedia Britannica,a sophisticated source of knowledge,provides detailed information regarding the sociological use of 'Creole'.So detailed is the information relatingto the images projected by the term 'creole' thatone becomes curious to know how this word changes meaningas it travels from Europe to various nations of the 5

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Western Hemisphere. Thefollowing chart represents thesynthesis of different images throughoutthe Western Hemisphere.

Place Tmages Projected by the Word 'Creole' European descendants Spanish America Oppressed and dissenting people Mexico 'Nouveau riche' and co-oppressors West Indies Happy and easy going people People with Europeaa life styles Surinam Descendants of African slaves The two sets of theoriginated Portuguese sociologicalfunctions of the word 'creole clearlydemonstrate that, except inLouisiana and in French Guiana, the word symbolizesa negative image on every count. In other words, because of the negativeconnotations generated by 'creole',one could infer that anyone associatedwith the word would alsoexperience negative treatment. It is easy then to imaginehow people, as a result of being treatedso badly, would lose theirself-esteem.

In the sameway, if one looks at the word 'creole' ina sociolinguistic mode, one may discover that,as a means of communication, 'creole'at the start occupied a very lowstatus among some linguists. Insofaras a fully recognized language was concerned, 'creole'could not be considered. For Stewart (1962in Milhlhatisler 1986) the well knownlinguist, did not think that 'creole' hadmet

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Jean Previllon autonomy, 'creole' is almostas deficient as (i.e. a simplifiedmixture of words made from themeeting of two languagesto use as communication for trade purposes). The onlydifferences Stewart couldsee between pidgin and 'creole' is that while 'Creole'has vitality (i.e. it survives thenext ), pidgin does not.

Stewart's presumption of theworthlessness of 'Creole', and byextension, of the speakers of Creole was indirectly challenged by Trudgill(1983). While disagreeing with linguists whoassume that speakers of are lazy and lack intelligence Trudgillasserts: "There is nothing at all inherentin non- standard varieties [of dialects]which makes them inferior." Relatingthe impact of society's perceptionon speakers of non-standard dialects, Trudgil continues: "... attitudes towardsnon-standard dialects are attitudes which reflect the social structure ofsociety." (p.20). While avoiding indulgenceinto linguistic complexities of language development one cannot avoidnoticing that Trudgil's attemptto elevate the status of dialects is inagreement with Bickerton's positionon language development. In his articleentitled "Creole Languages",Bickerton (1983) maintains that "... what is common to creole languages may indeed form the basis of the acquisition of languageby children everywhere." In other words, contrary to Stewart's assertion thata creole is a non-standard form of language, Bick :rton's persuasiveargument that all children acquire their native language in thesame manner that a creole speaker acquiresa would support thenotion that the grammatical features ofa creole

8 Jean Previllon are standard and uniform forall languages in theirstages of development. In short, Bickerton's arguments would suggest that allmodern languages possess a creole base.(p. 116).

Bickerton's support of'Creole' is certainlya powerful step forward in advancing its status. However, the most important contributionsof Bickerton in the world of Creolelanguages is in his inventoryof Creole languages. His research has enlightenedso many Creole language speakers.It is interesting to surmise that priorto Bickerton's contribution,each Creole language speaker conceivablyimagined that Creolewas the "low status" language spoken uniquely and exclusively in his/hercommunity. Clearly, wecan accept today that creole isa world-wide phenomenon extendingfar beyond the .

As a matter of fact, TheNew York Public Library DeskReference (1989), without referring toa language as 'official'or otherwise, introduces to researchers and the worldat large, the linguistic members andthe potential linguistic members of thenew Creole . The followingtable contains some examplesindicating the country andthe corresponding European 'dominant' languageand in this case, thesame terminolgy representing the non-Europeanindigenous language of thecountry. Country European Non-European Language language Guinea-Bissau Portuguese Criolo Haiti French Creole Jamaica English Creole 8

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Therefore, and most importantly,Bickerton's discovery does net only enlighten one insofaras it documents the multitude of Creole languagesin the world; his findings advancelinguistic scholarship by attestingto Creole as the designation for anew family of world languages which have emergedin the last 300 years. Let all linguistsand laymen celebrate and welcome the additional family of languageswhich can logically be called Creole. As was done in the Indo-Europeanlanguage families, such as Germanic, Hellenic, Italic, Latin or Romance,Celtic, etc., the invitation and the challenge remain in effect for linguiststo conduct careful research leading to thenon- European roots of Creole languages.Also, any review of Bickerton's inventory of the new Creole Languagefamily reveals that the development of these Creole languages happenedas a result of a European and a non-European encounter under conditions of servitudeor indentured labor. Therefore, the new Creole language family may be saidto consist of speakers who had limited social and, in particular, lexicalcontact with Europeans, but whose indigenous and deep-rooted linguistic legacyis essentially non-European. These non-European linguisticgroups, especially the creole language of the West Indies, havea legitimate vested interest to discover and claim their rightful linguistic roots. Justas the history of the European language family has been well documented, itis similarly essential to explorean Afro-centric approach in order to finally be ableto analyze the family of Creole languages from a nativist stand point, whichis highly essential and correct. It is after all conceivable that, in theprocess of searching for Indo-European roots, linguists concentrated on the languages orpeople living between and

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Europe. However, ifone wants to be completelyaccurate about languages with Afro-centric structures, it wouldbe wise and just to start analyzingthose new languages from their roots.(Granger1987). Next to the realization ofthe existence of thisnew Creole language family, is the fact that,as a result of Bickerton's discovery ofa world full of 'Creoles', the word 'creole'must be examined. If we examine for example,two language families, suchas Germanic and Italic, we realize thatthere need not be any apology when one has to call the name of the languages.Also, except for a few countries, whosehistorical developmentmay explain their current linguistic definition andstatus, most languages in the worldare named after the nationalities of thepeople who speak them. TheEnglish speak English; French speak French; Italiansspeak Italian. Therefore, therecommendation is to reconsider the members of thisnew Creole language family and to logically name them in accordance with thenationality of the people who speak these languages.

From a linguistically consistentviewpoint, therefore, the indigenous language of modern Haiti isHaitian, which is a member of the worldfamily of languages called Creole. Thisobservation elevates Haitian from thestatus of adjective (a qualifier) to that ofnoun (a substantive). By giving Haitian an independent status, we bring itfully into the family of official languages such as English, German, French, and Spanish. The first thought whichmay come to mind as a concern to be expressed by some Haitian compatriotsmay be the technicalities involved in implementing this change in Haiti itself.Well, let it be said at the outset that

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Jean Previllon the change will take placein Haitiif and whenever the following considerations take place: a) thereis a clear awareness of the existencethe world's Creole languages; b)there is an objective discussion ofCreole at the Ministry of Education relatedto the confusion which the word "creole"creates among the Creole language speakers in thediaspora, especially in the United States, the meeting place ofpractically most of the Creole speakers, andc) if there is an amendmentto the Haitian Constitution. Thus, inan effort to be realistic, one has to be hopefulthat this recommendation will be considered and complied with assoon as it is convenient to the appropriate authoritiesin Haiti.

However, educators, as wellas Haitian compatriots who are concerned about having at leastone single and basic linguistic identitycannot wait for this change to take place inHaiti in order to start using the word Haitian when identifying and affirmingtheir linguistic identity in the . Logic dictates that if Italiansspeak Italian, Spanish speak Spanish, Russians speak Russian, then Haitiansspeak Haitian. The American HeritageDictionary (1992), has already taken the lead in recognizing Haiti's recommended officialLanguage.It has, however, fallen short of giving honorto the new Creole language family.Following are the Dictionary's definitions and themuch needed modification that isa recommendation of this positionpaper.

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DICTIONARY'S Haitian adj. Ofor relatng to Haiti or its peopleor its people or culture.Haitian n.1. A native or inhabitant of Haiti. 2. HaitianCreole Haitian Creolen. A language spoken by the majority of Haitians, basedon French and various African languages.

RECOMMENDED Haitian adj. Ofor relating to Haiti or its peopleor culture.Haitian n. 1. A nativeor inhabitant of Haiti.2. THE LANGUAGE OFHAITI, Creole language (See Creolizedlanguages). We Haitians havecome a long way in our effortsto improve our status whether we are at homeor abroad. For those of us residingout of Haiti, there is even a greater needto double the efforts in orderto overcome the various pressures of society at large.In Western society where theindividual is rewarded for his/herassertiveness, we Haitians needto build upon our self- esteem and collective identity.Naming our language Haitian isin itself an initiative that not onlypromotes our first nationality, butalso strengthens our individual community ties.

Further, by relegating theword Creole to a family oflanguages, the speakers of Haitian are better able to appreciate theirdistinctive linguistic contribution to the world,to recognize their membershipin the family of world languages, andto proudly acknowledge Creoleas a family of language with equal rankingto other language families suchas Germanic, Italic, Celtic, etc. As our illustrious linguist,Dejean (1980), dramaticallyopens his pioneering text: Commentécrire le creole &Haiti byaffirming: "Les

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créolophones, voila mon souci(The Creole speakersare my concerns,)" (p.9), our appreciation of this affirmationcompels us to lift the torcha little higher. Atthis height, it is our hopethat theflame emanating from this torch reaches as many Creole languagesas possible throughout the non-European world.

In other words, aswas done for practically almost all languagesof the world (forthe ,read Pei 1984, pages 44-47.), let the tribulations, the heroic feasts,the pride, thecourage, the dreams, the resolutions of our forefathers/foremothersbe synthesized and concretized in one conceptually prideful word:Haitian, to be used forour first language, our first culture, and our first nationally.It is indeed a new and an evolutionary idea; but, let's faceit, genuinely and honestly speaking,what's the purpoce of education? Well,the purpose of educationmay be as endless as the imagination and the creativityof educators. This recommendation then,if adopted, will empower theHaitian collective mind and psycheso as to command and generate positiveenergies and attitudes amongus first, then throughout the world.

Therefore, while weare anxiously waiting for the visionary mindto start legal procedures in Haiti inorder to innovatively, accordingly, and officially reconsider, letus in the diaspora espouse the logic ofour Afro- Centric heritage and thedesignation Haitian wheneverwe refer to the language of Haitians in the Englishlanguage. By no stretch of imagination will this leading initiative eliminateinternal subjugation of the unschooied

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citizenry; however, in addition to beinga catalyst which wouldhelp psychologically bring allsocial classes closer together,this decision would systematically constituteat least a symbolic recognitionof all other members of the Creole languagefamily, our West Indianscousins being on top of the list. What an empirical andsincere way to givemeaning to the traditional yearly celebration of "JounenEntenasyonal Krey61" (Creole'sInternational Day)! For, not only will thisday recognize Creolelanguages with French , but also,very importantly, andvery correctly, this Creole International Day will honorall Creole languages of theworld. In addition andas a matter of fact, shouldlinguists, whether conservative, liberal,or progressive, honor theinvitation to research the Afro-Centric roots of Creolelanguage, their finding shoulduncover our West Indian African linguisticconnection. Hence,our appellation "(West Indian) brother" whichwe have been declaimingso enthusiastically, will reveal a family relationship muchmore closer than what was learnedthrough a Euro- centric viewpoint.

The following modeladopted from the Indo-Europeanlanguages diagram indicated in the 1979Webster Dictionary will illustratethe point. Indo-European (Afro-Centric title to be determined) *MOOS he*** I I I I I Hellenic Italic (Designated by their syntax) I I I Greek Latin Creole _ __ _ 1 1 1 1 1 French Spanish ItalianPortuguese Haitian Indo-European Model Non-European Model I1 5 14

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It is obvious that Creolelanguages are not accounted for in theIndo- European model above. Asper the Encycl pedia Britannica, the evolution of Creole is seen as follows.

At first, a simplifiedor otherwise modified form of the language of the dominantgroup comes to be used for communicationbetween members of the different groups. At this firststage the communi- cating language is a lingua francaand, if simplified in its forms, a pidgin. Whenthe be- comes the standard or native language ofa commu- nity, usually of the less dominantgroup, the lan- guage has become a creole. (p. 233).

Thus, for the West IndianCreoles, for instance, if by sympathy theCreole languages, the language of thenon-European, were to be indicated anywhere on the Indo-European model above, theywouid have to be the bases of the dominant languages "whogave them birth," as per to the common definition of the cited authoritativesource above. This argument, for the Haitian, would demean "Creole" to aneven lower sociopolitical status. For example,one would have a difficult time, logicallyspeaking, to justify thecurrent status of the term "Haitian Creole". Since HaitianCreole is made up of mostly French vocabularies or lexifiers, ifone were to gullibly accept the common definition cited above, the languagespoken by Haitians then would have been the currently emotionally chargednon-sequitur French Creole. This emotion however, happens to be justifiedwith the view point of some linguists. lAtihlhatisler, agreeing with otherlinguists, asserts " we will avoid calling the creoles "English-based"etc., since we can see no grounds for deciding that the is the base oflanguage, as opposed to the semantic-syntactic framework of the language ' "(p.5). Updated information suchas these cleariy !6 15

Jean Previllon support our position that thelanguage of the Haitians, in spite ofits French based lexifiers should bedesignated Haidan. Finally, as a result ofhaving been exposedto updated information, we, Haitian advocates, find itessential to empowerour compatriots, whether they are in Haiti or abroad. Anenlightened Haitian alsorecognizes that being a member of the family ofCreole languages, he/she,as a speaker of Haitian, belongs to the diasporaof all the peoples of theworld whose linguistic ancestry is superficially Europeanbut indigenously non-European. As change agents,we educators bear the noble responsibilityof freeing the human mind. Decisivelyusing the word Haitianas the language of the Haitians, not only gives deservedrecognition to the new family of Creoleworld languages, but also ultimatelyliberates our non-Europeanlinguistic cousins throughout the world whoshare a common linguisticheritage. What's in a name with regards to Haitian? Inthe term Haitian, usedas a noun, instead of an adjective, the proudcollective psyche receives ampleopportunity to surface with a new andresounding consciousness thatis highly liberating and rewarding. It is theawakening of a people from theirdeep and troubled sleep of indentured status. Tofree the mind is to liberate the souland give it wings. How high it willsoar depends greatly on our willingnessto espouse the thought.

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REFERENCES 1. American Heritage Dictionary.(1992). 2, Bickerton, Derek. (1983). "Creolelanguages" (Spring 1983) Scientific &auk= (pp. 116-122).

3. Dejean, Yves. (1980). Comment ecrirele creole d'Haiti. Quebec, : Collectif Paroles.

4. Encyclopaedia Britannica. (1977).Micropaedia III. S. Granger, James Jr. (1987). Adam. TheAltaic Ring and "The Children of ihg,..aggf, Washington, DC: UraeusPublishing, Inc. (p.43). 6 Muhlaiisler, Peter. (1986). Pict& andCreole Linguistics. New York, N.Y.: New American Library.

7. Pei, Mario. (1984). The Story ofLanguam New York, N.Y.: New American Library.

8. The New York Public Library Desk Reference.(1989). The New York Public Library and The Stonesong Press,Inc.. (pp. 752-766). 9. Trudgill, Peter. (1983). aggiglinguiat Society. New York, N.Y.: Viking Penguin Inc.