In 1804, Haiti established independence from French colonialism, the legacy of which left them with, among other things, French as the official language, and Kreyol as the common language. Some historians argue that Kreyol developed as a French maritime trade dialect, but it is more likely a syncretism of primarily French and Wolof. Within Haiti there are regional differences in Kreyol. By 1980’s the dialect of the capital, Port-au-Prince was perceived as the standard. The use of French phonemes became common in the Port-au-Prince dialect, and such distinctions also underlined class differences. Those outside the metropolis, in rural areas, are generally economically poorer, and speak a slightly different sounding regional dialect.
Socio-economic class distinctions and discrimination persisted after independence, and continue until today. Along with skin colour, language served as one of the variables in underlining class distinctions. French was taught in colonial schools. Thus bilingualism indicated access to education, becoming and remaining a status symbol of one’s socio-economic class.
The first constitution of 1805 declared that free primary and secondary education would be provided by the government, and that primary education would be compulsory. Yet, the government was not able to establish needed schools, as other political and developmental issues took priority. In the 1940s, the Government started to better define educational policies. In order to compensate for the slow development of public schools, churches established their own educational institutions. Today, private education represents about 75% of primary school enrollment and 82% secondary school enrollment. (Salmi,136 ) Thus, private education is the norm in Haiti, rather than the exception.
One out of two Haitian families is able to enroll their children in primary school. One out of ten can continue enrollment through secondary school. Eighty-percent of schools are private, and the failure rates are very high. They are also unregulated by the Ministry of Education or any other government body. They are typically overcrowded, undersupplied, and employ a large number of teachers who have no qualifications beyond a third grade diploma. Theoretically,the privatizing of schools should stimulate competition and consequently increase quality. But this situation in Haiti has only accentuated class differences. Thus, even though in contradiction to their theoretical desire for a democratic, egalitarian state, middle class families seek quality, private school for their children, and if they can afford it, higher education for their children abroad.
The debate over bilingual education arose in the early 1980s. Instruction in Kreyol was supposed to increase student's performance as well as national pride. Kreyol in the classroom was thought to increase access to education for the poor. But the poor felt it would only incrase their disadvantages, viewing education as a means of escaping poverty rather than learning for the sake of learning. This debate seems strongly parallel to the recent debates in the United States over use of ebonics.
Former attitudes toward Kreyol also parallel traditional view of ebonics in the United States. Even though the monolingual "peasant" class are functional using a language understood by 95% of the country, they were traditionally rendered disabled in ability to participate in intellectual, legal and political life.
Private schools, as they are unmonitored, ignored the curriculum changes called for under the reform. Under pressure from the public, the government declared that students would begin using Kreyol when they entered the fifth grade. Students entering at that time felt themselves unprepared as up until then their textbooks had been in French. Students caught in the midst of the transition therefore, also found themselves in the awkward position of having considered themselves educated and "literate," and suddenly finding themselves illiterate in their own mother tongue.(PBI)
The earliest account of Kreyol is a government document in 1801 "Proclamation du Premier Consul." The legendary poet Durand wrote the famous "Choucoune" in Kreyol in 1884. In 1925 the first attempt at Kreyol text appeared as Doret's "Vers le Francais parle Creole". And the first Kreyol newspaper was published in 1943. In 1950s the movement to give Kreyol official status slowly started to evolve, yet it had still not become commonplace in the daily life of most people. The constitution of 1957 reaffirmed French as the official language, but permitted use of Kreyol in certain functions. In 1969 a law was passed giving Kreyol limited legal status - it could be used in legislative courts, but not in educational institutions. In 1979 Kreyol was permitted as a language of instruction in schools. (Library of Congress)
The writing and teaching of written Kreyol also created a generation gap in the Haitian American community. Darlie Gervais of the "Haitian Times" newspaper. The Haitian Times newspaper writes entirely in English in an attempt to appeal to a broader Haitian American readership. Gervais observed that "first generation Haitians typically arrived in the United States in the 1960s at age 25 - 30 years old." They have a love for French," as it was their language of instruction, so enjoy reading the French newspapers. This generation never received formal instruction in Kreyol, and most likely didn’t encounter written Kreyol in their daily lives either in Haiti nor in the United States. "The second generation came to the United States more recently, at age 5 - 7 years old. Many do not know Kreyol, or know it only as a spoken language," as their language of instruction and everyday life is in English. Gervais explains that by using English, The Haitian Times hopes to "bridge the gap" between these populations. (Interview) The four major newspapers in the United States for Haitian news are the conservative "Haiti Observateur" (French), "Haitian Times" (English) and "Haiti En Marche" (French) to the center, and the left-wing "Haiti Progres" (Kreyol/Trilingual). These papers have new bureaus in Port-au-Prince, and executive offices in the United States, or both locations.
Concerning the inconsistencies to be sometimes found in the spelling of Kreyol, Gervais explained from an editor’s perspective that there is the “old school and new school" way of writing Kreyol. "Over past ten years there has been a lot of discussion among (university) professors about the spelling." says Gervais. "The new school are activists who want to come up with one spelling, but it doesn’t really happen. The old school continues to write in their own way." Gervais herself admits that she learned to write Kreyol on the job, as an editor for "Haiti Femme" a popular women’s magazine. (Interview) In the late 1970s, the Institut Pedagogique Nacional (IPN) developed an orthography that included the elements of the two systems previously in use. The goverment gave semiofficial status to the new orthography as part of the education reform of 1978. (Salmi, 138)
During the American occupation of Haiti in the 1950s, black consciousness and intensifying nationalism led Haitian intellectuals to using Kreyol in literature, regarding it as the authentic language of the Haitian people. Before then, very little was written in Kreyol. This era saw the creation of the "peasant novel," which examines the life of Haiti’s poor, rural class. One example is the Marxist ethnologist Jacques Roumain, whose Master of the Dew is acknowledged as the masterpiece of literary nationalism. (Arthur & Dash, 302) Today, acclaimed novelists such as Patrick Chamoiseau, and Edwidge Danticat write in Kreyol for an educated Haitian audience. But in the nationalism movement in the 1950s, how much was consumed by Haitians themselves, being that even the educated couldn’t read Kreyol? Who was this literature for? This is an example of language being used for purposes of symbolism, rather than efficiency.
According to recent statistics, there are 320,000 radios, and 32,000 televisions in the country. (Library of Congress) The electricity network is badly maintained and loaded illegal connections. Electricity is erratic throughout the day, so that those who can afford to do so, depend on generators. Naturally, this situation is not conducive to the potential for widespread use of personal computers.
In "The Distribution of Knowledge in the Third World" Philip Altbach discusses the expense of producing of books in "developing" countries. "The economics of publishing concerns much more than the cost of producing and distributing a book in a particular country. Rates of literacy, reading habits of the population, government policy toward books, copyright regulations, and the nature of libraries are all part of the economic equation. For example, low literacy rates, low per capita purchasing power, and a diversity of languages...contribute to a limited market for books." (Altbach, 313) Haiti has all of these factors to contend with. Publishing is an expensive technology. Paper costs and printing equipment tend to be high. Will the internet offset these costs? Only if the computer technology is available, and maintenance and upgrading are also accessible. Another issue concerning publishing and distribution on the Web is copyright. However, as Altbach points out, "The United States, when it was in the process of developing its own publishing industry and declaring its intellectual independence from Britain, regularly flouted copyright agreements, which were seen as limiting the development of an indigenous book trade."(319)
Similar to the nationalism movement of the 1950s, Haitian media has been instrumental in raising political consciousness both in Haiti and among Haitian communities abroad. Written Kreyol expanded in the late 1980s, perhaps increasing participation in political issues, but it is difficult to determine to what extent. At the same time, radio was lessening the political isolation of Kreyol speakers. Radio has been as instrumental to communication in Haiti, in the United States. Approximately 24 radio stations were broadcasting in Haiti in the late 1980s. Kreyol became common on Haitian radio. In New York, Kreyol radio provides Radio Soleil, Columbia University’s L’Heure Haitienne, WLIBs Moment Kreyol, and Jocelyn Mayas Tuesday evening commentaries on WNYE. Kreyol became commonplace in television, but radio reached out to all people in a way that television couldn’t. The low cost of radios make them more accessible to everyone. Thus the technology didn’t determine change, but facilitated it.
There are only a few internet cafes in Haiti, and a few personal computers. The use of computers will bring to Haiti an additional dependency of import goods, as Haiti manufactures neither hardware nor software for computers at this time. Whether programming and technical maintenance are popular areas of study in Haitian schools is an area where furher investigation is needed. However, due to the limited use of computers, the job availability for graduates within the country would be limited. A significant number of websites are bilingual (English and Kreyol) or trilingual, but the majority are in English. As discussed with print media, the use of English serves to include second and third generation Haitians, the young population more likely to be using the Internet. Interestingly, choice of language was one recurring topic in many of the discussion boards. Haitian Americans seemed to associate language with identity and nationalism, yet in this context, the Kreyol is less efficient than the English, first, because of the mixed levels of "literacy" for this particular audience, second because the technology lends itself better to English.
The following are samples of these comments:
"I live in a town where there are a lot of Haitians who chose to ignore or deny their
nationalities." - Florence
"I’ve been residing in the US since 1981. Prejudice towards Haitians was very much alive in those days. The Haitian identity crisis was more visible than it is today. I would meet Haitians in school and they would deny their nationality. I would purposely quesiton these so call (sic) non-Haitians of their nationality and they would flat out answer, I’m from Martinique, I’m from Paris, I’m from Jamaica..."
"My name is Sade! I’m proud to have been born Haitian. I’ve been residing in the US now for 18 years and throughout many of my experiences with a lot of haitians I’ve encounteed through school, 80% of them denied their nationality. To me that is a big slap in the face to any true Haitian."
"Salut à tous, je m'appelle Gaëlle, je suis Haitienne comme la plupart de vous. je vis à Montréal.
J'ai en commun avec vous tous un amour fou pour ce pays. Haiti pour moi est un rêve, une
passion, une histoire qui a besoin d'être racontée.
À tous les jeunes Haitiens... nous sommes le lendemain de notre pays, son bâton de vieillesse, sa
fièreté, Ceux qui sont sans aucun doute condamnés à travailler pour le changement afin de le
remettre sur le pied qu'il était autrefois... Alors, pensons à retrouver notre divine allure d'antant
en commençant par nous aimer entre nous, d'un amour sincère et fraternel comme celui que tous
et chacun pour Haiti il faudra débuter à ce stade si l'on veut vraiment atteindre nos objectifs et le
tout Puissant fera le reste!!!
Je profite de l'occasion pour inviter des jeunes étudiants vivant préférablement en Haiti à
correspondre avec moi... on ne sait jamais jusqu'où ça pourrait nous mener; j'ai tant de question à
poser sur mon pays... écrivez-moi à:
gaella_rosa@haitiglobalvillage.com
D'ici là, j'envoie le bon baiser de Montréal à tous les Haitiens à travers le monde en félicitant
haitigv pour son magnifique travail. À bientôt."
"Hello everyone ! Bonjou tout moun ! Ca va bien ???
Bravo pour le site; j'ai lu tous les messages ! je regrette moi aussi de ne pas avoir eu un tel outil
quand j'étais étudiant.... Je passe le mot.... Je suis en Haiti, ou je travaille dans une petite ONG,
ou nous élaborons en équipe divers programmes de formation ciblant tout particulièrement les
responsables d'organisations populaires, particulièrement dans les zones rurales. J'ai besoin
d'aide, et j'espère que parmi vous tous, quelqu'un pourra rapidement m'aider. Je suis à la
recherche de photos satellites d'Haiti (infrarouge ou pas) de qualité, que je pourrais "download"
directement sur mon computer. J'en ai un peu ras le bol de erchercher sur les sites de la NASA,
EOS, NAA et autres... Des images provenant des "Weather Channel" ou photos des cyclones ne
sont pas ce que je cherche.... L'objectif est de reproduire cette iamge dans un manuel en créole
(avec plusieurs "zooms" successifs, jusqu'à rentrer dans des photos aériennes de certaines villes
de province et des zones avoisinantes. Help !!!!!
If you can refer me to any site where I could dowload high quality satellite pictures Haiti, please
help !!! I'm trying to gather together the last elements we need for a training program aimed at
peasant leaders in Haiti. Please use your university contacts, tech friends, and/or surf some for
me !!!
Mwen bezwen nou anpil nan bagay sila a. M ap travay 18 è chak jou, san pa gen lajan ladann,
yon jan pou nou ta rive finn prepare tout dokiman nou bezwen pou travay fòmasyon nou pra l
derape talè la sou teren an. Ede m jwenn pi bèl foto ki fèt depi syèl lan sou peyi nou a, tan pri.
e-mail: CDRH_Haiti@hotmail.com
Mèsi anpil, Jean-Sébastien (Babas !)"
"Hi! my name is Emmanuela and was born in Haiti. I am currently studying in Philadelphia and
so far I have not met any other Haitian students. I am very depressed about this. If there is
anyway anyone can help, I can be reached at
emma.louis@tju.com
Thank-you"
"Coman nouye tout ahitien yoo. Mwe rele Dgems. Mwen se yon etudian nan Johnson & Wales
U.
North Miami.
Map chache yon ti comer ahitien nan Miami poume sa fe ti pale lem gin tan. Si ou interece
adress mwe se
Dgems@marlinjw.com.edu"
"Haitien has been for the longest time synonymous with "haïr les siens". Musicians have captured the essence of what Haiti means to us in hundreds of songs. Ti Manno wanted to die in Haiti, countless others want to go "home". There has to be something special about Haiti for them to want to forfeit life abroad and come back. God willing, many of us will be alive to usher in another millennium, ponder this: you're living in foreign land and you're suddenly asked to return to your homeland. Where would you go? If your answer is Haiti would you want to live there the way things are right now?”
"I was really impressed when I found this site. Like many young Haitians, who were raised
overseas, I did not have the opportunity to spend much time in Haiti. Therefore I feel there is
something missing.
Estmar@netscape.net"
(Source: HAITIAN STUDENTS OVERSEAS)
"I’ve read somewhere that people in Haiti were speaking 80% Kreyol, 20% French (official
language), some Spanish and just a few English in the cities. I don’t care because I speak English
fluently, but why everybody in this NG’s speaking English? I’m going to read deeper what’s
been said, but are the people who write here living (or have lived) there? I mean, how many?
Maybe what I just said is wrong, I don’t really know the country, I just begin to get interested in
because I’ve been sponsoring a child for 3 days. Someone tell me if I’m wrong."
X@club-internet.fr
"Well, would you feel better if we were writing in French? If we were posting from Haiti, the posts would most likely have the .ht appendage, just like yours has the .grolier.fr You are posting from Grolier, PROBABLY a region of France, right?"
"Anyway, we are for the most part, a bunch of displaced Haitians, and friends of Haiti living
mostly in the U.S, Canada and France. We left Haiti at a tender age, and never had the
opportunity to master the rudiments of French and Kreyol."
Kafou "At your service, always" Lobo
"To answer your question, personally, I am more comfortable with writing and reading english as
opposed to Kreyol."
Capt. Doug
"I don’t want people to write in a language different than their native language. I was just
wondering if the people who are here had something to do with Haiti or not really, if there were
some who are living there (or not!) ...The fact that everybody’s speaking English in a country
were just a few people know this language troubles my mind."
X@club-internet.f
"Haiti Progres (newspaper) is biased, yes. But outwardly so. They make no bones about their
bias, unlike other
papers who portray themselves as unbiased reporters of the news. Propaganda implies a hidden
agenda. I think since most newspapers are right wing since their owners are huge conglomerates
like GTE, a little balance is needed."
(Source : ORIENTATION HAITI)