The Value of Haitian Creole

On January 1, 1804, the first successful slave revolt was won (Britannica). The former French colony of Saint Domingue became Haiti. “Haiti became the world's first black-led republic and the first independent Caribbean state when it threw off French colonial control and slavery in the early 19th Century” (BBC “Haiti Country Profile”), Haiti officially is bilingual. Parisian French and Haitian Kreyol are the two official languages in Haiti. However, most of the population is Kreyol monolingual. But the schools and official government documents are in French. This disconnect leads to less successful students and the marginalization of Kreyol. Haitian Kreyol is often perceived as a simplistic derivative of French incapable of expressing complex or serious ideas. But this is not the case. Haitian Kreyol is a fully functioning, well-developed language capable of handling “serious” topics such as literature, science, and politics. Haitian Kreyol is also an intrinsic part of Haitian identity and is the language of all Haitians. Haitian Kreyol ought to be the language used in the schools to provide better education for all Haitians. 

           The preferential treatment of the French language in Haiti leads to a devaluing of Kreyol in the minds of the people and keeps people from advancing economically. The language situation in Haiti is more diglossic than bilingual. “Diglossia is a near-universal situation in which different languages or varieties of the same language function complementarily” (Valdman 155).

 According to Valdman:

One of the consequences of a diglossic situation is a hierarchical relationship between the two languages or linguistic varieties. The high one enjoys prestige and becomes the target that all speakers strive to reach; the low one is depreciated, particularly is the case in the French/Creole relationship where the low language is intimately associated with the servile population (Valdman 156).

      French is viewed as the language that will help the population socially and economically advance and Kreyol is viewed as the language of the low class. Kreyol suffers from a negative perception of itself. Delva discusses three ways Kreyol is delegitimized. She says the first way Kreyol is delegitimized is social. “French has functioned as the official and administrative language of the country since colonization.” But “more than 95 percent of the population is Creole monolingual and less than 5 percent speak French fluently, but close to 100 percent of the population speaks Creole” (Delva 93). Although most Haitians speak Kreyol, French persists as the language in the schools and government. This puts French in a preferred position over Kreyol because French is the primary language of education and politics.

           Secondly, Delva claims that the delegitimization of Kreyol has economic implications. She shows this through the education opportunities available to Kreyol monolingual students. “Children from low-income families typically do not learn French in the home, which complicates their education” (Delva 93). Because French is not spoken in the home, most Haitian students are forced to learn in an unlearned language. And since French is not typically spoken in low-income families, Kreyol monolingualism is perceived as low-class. 

Private schools offer better education but “tuition rates of private schools are disproportionate to the average Haitian household income” (Delva 93). Thus, better education becomes a commodity only the elite can enjoy. And implies that those who are Kreyol monolingual are uneducated, since “children of the vast lower class go to underperforming schools taught by untrained educators in public schools and lower-tier private schools” (Delva 93). So, Kreyol monolingualism is tied to the lower class and poor education.

Lastly, Delva discusses the emotional repercussions of Kreyol delegitimization:

In Haiti, such an obsession with the colonizer’s language manifests when a young student undergoes sixteen years of imposed French education, from kindergarten to the end of high school, under the justification that speaking Creole is limitative while speaking French is a sign of intelligence. This notion of linguistic superiority and inferiority is ingrained in the mind at an early age, during the primary school years, and long after (Delva 94).

           French is established as superior to Kreyol within society. The preference for French is rooted in the degrading way French colonizers viewed the Kreyol language. Kreyol was referred to as “francais abatardi” (bastardized French) (Valdman 150). Even to this day, “The public perception about Kreyol as a variety of French has not changed significantly” (Schieffelin 179). Kreyol is still perceived as a derivative of French rather than an individual language. This is damaging to Kreyol monolingual speakers because it implies that French has more value than Kreyol. If Kreyol is the only language you can speak, you have less value to society than a person who is French and Kreyol bilingual.  

While Kreyol may have had French origins, “Currently, most creolists no longer accept the view that French and Kreyol are varieties of the same language but regard them as two distinct languages” (Schieffelin 178-179). Kreyol has developed to the point where it is completely distinct from French. The two languages are not mutually intelligible. (“What is the Difference Between French and Haitian Creole?”) Thus, Kreyol is just as valid as French and is worthy of study and use in all disciplines. And considering the amount of people who are Kreyol monolingual in Haiti, Kreyol is the cornerstone of Haitian identity. 

According to Schieffelin, “Kreyol, which educated Haitians claim to share with the masses, is an enduring symbol of Haitian identity” (Schieffelin 176). Kreyol is shared by Haitians of all classes and of all ages. If you are Haitian, you speak Kreyol.

Additionally, Kreyol has been a part of the island’s identity since its colonization. Valdman simplifies the origins of Kreyol as “when an African slave tried to speak French with his freebooter master and mutual accommodation ensued” (Valdman 147). Additionally, Valdman states:

The various texts from the late colonial period demonstrate clearly that about a century after the establishment of the Pearl of the Antilles, Creole was far from constituting a mongrelized rendition of French, a pidgin. It had become a fully constituted and rule-governed language with its own autonomous grammar (Valdman 152). 

           Even in the colonial period, Kreyol was a “rule-governed language” independent of French. Kreyol was spoken among the slaves and so descended to the present-day population of Haiti, which is mostly descended from former slaves. 

           Kreyol is tied to Haitian identity even more since it is one of the declared official languages of Haiti. “Haiti was the first of the Caribbean countries to give its vernacular the status of an ‘official language’” (Schieffelin 178). The status of Kreyol as an official language reflects its importance to the people. And it also reflects the fact that it is spoken by most of the population. According to Delva “close to 100 percent of the population speaks Creole” (93). Kreyol is the defining marker of all Haitians. 

           Because most of the population is Kreyol monolingual, Kreyol education is of utmost importance. “Many scholars consider Creole instruction to be instrumental in Haitian children’s primary education in order to master literacy, writing, and reading comprehension” (Delva 94). Kreyol education could aid in the education gap in Haiti and provide monolingual students from lower classes better opportunities. 

           It is clear that “mother-tongue instruction positively affects learning” (Delva 94). So, Kreyol education would only benefit students. Additionally, students would benefit from learning French in Kreyol. According to Wardhaugh and Fuller, “Bilingual education with some instruction in the home language leads to academic success in the long term” (346). Rather than complete immersion in French or marginalization of Kreyol, students would benefit most from French taught in Kreyol. 

           Delva shows the positive benefits of Kreyol in schools in her research. She researched the relatively new approach of using Kreyol in Haitian schools. Even though French instruction is still the norm, some schools have started to adopt mother-tongue instruction. She specifically focused on the efforts of Lekol Kominote Matenwa (LKM), a primary school in Haiti. LKM took intentional steps to integrate Kreyol and Haitian culture into their curriculum. 

Delva cites the incorporation of Kreyol as directly beneficial to students:

 The impact of the combined pedagogical model at LKM has positively benefited the students in their learning. The mother-tongue aspect of the model helps children with their literacy competence early on, addressing the low literacy rate for the country reported by USAID (120).       

            Kreyol instruction aids with the country’s “low literacy rate”.

 So, the misconception of Kreyol being unintelligent is untrue. Kreyol is the key to literacy for Haitian students. The Kreyol instruction at LKM had a direct beneficial impact on the students. “All the children in the study were on their way to achieve literacy competence by the end of primary school.” (Delva 120). 

           More importantly, Kreyol instruction would support the validation of Kreyol and support healthy development in students. “The positive encouragement that the students receive to express themselves in their mother tongue and to learn in a culturally relevant manner supports the legitimization of Creole” (Delva 120). Kreyol education would lead to more than educated citizens, it would lead to more confident citizens and leaders in the community. “The first graders show confidence to lead, especially in activities such as drawing from personal experiences and sharing them in Creole.” (Delva 120). 

           Additionally, Kreyol education leads to a strong sense of Haitian identity in students. Because Haitian Kreyol is only spoken in Haiti, it is inseparable from the Haitian identity. And because most of the population is Kreyol monolingual, Kreyol education would affirm the identity of students as Haitian citizens. This is proven true in Delva’s article observing LKM’s teaching methods:

            The LKM learning model positively supports the development of Haitian identity in children. Overall, throughout primary school, LKM’s children develop a sense of their Haitian identity, which from Freire’s perspective is the practice of freedom. (Delva 120) LKM supports Haitians by building its education system for Haitian citizens. It recognizes the fact that Haitians are primarily Kreyol monolingual. Instead of forcing students to learn in French, it views Kreyol as an asset and invests in that for a better future. The students benefit from this because they can achieve better academically. Students are also allowed to learn in an environment that nurtures their identity instead of damaging it. This positive learning environment gives students the confidence to lead and express themselves in all areas of their lives. 

           As a language, Kreyol is a valid vehicle for all forms of communication and artistic expression. Historically, Kreyol was an oral tradition. “For most of its history, Kreyol has been a language of oral expression, while French has a literate tradition” (Schieffelin 179). But there are historical documents written in Kreyol. “The first documentation of a French-based Caribbean Creole is a Creole adaptation of the Passion of Jesus Christ” (Valdman 148). This document was assumed to be “authored by a Jesuit missionary or group of missionaries whose identity remains problematic” (Valdman 148). 

Valdman claims that “Written representations of contemporary Creole speech would not emerge until the late Saint-Domingue colonial period” (Valdman 149). These documents cover a variety of genres including “Travelers’ accounts, light verse (Idylles et Chansons ou Essais de Poesie Creole), official proclamations ostensibly translated from French originals,” (149-150). The most notable text comes after the colonial period. “The text that most closely reflects speech is a post-colonial one-act play authored by Christophe’s secretary and court poet, Juste Chanlatte” (Valdman 151). The play was written to celebrate the arrival of King Henri Christophe in Cape Haitian in 1818. (Valdman 151) The language used in the play reflects social order:

 Chanlatte displays remarkable linguistic virtuosity by portraying various social categories with different speech varieties: bourgeois and noble characters are made to speak French, a British officer a foreigner’s broken French, and the two main protagonists, the maid Marguerite and the tinsmith Valentin, Creole (Valdman 151).

While this document reflects the perception of Kreyol as the language of the lower class, it demonstrates a clear understanding of Haitian society and the fact that all Haitians speak Kreyol. This play was written for the King, and it included Kreyol. This implies that Kreyol would be understood by the King and any members of the upper class who may have been watching the play as well. This could be seen as the initial use of Kreyol in literature; even though its use reflects a low social position.

Unfortunately, before the 20th century, written Kreyol was subject to demeaning genres. “Written Kreyol was thus limited to minor genres (poems, folktales, synets [playlets]) and aimed at entertaining specific audiences: children or a condescending elite” (Schieffelin 182). The stigma associating Kreyol with low social class and unintelligence has stopped Haitian authors from writing in Kreyol. Even during the “Indigenist Movement (late 1930s-70s)” (Schieffelin 183) a time of renewed nationalism, Kreyol was not initially used for literary works. “None of [the Haitian authors] produced a body of work written entirely in Kreyol” (Schieffelin 183). 

           Beginning in the 1960s, progress towards the acceptance of Kreyol in literary works can be seen. “The first literary landmarks were translation of French and Greek ‘literary monuments into Kreyol, such as Corneille’s Le Cid by Numa (1975) and Sophocle’s Antigone by Morisseau-Leroy (1953b)” (Schieffelin 183). 

Finally, in the 1970’s, we see a literary work written entirely in Kreyol. “Dezafi, the first novel in Kreyol, was written by Franketienne in 1975, and the appearance in 1977 of Trouillot’s Ti dife boule sou istoua Ayiti (Controversies about Haitian History) demonstrated that written Kreyol not only could be used for literary genres, but for serious scientific essays” (Schieffelin 183). Even though it was not fully accepted until the 1970s, Haitian Kreyol was always worthy of use in all genres. 

Just like the country of its origin, Haitian Kreyol has fought to gain its independence and is still fighting for its right to be used in every situation. Haitian Kreyol is valid for use in the classroom, the government, and literature. It is not the marker of a low social class but the defining marker of being Haitian. A language one should be proud to speak.

Works Cited

            BBC. “Haiti Country Profile” News, World, Latin America Haiti country profile - BBC News Accessed April 13, 2024.

            Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Haiti summary". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 May. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/summary/Haiti. Accessed 14 April 2024.

            Delva, Rachele-Jeanie. “Kreyol Pale, Kreyol Konprann” Journal of Haitian Studies, Center for Black Studies Research, Spring 2019, Vol 25, no. 1, pp. 92-126.

            Schieffelin, Bambi B. and Doucet, Rachelle Charlier. “The ‘Real’ Haitian Creole: Ideology, Metalinguistics, and Orthographic Choice” American Ethnologist, Wiley, 1994, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 176-200.

            Valdman, Albert. “Haitian Creole at the Dawn of Independence” Yale French Studies, Yale University Press, 2005, No. 107, pp. 146-161.

            Wardhaugh, Ronald and Fuller, Janet. “An Introduction to Sociolinguistics”, Wiley, 2021, 8th edition, pp. 335-356.

            “What is the Difference Between French and Haitian Creole” Language Access, Language XS, 2023, What Is The Difference Between French And Haitian Creole? - LanguageXS | On-Demand Phone Interpreting | Video Remote Interpreting