Against Creole Exceptionalism

DeGraff, Michel

doi:10.1353/lan.2003.0114

Cited by 241 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…The contributors represent a select group of sociolinguists and educators with interest in Haiti and the Dominican Republic who are sensitive to the sociopolitical ramifications of their research. Our effort resonates with the work of scholars most interested in the decolonization of sociolinguistic hierarchies that pits minor languages and dialects against dominant ones (Fanon 1986(Fanon [1952Meliá 1986;DeGraff 2003DeGraff , 2005Errignton 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Introduction

Valdez

2015

International Journal of the Sociology of Language

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Given the persistent legacy of colonization and slavery in the Carib bean, a significant portion of recent scholarship on the island internationally known as Hispaniola is dedicated to debunking (neo)colonial myths (BuckMorss 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 keep ing with the task of mythbusting, this special issue of the International Journal of the Sociology of Language (IJSL) analyzes in detail the dynamics of communica tive practice, language ideologies and intercultural conflict on this island. A prod uct of colonialism, neocolonialism and the problematic policies and practices of the leading classes, a linguistic landscape emerged in Hispaniola in which va rieties of Haitian Creole, French, Spanish and (in some areas) English have played significant roles in the formation of communities, zones of contact, their bound aries, 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 conflictridden. 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 ad vance nationalist discourses and sociocultural hierarchies.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Introduction

Valdez

2015

International Journal of the Sociology of Language

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“…Uniformitarians have argued that the term 'Creole' only has a sociohistorical meaning, not a linguistic one, since the same universal properties are found among all languages (Greenfield 1830;Muysken 1988;Mufwene 2001;DeGraff 2003 and. 5 The modern sciences, including linguistics, assume the fundamental equivalence of all human beings and their languages.…”

Section: The Ideological Arena: Exceptionalism Versus Uniformitarianismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One reviewer argues that the debate between uniformitarians and exceptionalists centers on the debate about the genesis of creole languages and their structural properties and not on the role of creoles in education. However, as DeGraff (2003 and shows, attitudes about the 'degeneracy' of creole structural properties are linked to negative attitudes about the suitability argue that fundamental linguistic principles are universal in the species (Chomsky 1959(Chomsky , 1995. 6 Under uniformitarianism, the first-language approach used in the most successful school systems is the best one for Haiti because Haitian Creole is fully endowed linguistically and universally understood throughout Haiti.…”

Section: The Ideological Arena: Exceptionalism Versus Uniformitarianismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This section compares the arguments of the proponents of the status quoFrench-dominant education in Haiti (Youssef 2002;Francis 2005) -with those of the advocates of educational reform in the direction of Creole-dominance DeGraff 2003DeGraff , 2005. Authors in favor of French-dominance plus some type of bilingualism like Youssef (2002) and Francis (2005) assert that the second language deserves prioritization because it ensures access to international communities, institutions, funds, and products.…”

Section: The Status Quo and Options For Educational Reformmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The dominance of the French language in Haitian education is one of Haiti's fundamental problems because 95% of the population only speaks Haitian Creole (DeGraff 2003(DeGraff , 2005Dejean , 2010. The exclusion of the Creolespeaking masses is also one of Haiti's main impediments for development (Winford 1985: 354;DeGraff 2005DeGraff : 577, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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French and underdevelopment, Haitian Creole and development

Hebblethwaite

2012

JPCL

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This article argues that Haiti’s French-dominant school system is an impediment to the nation’s development, whereas Haitian Creole-dominant education will lay the foundation for long-term development. In that Caribbean country, 95% of the population is monolingual in Haitian Creole while the portion that additionally speaks French does not exceed 5% with an additional 5–10% having some receptive competence (Valdman 1984: 78; Dejean 2006). Even though French is the language of the school system, as many as 80% of Haiti’s teachers control it inadequately and only a minority of students completes school (Dejean 2006). Economic, historical, sociolinguistic, and demographic factors are a part of the explanation for Haiti’s low educational achievement. Another important but often ignored factor iseducational language policy. Data on educational language policy compared internationally show that the use of a second language in schools correlates with high illiteracy rates and poverty (Coulmas 1992). I reject arguments in favor of maintaining French-dominant education in Haiti (Lawless 1992; Youssef 2002; Francis 2005; Ferguson 2006, etc.) because the resources for it are woefully lacking. I argue that the progressive promotion of Haitian Creole throughout Haitian education will lead to improved learning, graduation, and Creole literacy, in addition to a more streamlined and coherent State, economy, and society (Efron 1954; De Regt 1984; DeGraff 2003; Dejean 2006). As Haiti rebuilds after the earthquake of January 12th, 2010, aid workers, government employees, and researchers who get involved in the recovery also unsuspectingly perpetuate French, English, and Spanish hegemony in development work (DeGraff 2010). The long history of suppressing Haitian Creole and promoting French in education and administration — and French, English, or Spanish in development work — form underlying obstacles in the nation’s struggle to produce an adequate class of educated citizens, to achieve universal literacy, and to make socioeconomic progress.

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Genetic Creolistics as Part of Evolutionary Linguistics

Mufwene¹

2020

The Handbook of Historical Linguistics

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Against Creole Exceptionalism

Cited by 241 publications

References 64 publications

Introduction

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French and underdevelopment, Haitian Creole and development

Genetic Creolistics as Part of Evolutionary Linguistics

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