Linguists' most dangerous myth: The fallacy of Creole Exceptionalism

Abstract

Creole Exceptionalism" is defined as a set of beliefs, widespread among both linguists and nonlinguists, that Creole languages form an exceptional class on phylogenetic and0or typological grounds. It also has nonlinguistic (e.g., sociological) implications, such as the claim that Creole languages are a "handicap" for their speakers, which has undermined the role that Creoles should play in the education and socioeconomic development of monolingual Creolophones. Focusing on Caribbean Creoles, and on Haitian Creole in particular, it is argued that Creole Exceptionalism, as a sociohistorically rooted "régime of truth" (in Foucault's sense), obstructs scientific and social progress in and about Creole communities. Various types of Creole Exceptionalist beliefs are deconstructed and historicized, and their empirical, theoretical, and sociological flaws surveyed. These flaws have antecedents in early creolists' theories of Creole genesis, often explicitly couched in Eurocentric and (pre-0quasi-)Darwinian doctrines of human evolution. Despite its historical basis in colonialism and slavery and its scientific and sociological flaws, Creole Exceptionalism is still enshrined in the modern linguistics establishment and its classic literature, a not unexpected state given the social structure of scientific communities and the interaction between ideology and "paradigm-making." The present Foucauldian approach to Creole Exceptionalism is an instantiation of a well-defined area of the linguistics0ideology interface. The conclusion proposes alternatives more consistent with Creole structures and their development, and more likely to help linguists address some practical problems faced by Creole speakers. (Colonialism, Creole languages, Darwinism, Haitian Creole, history of linguistics, ideology, language evolution)*

French and underdevelopment, Haitian Creole and development

“…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.…”

“…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).…”

“…The exclusion of the Creolespeaking masses is also one of Haiti's main impediments for development (Winford 1985: 354;DeGraff 2005DeGraff : 577, 2010). Haiti's language policy is most problematic in the French second-language school system.…”

Efficacy and Implementation of Automated Essay Scoring Software in Instruction of Literacies to High Level ELLs

“…In my own experiences, some teachers have told my classes or other students that no other language but English should be spoken at school, severing the language the majority of my classmates would speak at home from their education. In Haiti, Degraff (2005) reported that one of his teachers had "NO CREOLE"…”

“…By having this type of story-in contrast to other language genesis stories-and disseminating it to both native speakers and outsiders, native speakers of the feel that their mother tongue is inherently deficient. This belief also plays out in the severe lack of reading material in Haitian Creole (DeGraff 2005(DeGraff , 2010.…”