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Factors Affecting the Teaching and Learning of Haitian Creole in The Bahamas

Dernière mise à jour : 23 oct.

INTRODUCTION


Although Haitian Creole (HC) is not taught in elementary and high schools in The Bahamas, every year, more than 250 students enroll in introductory HC courses at the College of The Bahamas (COB) in order to fulfill their mandatory foreign language requirements. Some students even go further by continuing the study of HC at the intermediate level through new courses recently added to The College’s curriculum. In addition, HC, among other languages, is offered to the general public via the College’s International Languages & Cultures Institute (ILCI). Therefore, there may be more students learning HC as a foreign language at COB than at any other higher education institution in the world. What are the factors that can conceivably explain such interest in learning HC in The Bahamas? What are the factors that may influence the teaching and learning of HC in The Bahamas? What are the challenges and the implications of teaching HC in a country where there is a stigma attached to being a HC speaker? A paper dealing with teaching HC in The Bahamas would be incomplete without a discussion of the status and the perception of the HC language in Haiti and elsewhere. This paper thus starts with an introduction to the HC language. Then it identifies and discusses the social factors that affect the teaching and learning of HC as an academic subject at COB.


IS HAITIAN CREOLE A LANGUAGE OR A BROKEN FRENCH?


Although the question of whether HC is a language or not is now obsolete in the academic sphere, HC is often mistakenly referred to as a French dialect or as "broken French". Students on New Providence, Bahamas are no exception in considering HC as "broken French". This fact is confirmed by a socio-linguistic survey of students within public and private high schools on New Providence and at COB. 64.9% of the respondents from COB agree with the statement Haitian Creole is broken French. In the public high schools, 87% agree with the statement and 88% in private high schools also agree. In total, 80.06% of the students agree with the statement Haitian-Creole is broken French (see Table 1). These results show that the majority of students do not have accurate information about HC.


It is well established that HC is a distinct language in its own right with its own pronunciation, spelling, grammar, structure and pragmatics. Nevertheless, it might be useful in the Bahamian context to clarify the matter. HC is by definition a language. Many dictionaries provide several definitions of the word "language" and HC goes in concordance with all of them. "A system of communication by written or spoken words, which is used by the people of a particular country or area." (Longman dictionary, 2003, p. 1056). HC is without any doubt a system of communication with written and spoken words. And, it is used by the entire population of Haiti.


"The method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way." (Jewell & Abate, 2001, p. 957). This definition stresses the words human, structure and convention. HC is undoubtedly a means of human communication using words in a structured and conventional way. Otherwise it would be impossible for HC to be an official language used in everyday life communication by more than 8 million citizens in Haiti.


"The system of communication used by a particular community or country." (Pearsall, 1999, p. 798). The last definition emphasizes the words community and country. The Haitian community is well-known for being the first free black republic in the world. Haiti has been an independent country since 1804. In sum, HC is by definition a full language according to dictionaries.


Legally, HC is on par with other languages like English, Spanish and French. The Haitian Constitution of 1964 (1968) allowed and even recommended the use of HC “for the safeguard of the material and moral interests of these citizens who do not have a sufficient knowledge of the French language” (Article 35). In 1979, a presidential decree allowed the use of HC in schools, both as a language of instruction and as a school subject.




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