When Christopher Columbus finally discovered the island of Hispaniola in 1492 after an exhausting voyage, he certainly did not see the indigenous people of the land speaking Haitian Creole nor did he see any Haitians for that matter. That is because the Haitian language and culture are relatively young -- less than 500 years old.
Yet, that was sufficient time for a new language to be born and a rich, new culture to come to existence. Inspired from Latin and African languages, the Haitian Creole language has a short, but intriguing history. This article explains how the Haitian Creole language formed, how it is today and how it might fare in the future.
Haitian Creole - How Did it Begin?
Every major language has its humble beginnings -- and Haitian Creole is no different. Coerced out of their homeland, many African slaves were imported to the western part of Hispaniola, which is now modern day Haiti. In addition to being maltreated by cruel slave owners, the African slaves initially had no effective method of communicating with each other, since they came from different parts of West Africa and spoke different languages.
Main Languages that Influenced Haitian Creole
French. If you have some knowledge of French, it won't take you long to notice its striking similarity with Haitian Creole. Almost every word in Haitian Creole is borrowed from the French language. Even Haitian names primarily come from French. Some good examples are Jean, Pierre, Altidore, Louis, etc.
Ewe. Despite the remarkable similarity between the two, French and Creole often sound very different. One reason for this is because Haitian Creole is influenced by West African Gbe languages. The one that mostly affect Haitian Creole is Ewe, the most prominent Gbe language. It is believed that the Africans who were enslaved in Hispaniola originally came from these regions. Not having a major form of schooling, the slaves adopted French vocabulary with a modified version of Ewe -- resulting in a French-African hybrid or Creole.
Taino and others. Annihilated by the cruelty and infection diseases from the European Conquerors, the Taino people did not get a chance to significantly influence the enslaved Africans in Hispaniola. But, a few words here and there still perforated into Haitian Creole. For example, the word annana (pineapple) came from the Tainos. Other lesser influences were Fon, Kongo and Spanish.
The slaves strove to establish a common communication system among themselves by learning French. But, the French dialect that the slaves were trying to learn from the colonists was very different from standard French, which was spoken by the high or noble class of France. The colonists' version of French was similar to what is commonly referred today as slang.
What is more, Taino and African-based languages also influenced the formation of Haitian Creole. All of this led to this exquisite almalgam or fine mixture of languages -- the essence of a Creole language.
Because modern-day Haiti used to be the French-controlled west side of Hispaniola, the French language was the primary language that influenced Haitian Creole. In fact, the vast majority of the terms in Haitian Creole come from French.
But, since it was influenced by Argot or French slang and African-based languages, the grammar and overall language structure of Haitian Creole are different from standard french. In fact, native french-speakers generally don't understand Haitian Creole.
Haitian Creole Today - Growing in Popularity
The slaves strove to establish a common communication system among themselves by learning French. But, the French dialect that the slaves were trying to learn from the colonists was very different from standard French, which was spoken by the high or noble class of France. The colonists' version of French was similar to what is commonly referred today as slang.
When the stalwart conquistadors entered the new world, they not only decimated the indigenous peoples there, they also led to the extinction of many of their native languages. Latin America was once teeming with a vast array of languages. Now, the languages of indigenous groups are slowly declining. Stepping over to Hispaniola or Haiti, the exact opposite is happening. The Haitian Creole language remains steadfast, and it is even growing in popularity.
Haitian Creole - From Chastisement to Embracement
In the latter part of the 20th century, glimmers of hope loomed over the horizon as public opinions toward Haitian Creole changed. With over 90 percent of the population speaking Haitian Creole, the people began to see the language as something that is innate to their culture.
For example, the constitution of 1987 considered Haitian Creole as the only language that unites Haitians together. It was also in this constitution that Haitian Creole was made an official language in addition to French. Now, Haitian Creole is now gradually getting integrated into the education system in Haiti.
Haitian Creole Orthography - A History of Conflict and Strife
Orthography is simply the way a language is written. But, Haitian Creole wasn't always a written language. 200 years ago it was nothing more than a way for the common peoples to communicate with each other. The first recorded forms of written Creole dated back from the late 18th century.
However, those written forms of Creole were based on personal whim instead of a systematic order with a set of rules. To communicate with those who were illiterate, writers would use a simplified and customized version of French that corresponded with the structure of Creole.
An Official Writing System At Last!
In the 1920s, education and literacy were becoming more widespread and important in Haiti. As such, debates arose on creating a standardized system (orthography) for Haitian Creole. Many systems were introduced. But, one of the most prominent ones was the Mcconnell-Laubach orthography in the 1940s.
But, it was reviled by educated Haitians partly because of its perceived ties with "Anglo-Saxon" influence. Some went as far as to call a "rough creole" for "savages." [2] Because of all these disagreements and ambiguities, Haitian Creole was not taught in schools. French was the standard language for education purposes.
In the 1970s, however political upheavals and pressure led to changes in the way the language was instructed in school, prompting lawmakers to create a widely accepted and standardized orthography. In an effort to do all of this, Haitian and French linguistic experts collaborated to create an orthography that was systematic and suitable for schooling. In 1980, the first official and standardized Haitian orthography was created.
It was a major turning point for Haitian Creole, because it was now a true language with an orthography instead of simply being a common method of communicating. It was during these times that Haitian Creole became considered as one of the official languages of Haiti.
Haitian Creole - What Does the Future Hold?
The Haitian Population is increasing not just in Haiti, but worldwide. What is more, the language itself is growing. Hence, the demand for Haitian Creole is higher than it has ever been, and it will continue to grow. In fact, many people from other lands are striving to learn Haitian Creole for a variety of reasons. So, you should not feel unreasonably immodest by learning Haitian Creole — thousands are endeavoring to do the same thing!
References
1. Albert Valdman. Indiana University. "Creole: the National Language of Haiti." Accessed April 14, 2014.
2. Bambi B. Schieffelin, Rachelle Charlier Doucet. International Pragmatics Association. American Ethnologist. The "Real" Haitian Creole Metalinguistics and Orthographic Choice. Published February, 2014.