Pierre presented this paper as part of the University of Maryland Conference on the African Diaspora. The conference was titled, "Focus on Haiti."
April 25, 2007
Presentation Title: Creole Language Politics in Haiti
Conference Title: Focus on Haiti
By Manes Pierre
M.S., Ph.D. Candidate, Nova Southeastern University
Adjunct Professor, English Department, University of Phoenix
Introduction
What do we mean by Creole Language Politics in Haiti? The Creole Language is the medium of communication of all Haitians, they say. Recently, there has been a greater sense of linguistic identity at the national level to push the instruction in all the schools in both Haitian Creole and French. After more than two hundred years of independence from French domination, the educational leaders felt that it is now appropriate to teach all Haitian school children in their native language. Why did Haiti have to wait that long for that systemic change in its educational policy? Before exploring the causes for that change, let us examine the definition of the word politics. It is the authoritative allocation of goods and services which actually means that politics is the legal and official way of controlling economic mobility, services and resources of a given society.
Haitian Creole and Economic Mobility
To understand the current linguistic challenges of Haitian Creole, it is indispensable to explore the historical perspective of education in Haiti. During the French colonization, slave owners encouraged Haitians to embrace religion since it was an effective means of religious opium to control the masses. Today, Haiti boasts more religious leaders than educated citizens. During the colonization, education was never supported. Those who had power and spoke French always felt educating the masses, particularly educating in French might pose a threat to the economic status of the upper class commonly called in Haiti, la bourgeoisie. Today, Haiti has 400,000 slave children and this is due to the continuous failure of the Haitian government to recognize that linguistic divide between the French speaker and the monolingual Haitian Creole speaker. Today, the educational system is collapsing because the powerful few continue to ignore the bigger threat of not educating Haiti’s most precious resources, Haiti’s children.
In 1804, when Haiti declared its independence from France, there was not one school in Haiti. Even though there are several hundreds of schools in Haiti now, the privileged few or the members of the upper class continue to send their children to French schools or schools in Europe with a strong emphasis of French acquisition because language, not color, is the true class marker in Haiti. For example, the best jobs are given to the well educated, that often means educated in French. The trend is not very promising at this time. For example, most schools in Haiti are unaffordable and therefore inaccessible to the majority of families. Only 55% of children between the ages of 6 through 12 are enrolled in school. Only 1/3 of those enrolled reach 5th grade. Those who reach 5th grade do not possess enough academic language in French to get a serious job in the private sector or the public sector even though they are fluent Creole speakers.
Haitian Creole and Educational Services
It is reported that many Haitian schools are below basic standard. Another study conducted by John Hopkins University shows that 70% lack accreditation. The ministry of Education (MENJS) lacks the capacity to meet its mandate, including monitoring, evaluating and reporting on the academic progress of schools. The ministry provides only one inspector to oversee accreditation, pedagogical supervision and administrative support for every 6000 students. According to a World Bank finding and the 2002-2003 educational report, only 8% are public while the remaining 92% are private or tuition-based schools. President Preval has made several public commitments to improve the current educational dilemma. However, only 1.7 percent of the island GDP supports education. His national strategy for education (EFA), which account for 11% of the government total education budget falls short of the World Bank’s benchmark of 20%. The rest of the Caribbean nations contribute on average 5% of their GDP for education.
Haitian Creole and Lack of Educational Resources
There are a myriad of reasons associated with the low quantity and quality of education in Haiti. First of all, there is a persistent disregard for the strategic revamping of the educational system as it relates to promoting the native language of Haiti (referred to as the language of the masses). Second, there is a real lack of resources. 16% of the schools are held in houses, 33% are held in churches and 9% are held in open-air environments. In addition, 60% of non-public schools teachers are appropriately qualified. It is a common belief that all of Haiti’s educational dilemmas are traced to the island’s history, French is the language of the master and Haitian Creole is the language of the masses or the slave; thus, creating a trans-generational conflict between the upper class and the masses.
Islandness or smallest, a concept used to describe the thinking of neighbors sharing each other’s information extends to the opportunities afforded to Haitians who live in Haiti. For example, family affiliation such as last names can be a qualifier for admittance to a university or offer of a good paying job. French speaking mulattoes have experienced a higher standard of living in Haiti since Haiti’s independence. Being a French speaking mulatto also provides that extra layer of opportunity. However, the children of the masses, who are often dark skinned and monolingual Creole speaker, are referred to as “Neg Led” or “Ugly Negro” are limited in what they can accomplish on the island. The linguistic inequality between the French speaker and the monolingual Creole speaker continues to create serious social and violent conflicts in Haiti today.
Recommendations
Educational opportunities and job opportunities must be broadened for all Haitians while pilot testing Haitian Creole as the official language of Haiti. In addition, the following should be implemented gradually over time:
• Increase the current educational budget from 11% to 50%
• Provide educational scholarship to all children who are from poor families
• Provide emergency shelter to the current 400,000 child slaves while sending them to school
• Provide technical education to all Haitians who want to work but lack the means to do so
• Create job service referral centers across the island to help graduates get jobs
• Facilitate NGO’s involvement in the educational process by encouraging NGO members to share their educational expertise
• Encourage the Haitian Diaspora to participate in the innovation process
Bibliography
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U.S. Library of Congress-Federal Research Division, Country Profile: Haiti (May 2006) http://wwwlcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Haiti.pdf.
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