Wednesday, May 04, 2005, 09:32 GMT
Well, as one who has actually travelled the length and breadth of Haiti, I can tell you this:
1. Haitian Creole, though clearly evolved from French, is a distinct language.
2. It presents a considerable challenge for a French speaker to understand - though you certainly have an advantage over non-French speakers; a French speaker exposed to Haitian Creole will soon start to get a feel for the language in a way that a non-French speaker will not.*
3. There is an element of simple snobbery and class involved here. The top ruling elite of Haiti (5%) have always used French even though they understand Haitian Creole perfectly well. The use of French in "upper circles" has been a very handy way to define Haitian society and maintain the ruling elite. And any Haitian who is a French speaker is always likely to denigrate Creole as "bad French" rather than accept it as a language.
* The US military loved having Canadian troops in Haiti for this very reason!
1. Haitian Creole, though clearly evolved from French, is a distinct language.
2. It presents a considerable challenge for a French speaker to understand - though you certainly have an advantage over non-French speakers; a French speaker exposed to Haitian Creole will soon start to get a feel for the language in a way that a non-French speaker will not.*
3. There is an element of simple snobbery and class involved here. The top ruling elite of Haiti (5%) have always used French even though they understand Haitian Creole perfectly well. The use of French in "upper circles" has been a very handy way to define Haitian society and maintain the ruling elite. And any Haitian who is a French speaker is always likely to denigrate Creole as "bad French" rather than accept it as a language.
* The US military loved having Canadian troops in Haiti for this very reason!