The use of Creole in Haiti

Haitian Creole is the most spoken language in the Caribbean, with 6-7 million people. In fact, it is the mother tongue of all residents in Haiti, while French, another official language, is spoken by only a few people. Since 1987, the official languages of Haiti are French and Creole. In fact, official bilingualism is only a symbolic provision, and the official version of the Constitution is written only in French.

The island of Hispaniola was originally inhabited by Indian Arawaks and Caribbean people. The first Spaniards who came here forced them to dig gold mines. In less than 20 years, the local people became extinct and the Spanish replaced them with African slaves. 1545 or so, the output of gold mines in the west of the island decreased, and the Spanish were concentrated in the east. Then the French settled here, brought more slaves and began to build plantations. It is in this environment that Haitian Creole gradually came into being.

African-American slaves in Haiti launched an uprising against the sovereign state and declared their independence in 1804, becoming one of the earliest independent American countries after the United States. After gaining independence, Haiti almost severed its ties with France. The local elites chose to use French with slight Creole influence to show their identity, and French became the official language, government, education and judicial language of the country. This provision is conducive to safeguarding the rights of the upper class, because the rest of the population cannot speak French. Only upper-class children can use two languages at home and learn French at school. Therefore, although there was little contact with France after independence, French was handed down.

Ferguson believes that the situation in Haiti is typical of bilingualism. But then people questioned the bilingualism in Haiti, one of the reasons is that only 5% of the Haitian population uses French.

Since 1980s, the influence of Creole has gradually expanded: it has been used in religious and political publications and even in presidential speeches. In order to improve the illiteracy rate, 1979 stipulates that Creole will be used as the teaching language in the first four years of school. In writing, people debated whether it was similar to French writing, and then a group of linguists from Paris University put forward a writing scheme, which was adopted by the Ministry of Education as the official writing language of Haiti in 1980. Since the beginning of19th century, Haitian Creole has a rich literary tradition.

Haitian Creole can be divided into three dialects; Northern dialects, including Cap-Ha? tien; Central dialects, including the capital Port-au-Prince and southern dialects. The most influential dialect is Capital Dialect, so some Haitians can speak Port-au-Prince dialect in addition to their own dialects.

Due to the poverty and chaotic situation, the phenomenon of Haitian immigration has been serious in recent decades. There are Haitian immigrant groups in Bahamas, French Guiana, Miami, new york, Montreal and France.