The Creole language resulted from the efforts by African slaves to speak the French language they heard when they first arrived in the colony of Haiti.
How Was the Creole Language Formed?
It’s interesting to note that the Creole language resulted from the efforts by African slaves to speak the French language they heard when they first arrived in the colony of Haiti (previously Saint-Domingue). The slaves that arrived originated from all over West Africa, and spoke various languages. Several African languages were spoken on any one plantation. At that same time, the majority of French people in Haiti spoke various French dialects and everyday-spoken French. This type of French was known as Popular French, and it differed quite a lot from Standard French, which was the language spoken by the ruling classes in France. Because the slaves were often unable to communicate with fellow slaves in a common African tongue, they tried hard to learn Popular French. Then, slaves who arrived later tried to learn this new variety of Popular French spoken by the other slaves, and over a period of time this former French language became quite different from other French varieties. Finally, it was recognised as a language in its own right, and was called Creole. Interestingly, this language was also adopted by the whites and ultimately became the language used by all people born in the colony.
French people generally can’t understand Creole, yet more than 90% of Creole’s vocabulary is of French origin. The reason for this is that the grammars of the two languages are entirely different. In addition, Creole maintained the original meaning of Popular French words, but in France these words were replaced with words from Standard French, while other Popular French words completely changed their meaning.
The Future of the Creole Language
In Haiti today, Creole and French are recognised as co-official languages. Creole now has an official spelling, and we see it being used more and more in the media and in educational facilities.
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Interesting Facts about Haiti
The name Haiti means ‘mountainous country’. The name is derived from the language of the Taino Indians, who were the inhabitants of this island prior to European colonisation.
Devastating earthquakes can occur in Haiti due to a tectonic fault line which runs through the country.
Haiti is located within the Caribbean hurricane belt.
The capital city of Haiti is Port-au-Prince, which is five times bigger than the next largest city, Cape Haitian.
Haiti is one of the most densely populated countries in the world.
Residents of Haiti attach much importance to the expulsion of the French in 1804, because this event made Haiti the very first independently black-ruled nation in the world. It also made Haiti the second country in the Western Hemisphere to achieve independence from imperial Europe.
Hispaniola was discovered in 1492 by Christopher Columbus, and it was the first island in the New World to be settled by the Spanish. Unfortunately, the indigenous culture of the Taino Indians had disappeared from the island by 1550, and Hispaniola became a neglected part of the Spanish Empire.
Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world, and is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Basically, it’s a nation of peasants (small farmers), who work small, private landholdings and primarily depend on their own labour for survival.
