1. Joseph, C. M. “Haitians in the U.S.: Language, Politics and Education.” In A. Spears & C. Joseph (Eds,) The Haitian Creole Language: History, Structure, Use and Education (pp. 229-248). Lexington Books.
Carole M. Berotte Joseph’s chapter provides an overview on the role of Haitian Creole in the context of Haitian immigration to the US. According to Joseph, Haitian Creole remains largely an oral language among Haitians in the US. French retains its prestige among immigrants, however. Historically, in the case of monolingual Haitian Creole speakers, it was a struggle for teachers to realize Haitians speak Creole, not French. Indeed, an ongoing stigma attached to Creole and the paucity of instructional materials and Creole-speaking instructors has led to Haitian bilingual programs often being of poor quality. Another obstacle faced by Haitian Creole-speaking students was their classification as simply African-American, which carried assumptions of English-speaking backgrounds. This, unfortunately, led to many Haitian students not receiving the language support they need. Furthermore, fewer bilingual programs in Creole are now available in New York City, Boston or Miami. Ultimately, Joseph’s chapter attests to the unequal status of Creole in both Haiti and the US, where many Creole-speaking students either did not or do not receive ESL services. Lamentably, this contributes to limitations on developing full fluency or literacy in Creole.
2. Zéphir, F. (1997). “Haitian Creole Language and Bilingual Education in the United States.” Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development (Vol. 18, Issue 3), 223-237.
Flore Zephir, “Haitian Creole Language and Bilingual Education in the United States”
Zephir’s article passionately argues in favor of first language instruction for Haitian students. Citing 1992 research, the author claims Haitian students were the third largest minority group in NYC public schools (Zephir, 1997). Moreover, the school system was guilty of a failure to recognize the linguistic and cultural diversity of Black populations in the US. Haitian students were seen as Blacks and not placed in programs that would have helped by using the Creole language. In fact, Haitians face triple discrimination as Blacks, for coming from the Global South, and for speaking Creole, which is often not seen as a legitimate language (Zephir, 1997). In order to address the issue, Zephir argues that schools must stop assuming Haitian students are African-Americans, Creole must be accepted as a fully legitimate language, and children should receive home language instruction. According to research, the use of the students’ L1 in instruction can lower the affective filter, so that learning can occur. More comprehensible input would be available for students by having teachers with knowledge of the culture and sociolinguistic reality of Creole-speaking students. Thus, according to this author, Haitian Creole speakers continue to face linguistic discrimination that partly mirrors the lower status of Creole in Haiti. Similarly, the loss of the students’ L1 is inferred due to the lack of home language instruction, implying most students probably never develop full literacy in Creole.
3. Cenat, M.L (2011). “Myths and Realities: A History of Haitian Creole Language Programs in New York City.” Journal of Haitian Studies, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 73-91
Cenat’s research interprets the history of Haitian Creole programs in New York City. Beginning with the controversial Bernard Reform of 1979 in Haiti and the struggles of Haitian Creole to gain full inclusion, Cenat then summarizes the debate on Creole genesis (Cenat, 2011). Due to the debate on the relexification hypothesis and the “exceptional” status of Creole languages, some view the tongue as incapable of being a significant instructional tool. This background is relevant for understanding the early struggles of Haitian students in New York. Initially, schools used French with Haitians in their language policies. Later, in the 1980s and 1990s, Haitian Creole increasingly won support through the organizing efforts of activists, teachers, organizations, and academics, like linguist Yves Dejean (Cenat 2011). This led, in 1981, to the Haitian Parent-Teacher Training Project, which worked with Limited English Proficient Haitian students by preparing Haitian educators and engaging in outreach to Haitian parents. Later, in 1993, the Haitian Bilingual Educational Technical Assistance Center (HABETAC) was founded at the City College of New York. Unlike the Haitian Parent-Teacher Training Project, HABETAC supported schools serving Limited English Proficient Haitian students, often targeting Haitian teachers. A number of public schools in the city even offered bilingual programs, although many Haitians believed Haitian students were still not receiving enough programs to accommodate them. This led to a class action lawsuit in 1996, filed against the Board of Education and the New York State Education Department. While the lawsuit was eventually stalled, many Haitian Creole bilingual programs began to disappear by the end of the 1990s. According to Cenat, today only 3 NYC public schools have bilingual Haitian Creole programs. This decline in the number of bilingual programs is accompanied by a restructuring of high schools that has led to several lacking enough Haitian students for a bilingual program. Then, the closure of HABETAC further contributed to the decline of bilingual education for Haitians. Haitian families were now left without a center. Meanwhile, the support for the language rights of Haitian students was revitalized by grassroots groups like Flanbwayan, Kongo and Gran Chimen Sant Kiltirel. The article’s history of Haitian Creole programs illustrates how Haitian Creole continues to face exclusion, discrimination and marginalization in education. The Haitian language occupies a position vis-a-vis English that, once again, mirrors its position with regard to French. Language loss, on the other hand, or at least the failure to develop full literacy, is likely to occur since there is not adequate support for instruction in Creole.
4.Buxton, C.A., Lee, O., Mahotiere, M. (2008). “The Role of Language in Academic and Social Transition of Haitian Children and Their Parents to Urban U.S. Schools.” Bilingual Research Journal, 31: 47-74.
Buxton, Lee and Mahotiere use interviews with Haitian educators, parents, and students to comprehend the role of language in the academic and social transition of Haitians to urban schools in the US. Relying on the theoretical constructs of linguistic identity and actor networks, the authors find 3 themes: an affinity for multiple languages, a wish to be multicultural, and a responsibility to help others in their community (Buxton, Lee & Mahotiere, 2008). Drawing on the earlier scholarship and the sociocultural roles of language, the authors claim Haitians understand how language can be used to represent power or the lack thereof. In addition, the low status of Creole in Haiti has shaped how some Haitian parents perceive Creole in their children’s US schooling. Since, in Haiti, these parents likely attended schools in which instruction was entirely in French, they may not seek Creole language support for their children. The authors argue that linguistic identity is central to knowing how individuals balance their integration in US cultural and linguistic forms with the maintenance of their home languages and cultural practices. Significantly, the authors found that all 3 groups (Haitian parents, educators and students) expressed a desire to maintain Haitian Creole and to improve fluency and literacy. The teachers, too, support the L1 of their students. Nonetheless, the majority of the parents and teachers plus many of the interviewed students also claimed to regularly use French and wished to maintain the French language. This suggests French retains its prestige status among Haitians in the US, with one parent expressing that French is important for their child to be able to communicate with relatives in France. One parent, however, saw French as a barrier to education in Haitian schools while Haitian children now contend with the challenge of English in their US schools. Moreover, Haitian parents, teachers and students all expressed a strong belief in the maintenance of Haitian culture, traditions, behaviors and languages whilst simultaneously embracing the multicultural world of South Florida. Creole is even used by the teachers when not necessary in the classroom to strengthen bonds between teacher and students. Last, the sense of responsibility to aid other Haitians entails the maintenance of bilingualism. Consequently, according to this article, Haitian students, parents, and teachers are dedicated to the maintenance of Creole for supporting their community, identity, and participating in a multicultural society. The legacy of French as a prestige language associated with power, has also shaped the linguistic identity of Haitians, since the majority believe it is important to maintain and develop it.
5. Barrière, I., Monreau-Merry, M.M (2012). “Trilingualism of the Haitian Diaspora in NYC: Current and future challenges.” In O. Garcia, Z. Zakharia & b. Otcu (2012) Bilingual Community Education for American Children: Beyond Heritage Languages in a Global City (pp. 247-258). Multilingual Matters.
Analyzing the trilingualism of the Haitian Diaspora in NYC, the authors describe how English, French and Creole coexist in an unequal manner. Drawing on the history of Haitian Creole and the role of French as the prestige language, the authors contrast its favor with that of Creole. Indeed, Creole, which lacked an official orthography until the 1980s, was not recognized as an official language until 1987 (Barrière & Monreau-Merry, 2012). Haitian immigrant students in the US also continue to suffer from misperceptions of their language. According to the authors, Haitians are still assumed to be Francophones. Due to additional problems such as the lack of Haitian school records and the few Haitian Creole-speaking staff in schools, many students are still placed in the wrong classes. Furthermore, the children of Haitian migrants who reside in poor neighborhoods have become multilingual and multidialectal, acquiring African American Vernacular English as well as West Indian English. This linguistic and dialectal diversity has shaped second-generation Haitian immigrants, who either identify as Black American, Haitian or as immigrants. Another development is the prominence of Haitian students in the French programs in NYC launched since the French Embassy’s 2007 ‘French Goes Public’ initiative. According to the researchers, Haitian students comprise 29% of the study body in these French programs (Barrière & Monreau-Merry, 2012). Learning Creole, on the other hand, is less successful. Indeed, the initiatives taken after the 2010 earthquake and the centers or universities offering classes may not be enough to ensure second and third generation Haitians retain the language. Nonetheless, French appears to receive more support than Haitian Creole in both Haiti and New York, thereby demonstrating another example of the ways in which Creole’s lower prestige in both Haiti and the US continues to shape language policies of schools and districts. The absence of first language instruction may even threaten the language’s persistence for subsequent generations.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the aforementioned sources indicate that Haitian Creole instruction and bilingual programs in the US still experience the effects of the colonial French legacy and unequal status and stigma in the US. While there have been some notable attempts to create bilingual programs and support Haitian students with home-language instruction and ESL services, many are not receiving the services they need. In addition, the stigma attached to Creole in Haiti and the US has meant that some Haitian students will not develop full literacy in their L1. Haitian grassroots organizations and academics, based in the US and Haiti, however, have been pushing for more instruction in Creole since teaching in the first language is demonstrated by research to be most effective. Haitian Creole maintenance, in other ways, seems partly guaranteed by the Haitian population in areas like South Florida defining their culture as partly based in Creole. The global Haitian diaspora may also be suggestive of another reason for the maintenance of Creole due to the need for Haitian families dispersed across multiple countries to communicate. This may be relevant for the analysis of language maintenance across generations for other nationalities or ethnic groups with widespread diasporic communities.
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