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Haitian Creole/Kreyòl Ayisyen

Language Sketch:. Haitian Creole/Kreyòl Ayisyen. Brieanne Conklin Chris Perkins. Map. Introduction. Official name: Kreyòl Creole classification Population of over 7 million. French (regional and colloquial varieties from 17 th and 18 th centuries) African language influence

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Haitian Creole/Kreyòl Ayisyen

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  1. Language Sketch: Haitian Creole/Kreyòl Ayisyen Brieanne Conklin Chris Perkins

  2. Map

  3. Introduction • Official name: Kreyòl • Creole classification • Population of over 7 million

  4. French (regional and colloquial varieties from 17th and 18th centuries) African language influence Kwa group of West Africa Bantu languages of Central Africa Minimal Amerindian language influence Haiti (Ayiti)—Arawak or Carib meaning ‘vast land of mountains’ Only very few lexical influences Related Languages

  5. Sociolinguistic Background Settlement History • Very small aboriginal survival of Spanish rule • ~1625 Europeans (French), along with a few African slaves began to settle the area • 1664 Louis XIV claimed the West of the island • Growth of slave population due to indigo, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton and cacao industry. • Led to classic plantation colony with distinctive Creole culture and Creole language • 1697 Spanish recognition of French claim to Saint-Dominigue (Haiti)

  6. Sociolinguistic Background Settlement History • Slave population • 1681~2,000 (approx. 1/3 of total pop.) • 1791~700,000 (approx. 92% of total pop.) • Haiti became richest French colony providing 1/3 of French foreign trade • Struggle for independence had already begun which succeeded in 1803

  7. Sociolinguistic Background Sociolinguistic Variation • Official languages: French and Haitian Creole • All Haitians speak Haitian Creole, but only 10% are considered bilingual in French and H.C. • Fluency in French carries higher status Traditional Uses • Haitian used in everyday interactions • French used in schools, government, official documents, etc. • Not allowed to be used for instruction and education until 1979

  8. Basic Word Order • Follows SVO word order typical of French • Passive structure takes on common S-Aux-V-O • Only questions divert from French using SVO+rising intonation exclusively

  9. Morphology

  10. Morphology-cont’d

  11. Phonological Features • Regional variation makes it difficult to standardize a a phonological description... • General phonology similar to French • 17 consonants (Hall 1953):

  12. Phonological Features (Cont’d) Vowels Front Back Close i u e o є ò Open a Other Vowels: [an] manman [єn] bєnyєn [wi] uit

  13. Phonological Features (cont’d) Determiners • Unlike French, determiners do not reflect gender • Instead, there are several alternants of the determiner /la/: la ~ a ~ an ~ lan ~ nan • Form is selected based on phonological environment

  14. Syntactic Features Determiners and possessive pronouns occur after the noun: poul ki kouvri pitit li ak-zèl li chicken REL cover little 3sg with wing 3sg ‘a hen covering her chickens with her wings’ (Arends et al) dénié vwayaj la last trip DET ‘the last trip’ (Hall 1953)

  15. Syntactic Features Personal Pronouns: mwen 1sg nou 1pl & 2pl ou 2sg yo 3pl li 3sg • No gender distinction • No distinction between 1st person plural & 2nd person plural • Used for subject and object

  16. Syntactic Features (cont’d) • Present tense “to be” verb not used Li malad / Li nan jaden an 3sg sick / 3sg in garden DET ‘He is sick’ / ‘He is in the garden’ • Markers used for other tenses Li te malad / Li te anba tab la 3sg was sick / 3sg was under table DET ‘He was sick’ / ‘He was under the table’ (DeGraff)

  17. Syntactic Features (cont’d) Negation • French negation: “ne ...(verb)... pas” • Haitian Creole retains ‘pa’ in negation; however, it functions more like the French “ne” H.C. Li pa jam tro ta pou chien anraje 3sg NEG ever too late for dog go mad (Arends et al) French Ce n’ est jamais trop tard pour un chien enrager It NEG is never too late for a dog to go mad ‘It’s never too late for a dog to go mad’

  18. Sources Arends, J. et al. (1995). Pidgins and Creoles: An Introduction. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DeGraff, Michel. Comparativ e Creole Syntax. London, U.K. Westminster Creolistics Series, Battlebridge Publications --Morphology in Creole genesis: Linguistics and ideology. (2001). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Haitians: Their History and Culture. http://www.culturalorientation.net/haiti Hall, R.A. (1953). Haitian Creole: Grammar, Texts, Vocabulary. Menasha, Wisconsin: American Anthropological Association.

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