Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Haiti: The Society and Its Environment
The use of French and Creole during the colonial era set
speech patterns for the postindependence period. During the
colonial period, French was spoken mainly by whites and
mulatto freedmen. With the collapse of slavery and the plantation
system, French became a status marker distinguishing
those who had attained personal freedom before the revolution
(anciens libres) and those who achieved freedom during
the revolution. After independence French became the language
of government, commerce, culture, and refinement.
Even the most ardent nationalists of the nineteenth century
placed little value on Creole.
In the twentieth century, attitudes toward Creole began to
change, especially after the United States occupation in 1915.
The occupation forced Haitian intellectuals to confront their
non-European heritage. A growing black consciousness and
nationalism led many Haitians to consider Creole as the
nation's "authentic" language. Written Creole first appeared in
1925, and the first Creole newspaper was published in 1943.
In the 1950s, a movement to give Creole official status began
to evolve. The constitution of 1957 reaffirmed French as the
official language but permitted Creole in certain public functions.
In 1969 Creole attained limited legal status; the language
could be used in the legislature, the courts, and clubs, but it
was not allowed in accredited educational institutions. In 1979
a decree permitted Creole to be used as the language of
instruction in classrooms. The constitution of 1983 declared
both Creole and French to be national languages but specified
that French would be the official language. Creole attained full
status as a national language in the constitution of 1987.
Changes in Language Use
Since the 1970s, use of Creole in public has greatly increased
even on formal occasions. Conversations at elite dinner tables,
once held strictly in French, now switch fluidly between French
and Creole mid-sentence. Use of Creole by radio and television
media increased rapidly as advertisers learned the value of marketing
products in the native tongue of growing numbers of
consumers in the Port-au-Prince region. In 1986 Creole newscasts
played an important political role in the fall of Jean-
Claude Duvalier. Creole was the primary vehicle for political
campaigns in the Haitian elections of the 1980s and 1990s.
Since the mid-1990s, a rapidly growing network of local and
regional radio stations has broadcast entirely in Creole.
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