19 Facts About Haitian Creole

Usage of, and education in, Haitian Creole has been contentious since at least the 19thcentury.

Some Haitians view French as a legacy of colonialism, while Creole has been maligned by francophones as a miseducated person's French.

Until the late 20thcentury, Haitian Creole presidents spoke only standard French to their fellow citizens, and until the 21st century, all instruction at Haitian Creole elementary schools was in modern standard French, a second language to most of their students.

Haitian Creole is spoken in regions that have received migration from Haiti, including other Caribbean islands, French Guiana, France, Canada and the United States.

Haitian Creole contains elements from both the Romance group of Indo-European languages through its superstrate, French, as well as influences from African languages.

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Additionally, Haitian Creole possesses different phonetics from standard French; however, it is similar in phonetic structure.

Haitian Creole developed in the 17th and 18th centuries in the colony of Saint-Domingue, in a setting that mixed speakers of various Niger–Congo languages with French colonials.

That same year Haitian Creole was elevated in status by the Act of 18 September 1979.

Literature in Haitian Creole is used to educate the public on the dictatorial social and political forces in Haiti.

That is to say, for the minority of Haitian population that is bilingual, the use of these two languages largely depends on the social context: standard French is used more in public, especially in formal situations, whereas Haitian Creole is used more on a daily basis and is often heard in ordinary conversation.

French plays no role in the very formal situation of a Haitian Creole peasant presiding at a family gathering after the death of a member, or at the worship of the family lwa or voodoo spirits, or contacting a Catholic priest for a church baptism, marriage, or solemn mass, or consulting a physician, nurse, or dentist, or going to a civil officer to declare a death or birth.

Haitian Creole has a phonemic orthography with highly regular spelling, except for proper nouns and foreign words.

The first written text of Haitian Creole was composed in the French-lexicon in a poem called Lisette quitte la plaine in 1757 by Duvivier de la Mahautiere, a White Creole planter.

Many verbs in Haitian Creole are the same spoken words as the French infinitive, but there is no conjugation in the language; the verbs have one form only, and changes in tense, mood, and aspect are indicated by the use of markers:.

Haitian Creole has stative verbs, which means that the verb "tobe" is notovert when followed by an adjective.

Haitian Creole creates and borrows new words to describe new or old concepts and realities.

Proverbs play a central role in traditional Haitian culture and Haitian Creole speakers make frequent use of them as well as of other metaphors.

Haitian Creole is used widely among Haitians who have relocated to other countries, particularly the United States and Canada.

Some larger Haitian Creole-speaking populations are found in Montreal, Quebec, New York City, Boston, and Central and South Florida .