Haitian Creole

Haitian Creole (Kreyòl) is spoken in Haiti by all of its 7.5 million people. It is also spoken in Canada, the United States, France, and other Caribbean nations, including the neighbouring Dominican Republic, Cuba, and the Bahamas.

It is based on French and on African languages spoken by slaves brought from West Africa to work on plantations. It is often incorrectly described as a French dialect or as "broken French." In fact, it is a language in its own right with its own pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and pragmatics.

Kreyòl has three main dialects, and it is not uncommon for Haitians to speak more than one of them:

•   the Northern dialect, spoken in Cap-Haitien, the second largest Haitian city;
•   the Cent dialect, spoken in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti;
•   the Southern dialect spoken in the area of Cayes, an important city in the South of Haiti.

Even though Kreyòl is a distinct language spoken by all of Haiti's citizens, it suffers from a negative comparison to French as a result of colonial legacy. Even after Haiti became independent from France in 1804, French continued to be the prestige language of government and of power. Even though Kreyòl has increased in status and was recognised in 1961 as Haiti's official language along with French, it has less prestige than French that continues to provide access to education and careers. Not surprisingly, French is more likely to be spoken by the urban elite that constitutes about 8-10% of Haiti's population. Many Haitians identify themselves as French speakers when they are not truly fluent in the language. In addition, urban French-based schools have been privileged over rural Kreyòl-based schools.

Print media in Kreyòl has been limited due to regional variations in the language and orthography. Newspapers are beyond the reach of many citizens due to language differences, illiteracy, and cost. There are a limited number of television stations in Haiti. Radio is the most important medium. Stations broadcasting in Kreyòl provide a way for Haitians to stay informed about national and international news.

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