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Revive
National Language in Dominica and St. Lucia
By Peter Richards
Inter Press Service
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OF SPAIN, Apr 11 (IPS) - Every year the people of Dominica and
St. Lucia celebrate 'Kweyol' or the traditional Creole language
and culture. For one week in October, they dress in 'Kweyol'
fashion, and on one day they speak only in 'Kweyol'. |
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''The sounds of Kweyol permeate the entire society and has
become part of the consciousness of even those who are not
primarily Kweyol speakers. The language and culture are intertwined,''
observes St. Lucia's Folk Research Centre (FRC).
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The FRC in a report, titled 'Status of the Kweyol Language
in St. Lucia', observes that ''not only is the Kweyol language
becoming more powerful, but the Kweyol culture is gaining
momentum and a wider acceptance.''
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Kweyol or Creole is a broken form of French, and constitutes
the most important means of communication among local people
mostly on those islands where there were early French settlers.
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But the Creole-speakers are predominantly rural folk. Since
the 1950s, parents in the urban centres, anxious for their
children to speak only in English -- seen as a means of social
mobility -- have discouraged its use.
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Now, the Kweyol language and culture are witnessing a revival.
In a recent symposium, the FRC described Kweyol as a ''train
with many cars carrying many voices with many experiences.''
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It
said ''our vehicle has emerged through wide and rugged terrain
and we are determined to service it with the necessary components
so that we can reach our friends and fellow workers on any
route in any part of the world.''
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In Dominica, as in St. Lucia, where the language has gained
much popularity because of the involvement of the mass media,
particularly radio and television, attempts are now being
made to have Kweyol taught in secondary schools.
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Last summer for the first time, the Dominica government introduced
the idea of Kweyol classes as a subject offered in schools
and late last month, the Department of Culture held a weekend
workshop on 'teaching people how to teach and write the language.'
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''We are going to meet with the government to discuss the
idea of introducing the language into schools, on a pilot
project for now, and then move on,'' says Felix Henderson,
the former president and current executive member of the Committee
for Kweyol Studies in Dominica.
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Henderson has been playing a significant role in the development
of the language on the island. Apart from publishing a number
of books on the language, he has been hosting a daily radio
programme in Kweyol for more than 20 years.
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In addition, he conducts a workshop on Kweyol annually for
the US Peace Corps volunteers who are to be stationed in the
region. ''The language has gained much acceptance over the
years,'' he says.
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According to the FRC, Kweyol is ''alive and well in the two
islands noting that people are using the language to express
themselves with a new confidence.
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''They speak it more openly. Increasingly many of our qualified
people speak the language unaffected by the prejudices of
former times. The use of the language by the mass media has
enabled discussion on important issues by all the workers
across the various fields,'' it noted.
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Last year, the St. Lucia government amended the Standing Orders
of the island's Parliament to allow parliamentarians to debate
issues in Kweyol. There are also moves now to provide bilingual
services in magisterial courts, particularly in the area of
record keeping and note taking.
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Both Dominica and St. Lucia are seeking the approval of their
respective governments in sign-posting in Kweyol, as well
as the use of Kweyol orthography to write names on maps. The
establishment of a Kweyol presence on the Internet is also
being considered.
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The language has gained international appeal, with both Dominica
and St. Lucia publishing dictionaries. While Dominica has
its 'Kweyol Dominik', the FRC has published 'Kweyol: A Basic
Guide' as a means of contributing to the basic grammar of
the language. Dominica is also publishing a Book of Kweyol
Proverbs.
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Another development has been the translation into Kweyol of
the New Testament by the Summer Institute of Linguistics,
a project that took 12 years to complete. The translation
is expected to assist in Kweyol literacy among the Christian
community.
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In addition, the language has gained further appeal through
the arts including music, resulting in the formation of a
number of bands playing 'Cadence' developed by the Dominican
group Exile One, which is also known in the French as 'Zouk'.
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Dominica has called its annual carnival celebrations ''Mas
Dominik'' and now stages an annual International Music Festival
featuring bands playing the Cadence or Zouk from St. Lucia
and the neighbouring French islands.
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Playwright and dramatist Kendell Hippolyte speaking at the
FRC symposium said theatre and dance have contributed to the
survival of the language. It has flourished in traditional
theatre and dances, while experimentation by the FRC and Folk
Theatre Workshops has encouraged the use in professional theatre.
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Other groups like the Creole Theatre Workshop have translated
a number of Caribbean plays into Kweyol, taking the productions
to the neighbouring French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique.
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Other important initiatives include the compilation of a Kweyol
Spell Check for use with Microsoft Word programme by educator
Dr Didacus Jules of the Ministry of Education in St. Lucia,
which is now spearheading the Kweyol Multimedia Product Development
Committee geared towards curriculum design and the production
of materials for teaching adult Kweyol literacy.
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A resolution at the St. Lucia symposium on the development
of the language has placed emphasis on establishing a national
language policy. It was also felt that the Commission should
be allowed the latitude to identify all other areas to be
included.
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Dr Hubert Devonish, senior lecturer in Linguistics at the
University of the West Indies, who has written extensively
on the national languages in the Caribbean, suggested at the
symposium that the policy be derived from consensus, urging
''a great deal of public education.''
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This article
is free of copyright restrictions and can be reproduced provided
that Inter Press Service is credited. |
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