How Discrimination Nearly Stalled a Dual-Language Program in Boston After years of advocacy, the city’s first Haitian Creole–English school opens in the fall.
An interesting intersection between Standard Language Ideology / monolingualism in American education (which this article argues against) and the validity of Creole languages (Haitian Creole).
On Haitian Creole:
"While the vast majority of Haitians speak Creole exclusively, French remains the chosen language of the nation’s power elite. For more than two centuries, Creole has been attacked as inferior, as a poor dialect of French rather than a language in its own right, and as a limitation for its speakers.
DeGraff said even Haitian intellectuals have contributed to these ideas about Creole, with scholars arguing that the language limits people from thinking abstractly; that people need French to evolve, mentally; and that Creole has no syntax or orthography.
All of these things, DeGraff says, are false. And major universities in the United States have created departments to teach students Haitian Creole, recognizing its international relevance and linguistic value."
Also, the article mentions that teaching language is fundamentally tied to teaching culture. When we devalue native languages, we devalue the culture of the speakers. Dual language programs like this not only help native speakers connect to their culture and their family histories but also help L2 speakers appreciate and respect the culture. [Published on 04-07-2017]