Haitian Creole is the second official language spoken in Haiti. Over 11 million people live in the country and speak Haitian Creole as a first language. However, the number of Haitian Creole speakers is a lot larger than that.
Millions of people also speak Haitian Creole as a minority language abroad. Learning Creole might come in handy in more places than you thought. So, let’s take a look at some of the places where Haitian Creole is spoken, other than Haiti.
The Bahamas
The Bahamas is a vibrant archipelagic state located in the Atlantic Ocean, north of Cuba. It’s composed of over 700 islands. This country has a booming economy, and it’s famous for its tourism industry. The prosperity of the Bahamas has, over the years, attracted many immigrant communities looking for work opportunities.
The Haitian people are just some of the immigrant populations that have made the Bahamas their new home. According to 2009 estimates, up to 80,000 Haitians were residing in the country at that time. The figures place Haitian people somewhere between 20-25% of the total population.
The large number of Haitian immigrants in the Bahamas makes Haitian Creole the third most spoken language in the country, apart from English and Bahamian Creole (an English-based Creole language). This also means that Haitian Creole is the number 1 largest minority language in the country.
The Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is another country with a high number of Haitian immigrants. In fact, Haitians have constituted the largest percentage of immigrants into the country since the 20th century.
According to the 2012 census, over 450,000 Haitians reside in the country, making up roughly 5% of the Dominican population. It is however believed that the number of Haitian Creole speakers is a lot higher. Other estimates suggest that Haitian Creole speakers surpass one million.
Of the Haitian residents in the Dominican Republic, 96.3% speak Haitian Creole as a first language, and 72% speak Spanish as their second language. The areas with the densest Haitian Creole speaker populations include the North-Western Cibao valley, the borderland, and the Southeastern regions.
Cuba
The official language spoken in Cuba is Spanish. Haitian Creole is officially recognized as a minority language and is the second most spoken language in the country. The popularity of Haitian Creole in Cuba is a result of the late 18th-century migration when a considerable number of Haitians fled the Haitian Revolution in their country.
In the present day, estimative figures place the number of Haitian Creole speakers at 300,000. These are first-generation immigrants. However, there are also Haitian speakers who are born to Cuban citizens.
A large number of Cubans with no Haitian ancestry also speak the language fluently. This is a clear testament to the popularity of Haitian Creole in the country. Haitian Creole is also sometimes used in the media. There’s even a Haitian Creole radio station in Havana, Cuba.
Canada
In the 1960s, Haitian citizens have started immigrating to the francophone regions of Canada. Today, Haitian Creole speakers reside predominantly in areas such as Ottawa, Laval, Montreal, and smaller cities in Quebec. Smaller populations can be found in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia.
According to the most recent census, the total population of Haitian residents in Canada at the time was 165,095. However, the number of Haitian nationals admitted in Canada has been increasing throughout the years. In 2011, a total of 248,748 permanent Haitian residents have been admitted.
Most Haitian Creole speakers reside in French-speaking regions, presumably due to the similarity between Haitian and French. In recent years, Quebec has also stiffened its rules against non-French speaking visa applicants, which creates an advantage for immigrants coming from Francophone countries.
USA
Last but not least on the list, the USA is another country with a sizeable Haitian Creole-speaking population. According to a 2019 population census, 1,084,055 of American residents (roughly 0.33% of the population) are either of full or partial Haitian descent.
Most of the Haitian Creole speakers inhabit metropolitan areas such as New York, Boston, Miami, and Orlando. They form large communities in states such as Florida, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. The state with the largest Haitian Creole-speaking population is, by far, Florida, with 533,409 people (2.4% of the state population). Most Haitian residents can be found in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach.
In the US, Haitian Creole is taught in many colleges, and it’s also often used in official public service announcements, alongside English and other minority languages. Haitian Creole is also sometimes used in media. For example, there’s a Creole-language television network based in Miami (HBN), along with multiple Creole-language radio stations based in various major metropolitan areas.
The Miami-Dale County in Florida includes Haitian Creole and Spanish in its paper communications. In Boston, the subway system and hospitals also post bilingual announcements in English and Haitian.
Conclusion
There are multiple opportunities to use the Haitian Creole language when traveling abroad. And you don’t have to just limit yourself to Haiti! There are also sizable Haitian Creole-speaking populations in the USA, Canada, and various regions of Latin America!