If you’re not sure about Haitian Creole’s history, this article will shed some light on how the language came to be. Haitian Creole is a mix between French and several African languages. It appeared as a common communication lingo between slaves and their colonists. Throughout time, Haitian Creole became the very tool of liberation that led to the abolishment of slavery in Haiti in 1793.
But the language hadn’t become recognized as an official language until much later on. Haiti eventually gained independence in 1804 but not even then was Haiti recognized as an official language. The recently-liberated country needed time to mend its wounds and prepare for what was to come. But the people were already speaking in Haitian-Creole!
When Was Haitian Creole Recognized as an Official Language?
Haitian Creole didn’t exist since time immemorial. It was created at some point and developed ever since. The moment of evolution as a language was the mid-19th century when President Élie Lescot attempted to standardize the language. However, in 1757, the first Haitian-Creole poem was created, which shows the language had been in use long before the 19th century.
In 1987, Haitian Creole became one of the official languages of Haiti through the Constitution of 1987. However, even today, Haitian Creole is seen as inferior to French in its academic uses. In public schools, mostly French is used to teach children, while Haitian Creole is reserved for Haitian children who don’t speak French at home.
The Bernard Reform of 1978 attempted to introduce Haitian Creole in primary school but it had limited success at the time. Only a few schools across the country started teaching in Haitian Creole. In time, however, more and more schools started to adopt Haitian Creole as a secondary teaching language.
How Many People Speak Haitian Creole Today?
There are more than 10 million native speakers of Haitian Creole today. In Haiti, 100% of the population speaks Haitian Creole, while only 5-10% of them speak French as well. The vast majority of the population speaks only Haitian Creole, which is why public schools have taken to teaching in Haitian Creole as well.
Haitian people are spread throughout the world nowadays. You may hear the language spoken in the US, Canada, and France. According to the 2019 Census, 1,084,055 Haitian Americans were living in the US at the time. Now, three years later, that number may have gotten higher.
Many Haitians left Haiti because of the crippling poverty there. They went to other countries in search of a better future. But they didn’t abandon their native language and still speak it when they meet other Haitian people. The language binds all Haitians together because it’s a living memory of what their ancestors went through during colonial times.
Haitian Creole Sparked the Liberation from Slavery
Did you know that Haiti is the first country in the world that abolished slavery? It wasn’t the British nor the French, but a small country on the island of Hispaniola, situated between Puerto Rico and Cuba. Today, it is known as the Republic of Haiti and is an island nation of the Caribbean.
Haiti is one of the fewest known cases of a successful slave revolt in history. Slaves turned against their former masters and staged a nationwide revolt that lasted 13 years, between 1791 and 1804. Eventually, slavery was abolished as the first thing the newly-instituted country did. They knew how bad slavery was and wanted nothing to do with it anymore.
In the revolution against slavery, Haitian Creole as a language played a pivotal part. Initially, it was a way of communication between slaves and their owners. But eventually, it became the language of the betrodden and the cast-out, the slaves themselves. Having a common language was immensely helpful in preparing for the revolt and planning it.
However, it took 183 years for Haitian Creole to be recognized as an official language in Haiti. Until then, it was an unofficial language spoken by all Haitians in the country. French was the official language, even though only a small minority of the people spoke it. Even today, the situation isn’t any different. The vast majority of Haitians speak only Haitian Creole.
Is Haitian Creole Spoken Only by Poor Haitians Today?
Yes and no. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere and has a GDP per capita of US$2,925. This is a fifth of the LAC average of US$15,092. This means that most people in Haiti are poor, and 100% of the population speaks Haitian Creole as their native language.
The literacy rate is also extremely low, with the most educated being fluent in French as well. Haitian Creole is indeed spoken by the vast majority of the Haitian population, which is coincidentally very poor. Higher education brings the other official language, which is French, into discussion.