Haitian Creole is a highly disputable language that’s been often mischaracterized as “fake French” or “broken French”. But, make no mistake. This is a fully-fledged language with its own vocabulary, grammar, pragmatics, phonetics, and pronunciation. By all standards, it is a standalone language that’s, more precisely, a vernacular French language. It evolved in the 17th and 18th centuries, and 7 million people now speak it in Haiti alone.
People also speak Haitian Creole in Guadeloupe, Cayman Islands, Bahamas, Canada, Puerto Rico, France, Dominican Republic, and even the U.S. At present, Haitian Kreyòl, as the official denomination goes, has a total of three dialects:
- Northern dialect, spoken mainly in Cap-Haitien, the second-largest city in Haiti
- Central dialect, which is spoken in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital
- Southern dialect, spoken in Cayes, an important city in south Haiti
Besides the official dialects, Haitian Kreyòl also has two variations of its language, one popular that strays far from official French and one variation that comes closest to French. Though, these two variations are mainly governed by social contexts and the upbringing of the speakers.
Do you need to learn all three dialects?
While different areas in Haiti will speak these three dialects, it doesn’t mean the people in one area won’t understand a different dialect. They still live in the same country, which means they interact with one another daily. Though, it largely depends on your goals whether you should learn all three dialects or not. If this is about a professional opportunity, then you should probably know the one dialect that’s required of you.
However, if your company requires you to interact with Haitian speakers of all three dialects, then you should learn all three. Creole Tutors can help in this regard, as we possess unmatched native knowledge of all three dialects. We can teach you the peculiarities of all three, and in a couple of months, you’ll have mastered them. If you’re interested in the history and cultural relevancy of Haitian Kreyòl, then all three dialects are essential cultural and historical markers.
What’s the difference between French and Haitian Kreyòl?
French and Haitian Kreyòl do have many things in common, but they’re also quite different in many aspects. Mainly, their grammar and conjugation of verbs stand apart as two separate spheres of linguistics. The pluralization of nouns is yet another stark difference between the two. While French uses clear verb conjugation and tense markers in the verb conjugation, Creole doesn’t. Many times, there are also no tense markers anywhere in the sentence.
Creole originated from the interactions of African slaves and French slave owners, which directly correlates to the aspect of “broken French” that Creole has. Over time, though, Haitian Creole became more and more complex, until it eventually received the official language status in Haiti in 1987. Even its vocabulary is based on the same lack of markers that govern its verb conjugation.
One other difference is the spelling. Haitian Creole uses its own orthography, and you could easily write the same sound with different letters. This means that knowing French doesn’t necessarily equate with knowing Creole. The pronunciation of most words in Haitian Creole is also different from modern-day French. It’s most certainly not a dumbed-down variant of French, and its three dialects stand proof to that. What else other than a full-fledged language develops its own dialects?
If you’re interested in learning Haitian Creole and its three dialects, then come to Creole Tutors! We have the means and the ability to teach you all about the wonders of Haitian Kreyòl.