Letter to the Editor by Silvaana Udz

September 15, 2014

To: Editor

Please allow me to publicly express support to the use of Garifuna and other local languages in public spaces. Above all, right now, kwik, fast and hurry—APOLOGIZE! Yes, you, First Caribbean Bank … you who have, admittedly, sponsored numbers of Kriol, Garifuna, and other local cultural functions in the 17 or so territories you operate in. But that just does not matter anymore. Why did you allow this linguistic hurricane to bubble and boil from what, perhaps up until your reaction you could have handled with far more sensitivity, humility, and, well, just good manners, man! You see, me, Silvaana Maree Udz (nee Woods), avid radio, newspaper, and local TV news viewer, can only critically respond to media reports, as I was not in Ms. Martinez’s shoes when you—First Caribbean Bank—were threading upon her dignity as a human being and when you were mashing up her right—her inalienable, fundamental, constitutional right—to use her language in public spaces. At the very, very least, publicly apologize to Ms. Martinez, to the Garifuna community, and to ALL Belizeans. Whether or not you feel culpable, or whether or not you feel protected by your own self-acclaimed inadequately-defined language policy, the reality is you have, whether advertently or not, hurt us. Not just “us” as your Belizean clients, but “us” as your Caribbean folk.

In January 2011, the Charter of Caribbean Language Rights was ratified at a historic meeting in Jamaica that culminated several months of pre-work by regional subcommittee members. The 2011 Charter on Caribbean Language Rights established this fundamental right to use one’s local and territorial languages in any public space as critical to the furtherance of democratic societies. It was signed unto on January 14, 2011 by three Belizean educators: Sir Colville Young, Belize’s foremost linguist; Dr. Rosalind Bradley, the then Literacy director at the Ministry of Education’s Literacy Unit, and by Dr. Silvaana Udz of the National Kriol Council. The Charter is promoted through the International Center for Caribbean Language Rights headquartered at UWI, MONA campus. The Charter draws on several UNESCO position statements in its call to have governments of the region create the enabling environment for establishing translation and other such mechanisms in organizations, companies, and forums that deal with health and hospitals, economic and financial transactions, political representation and discussion in the national assembly, and in cultural, educational, and other similar life processes. For more, go directly to:<http://sta.uwi.edu/fhe/dmll/documents/CARIBBEANLANGUAGECharter.pdf>

So, this is my visceral reaction to the “rokshan” First Caribbean Bank has been causing in the minds and hearts of all Belizeans. Yes, the incident that sparked the ever simmering bubbling and boiling kettle of language and racial discrimination in Belize (“Who me? Racist? Luk ya, I have Black friends.”) Right. Like window dressing. Belize’s two traditional Black groups, Garifuna and Kriol, have been locked in an intimate dance of self discovery over the decades, and, check this: if out of the total disrespect and arrogance displayed by First Caribbean Bank in its response to what has emerged as clear-cut language discrimination against at least one employee (ok, allow me to be judge and jury here: I trust that Sandra Miranda, Roy Cayetano, Myrtle and all mi other Garifuna brethren and sistren already don check out di human rights violation information).

And di irony of it all … if I never know better, I would think that with a name like First Caribbean, such a bank would embrace all things Caribbean. But, they are based in Barbados ... so what else could one expect? (Ok, forgive that barb, my Bajan brethren and sistren … but , really, “dehn noh kaal unu “Little England” fu notn!”

The Dickie B. TV show of Monday Sept. 15, 2014, amplified some of the details of the incident regarding language discrimination, vis-à-vis Garifuna use by an employee at a First Caribbean Bank in Belize. “Disrespect and arrogance … This is a socio-political issue” said Mr. Swaso, who is also the current mayor of Dangriga. “This is a national  issue,” he reiterated. I certainly agree. Garifuna language da fu aal a wi; and eevn if we noh talk it, we dance to it, sing to it, love and laugh to it and sway eena St. Martin de Porres Church to the “Our Father” in Garifuna as we hold hands with our Garifuna brothers and sisters. And, on the same show, Sandra Miranda of the National Garifuna Council, spoke of the rational approach being taken to deal with this critically important issue to our national identify. Each cultural spoke makes up the Belizean wheel of life. As Miranda noted, “action points are developing … no divide and conquer.” She spoke of a coalition of Belizeans (count me in!) as “we won’t win the battle individually.”And Miranda clearly is not governed only by her rational mind on this issue; she also worked with the late, great patriot, Hon. Philip Goldson, so we know her heart is engaged too.

I feel so strongly about this issue because it impacts ALL of us in terms of our local language use. Yes, we need global languages like English and Spanish, but there is no need to stamp out our lovely, functional, beautifully expressive local languages in so doing. Of particular note: the Garifuna language is one of the critically important pieces of the Belizean multilingual fabric that defines us as a nation and is also an acclaimed part of UNESCO World Heritage designations. It is with pleasure that, on behalf of the language arm of the National Kriol Council, the Belize Kriol Project, I also take this opportunity to again publicly thank and acknowledge the National Garifuna Council and the late Mr. Augustine Flores for the very valuable advice and support the Garifuna Council gave to the start up of the National Kriol Council in the early 1990s. Moreover, Belizean icon the late Andy Palacio and so many other Garifuna musicians , teachers, artists, clergy and others, through their  continuous promotion of Garifuna culture and valiant efforts to preserve, use, and teach the Garifuna language, provided the National Kriol Council and its early stalwarts like Leela Vernon, Bro. David, the late Dr. Ruby Marith (Perriot), and the late Philip Goldson, with solid guidance on positive, effective ways to encourage all Belizeans to love their home languages even as they equally engage in learning the much-needed global languages today of English and Spanish.  Additionally, the sharing of expertise and Kriol literacy materials with the Kriol–speaking communities along Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast was as a direct result of the contact established between Andy Palacio and Roy Cayetano of the Garifuna Council and local Kriol Council members, a regional relationship that has strengthened the continued development with the Kriol dictionary and other publications.   Language is an integral part of a culture and when the language ceases to be or its use is threatened, the existence of the culture is in jeopardy.

I close by quoting from the press release sent out by the National Kriol Council last week: “The National Kriol Council of Belize … extends solidarity to its Garifuna brothers and sisters to endure the process of taking any means necessary to ensure the Garifuna language or any other language in Belize is never restricted from use. The use of one’s first language—the language of one’s home and community—is a language right, as indelible a right as the right to life, education, freedom of speech, religion, and all the other fundamental rights embraced in our Constitution.”

Sincerely,

Silvaana Udz            

Lover of Local Languages

THE PROCLAIMER: Gad wod ina fiwi langwij

The promotion of the Jamaican language got a boost with the Proclaimer Listening Groups Project being carried out by The Language Development Division of Wycliffe Caribbean in collaboration with Faith Comes By Hearing Ministries.

The Proclaimer

The Proclaimer is a digital player which is preloaded with an Audio Bible recording (usually a New Testament) for the one purpose of proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ to the nations.

The inspiration for this device came during three days of fasting and prayer by the entire staff of Faith Comes by Hearing, and they consider the Proclaimer to be a gift from God. This tough little digital player is completely dedicated to proclaiming God’s Word in the heart language of its listener. This amazing tool was developed as a playback device for poor and illiterate people lacking the resources to receive God’s Word. With them in mind, it was developed with many features:

                                     

   

1. The installed microchip will not erase or wear out from frequent playing.
2. 3.      The battery can be charged through both the built-in solar panel and hand crank, or via an included AC adapter, and will play for 15 hours. It can be recharged enough times to play the entire New Testament more than 1,000 times.
3. 4.      The solar panel, in addition to charging the battery, will run the Proclaimer even without battery power as long as there is sunlight.
4. 5.      It contains a specially engineered speaker system that allows groups as large as 300 to hear God’s Word anytime, anywhere.

Jamaican New Testament: Listening Groups

One of the Bible recordings that is available on the Proclaimer is our own Jamaican New Testament and this enables us to listen to the whole New Testament in own Jamaican Creole.

The project started with a training workshop on March 8, 2014 with fifty persons representing thirty seven churches and communities from St. Thomas to Hanover. The training prepared these persons to use the Proclaimer as group leaders, and one proclaimer was given to each church or community based on a commitment to convene a listening group at their church or in their community for the purpose of listening to the whole New Testament in Jamaican Creole.

A listening group usually meets at least once each week to listen to the Scriptures. The participants listen and then take turns talking about what they have heard. Listening to the Scriptures, thinking about what has been written and interacting with others, are helpful activities that encourage spiritual growth and maturity.

Such listening groups have been convened in eight parishes across the island, meeting in various settings: church, school, verandah, barber shop, community centre, in the street, shops, bars, and also in the home. In the churches, the settings are equally diverse – in all aspects of the church, including:

youth fellowship, prayer meeting, Bible study, mens’ meeting, and even Sunday School. The listening aspect of the Proclaimer is an advantage, as it facilitates everyone, whether they are able to read or not.

Feedback from the users of the Proclaimer

General feedback indicates that the people are receptive to the Proclaimer and enjoy listening to it. Comments such as the following have been heard:

“church like that it is easy to understand.” departments.”

“Discussions have been very vibrant and exciting”

“People are eager to share how much they understand.”

“When she is at home, it is attractive to many passers-by and they often stop and listen as they pass.”

“They can relate to it better than the English Bible.”

Below are testimonies from three groups:

Comments from Group Leader

This group is from a rural community in St. Thomas. The group leader is the principal of the school and she is also the Pastor of a local church. The principal has employed the use of the Proclaimer in the morning devotional exercises as well as lunch time activities. Interestingly, the principal notes that at lunch time, the students are free to eat their lunches and play; however as long as the Proclaimer is being played they sit and listen attentively while they eat and if it is not played one day the students will ask fervently about it. The principal also uses the digital player as a medium to develop the students’ listening skills and promote literacy. The teachers on staff are supportive of the use of the Proclaimer and enjoy listening to it as well. They are also quite happy about the impact it is having on the lives of the students. The principal has noted improvement in the quality of behaviour in the students. She notes that more students have started going to church as a result of their constant interaction with the Word. Additionally as a result of the use of the Proclaimer students have become knowledgeable about the Word of God.

General Comments from Group Leader

This group leader uses the Proclaimer at a local barber shop in Yallahs, St. Thomas on Saturday nights of each week. The group consists of the barbers and their customers and can range from ten-thirty people on any given Saturday evening. There are some men who are staples of the group who are there consistently and others who drop in to listen while they cut their hair or are just passing by. Since introducing the Proclaimer in March 2014 I can see where God has been moving through the lives of the men. After the first few weeks of using it the men gained trust in me and even persons who would never have spoken before or have rough personalities started being engaged and even started referring to me as ‘Pastor’. Lively, strong-willed, thought provoking discussions take place each time the Proclaimer is played. Persons have expressed how clear the Word of God is to them now; many things that they had difficulty understanding before have now become quite easy to grasp because of the language the bible is being presented in. The Proclaimer is an asset to this work in getting people to know God and reaffirming the faith of those who already know Him. I would recommend the Proclaimer to other persons who are willing to start a group so that more people can truly understand what the Word is saying
.

Petition from Guyanese Civil Society translated into Guyanese by Charlene Wilkinson

Dis a wan pitishan wi mi sain fo tek part in di strogl fo diimakrasi in Gaiyana:

President Donald Ramotar:

Bring back di Parliament now and stap di govament from get aan laik se dem a dikteeta

Mondee, Novemba ten, President Donald Ramotar tel di Gaiyniiz piipl se ii sospen di Gaiyana Parliment. Wen ii kom pon di TV fo taak to di neeshan bout wa ii duu, ii se di Govament bin oblaij fo duu da, adawaiz di ten Parliment wuda had fo klooz dong. Bot ii na reelii telin di chruut. Ii sospen di Parliment fo mek di PPP govament hool an to powa.  Yu sii, kaaz ii sospen di Parliment, ii foors out di aposishan an ii na set no deet fo wen dem kud kom bak in di Parliment. So ii reelii tek we piipl raitz wa di Kanstichushan gi dem. In chruut an in fak, di sospenshan gon blak di ‘No Confidence’ voot wa di kombain aposishan bin wahn fo taak bout in di Parliment. Di President lef di hool konchri in wan big kanfyuuzhan kaaz piipl na shoor wen di PPP gon mek Parliament kaal bak ageen.

President Ramotar se ii na brok no laa. Aal di seem, ii chraiyin fo chrik piipl. If yu chek out wa di Kanstichuushan reeli miin, it na gi di President di rait fo sospen di Parliment jos so. Ii tek aan powa laik ii a wan king.  Da kain a powa na fo dis kain a govament wa wi gat in Gaiyana. Gaiyana bin duu we wid dem kain a powa set op we di President kyariiyin aan laik se I a wan king an we di ruulin partii gat powa ova di piipl repriisentativ dem.

Pon tap a da, in 2000 aal man in di Nashanal Asemblii bin agrii fo paas wan bil fo ad aan di NO CONFIDENCE klaaz pon di Kanstichuushan. If di apasishan tink tingz reeli niid fo sheek op an di konchrii niid fo get wan neks iilekshan, dat de klaaz wud lou da.  Reepu Daman Persaud self se da klaaz gon stap enbadi in di govament from get aan laik se dem a dikteeta. Reepu bin di Liida a di hous dem taim. If yu chek di parliment peepa fo Diisemba 15, 2000, yu gon fain wa ii (Dem da peepa a wa dem kaal di Hansard.) Reepu Daman Persaud se di klaaz wa ad in important bad, kaaz it gon help di konchrii fo ton moo demokratik. Bot heer wa nou! Dis ting wa Ramotar duu di ada dee (Novemba 10) an kleem se di kanstichushan lou im fo duu am, dat a wan bakward ting from di 1980 Kanstichuushan, an ii duu am fo porpos, fo blak di NO CONFIDENCE voot wa di nyuu 2000 Kanstichuushan bin lou.  Wach hou dis prorogation ting mek di nyuu Kanstichuushan luk laik schupitnis.  Di 2000 Kanstichuushan bin supooz fo gi aal awi mo powa, miin fo se, aal di biznis fo di konchrii kyari-aan in kleer deelait fo evri badi sii an di big wan dem kud stee kleer from koropshan. Bot nou, laik wi gaan rait bak in di koloniiyal deez wen di wait ruulaz dem bin sospen di 1953 Kanstichuushan fo kik out Cheddi Jagan out a di govament. Di seem ting aal ova ageen.   

Wel Ramotar se ii na brok no laa. Bot da no miin ii chriit di Gaiyniiz piipl rait. Ii no biiheev laik wan demokratik president. If yu rimemba di Herdmanston Accord wa CARICOM bin set op in 1998, dat a di agriiment wa bin mek di Kanstichuushan mo beta in 2001.  Nou dat wi na gat no Parliment, di minority PPP government eebl for duu wa eva dem wahn fo duu wid di konchri aal bai deself. Di apasishan kyaahn wach hou dem spenin moni, dem kyaahn diskos notn wid dem, an dem kyaahn stap di minista dem from kyari aan hou  dem wahn an uuz dem powa az dem laik. Di PPP ton wan reel dikteeta govament fo chruu, an dem no iivn chraiyin fo haid it.

Wen di PPP bin kom in powa in 1992, dem se dem gwain bring bak diimakrasi in di konchri. But Jagdeo bin kyari aan wid a hool set a breeznnis wen ii bin in powa, an nou Ramotar kom an put di aisin pon di keek. An yet ii se ii na brok no laa. Luk pon som a di tingz wa dem bin kyari aan wid:

• Dem na hool no lokal govament iilekshan sins 1994. Dis a wan kleer vaiyooleeshan a di Kanstichuushan;
• Dem na set op di Human Rights Commission;
• Dem na set op di Public Procurement Commission. Dis woda shoo piipl hou  di konchrii monii spenin;
• Wen di Nashanal Asemblii paas bil in di Parliment, di President riifuuz fo lou di bil dem fo paas. Wan man blak wa nof man grii to!
• Aal ova di eks-British Kyaribiiyan, wi get mark fo di moos korop konchri, an wi neem iivn gaan abraad. Transparency International se wi a wan a di moos korop konchrii in di hool worl.   
• A pyoor laalisnis aal ova di konchrii: Di polis kyaahn salv di kraim; dem so bruutal dat dem tarcharin di sospek dem, an nof taim dem doohn bada ares piipl fos, dem jos kil dem so.
• Di ministaz dem an som ada big wan vaiyooleet di Kanstichuushan nof taim; wach hou:

ü  Dem kech di Minista fo Fainans a spen monii aldoo di Parliament no aproov it, an

ü  Di Atornii Genaral vais ge kech pon a mashiin.  Ii bin a chretn Kaieteur News. Plos, ii se ii noo bout wan taim wen President Ramotar paas monii fo ge di laa pon ii an ii fren said.   

A nof mo breeznnis di PPP kyari aan wid 22 yeer nou, sins dem de in powa. Bot Novemba 10 bin di wos. Di konchri jos lef in limbo kaaz nobadi na noo wen Parliment gon kaal bak. Di PPP don wid diimakrasi. Hou yu kud gat diimakrasi if yu na gat no Parliament? Di PPP minority government tek dem aiz an paas di Gaiyniiz piipl. Dem plan fo stee in powa doohn keer wa.

Aal a wi wa sain dis ya petition a piipl wa konsorn bout di situueeshan in di konchrii. Wi wahn Gaiyniiz piipl wa de oom an dem wa de a farin fo stan pon wi said. Plos wi wahn ada piipl from di riijan an outsaid di riijan fo stan pon wi said. Wi wahn alyu  fo help wi kaal pon President Ramotar fo set op bak di Parliment laik hou wan diimakrasi supooz fo wok an na wees no moo taim.  A hai taim dem staat fo streetn out di kanstichuushan fo mek shoor no mo govament kyaahn plee dikteeta!

(Ms. Wilkinson is currently a lecturer in the Department of Language and Cultural Studies at the University of Guyana.  Her chief areas of interest are in the literary arts and teaching creative writing and drama. She is now actively involved in language rights advocacy.)

The following link contains an audio file for the the written petition.

https://soundcloud.com/bertitude/guyanese-citizens-petition-for-the-return-to-democracy-in-guyana

Bileez Kriol: Wi Deh Pahn it!

by Silvaana Udz, Secretary of the Belize Kriol Project

 “Di vaibz … Mee feel di pipl toch dehn kolcha, gyal!” This is what president of the National Kriol Council, Dana Rhamdas, said in reaction to several hours of Kriol bramming with di gumbeh drums in a Krismos float through Belize City’s principal streets at the December 2013 “Love Christmas Parade.” The float was bedecked (now isn’t dat a great English word!) … di Kriol float was bedecked in messages spreading peace and love and life and hope—BUT most of all—dehnya messages were all in big, bold, CORRECT (that is, standard) spelling of di Belize Kriol language. There she was, our priti priti Bileez Kriol langwij, one of di seventy-seven plus Creole languages in the world, according to the Lewis Ethnologue, (See
https://www.ethnologue.com/search/search_by_page/Creole?page=8) … there she was, proudly flexing her symbols and syllables, eliciting comments from smiling bystanders, like “Bot dis Kriol noh haad fu reed atal, yu noh!”

More than just being a medium for entertainment, or edutainment indeed, di parade as a vehicle for mass media

transmission continues to be unparalleled. For those watching di procession through di live broadcast beamed into living rooms (me, I confess, as I do not live in  di city), it was clear from di announcers’ comments that di Kriol float was a hit. Buttressing di great onsite success of the Belize Kriol culture and language float in embedding di Kriol orthography that emerged after some fifteen years of research, testing, and revising (http://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=10238), was di pre-parade TV magazine show that featured di National Kriol Council sharing information on old-time Krismos practices, displaying Kriol books and giving away some as prizes during call-in segments, and showing di sambai dance moves that would be in di parade.

What di successful Kriol entrance into the public parade did was to reinforce to all of us working in promoting Belize Kriol

language rights what Hubert Devonish said in his 1987 book       Language and Liberation: Creole Language Politics in the Caribbean and reiterated in the 2007 updated edition; namely: not only is the mass media the forum to engage “the right of Creole speakers to participate in public discussion” (p.105), but in the media, “Creole needs to be used as a language of public information” (p. 125). Specifically to di point of di Kriol float in di parade and its promotion of  peace messages in di standard Belize Kriol orthography, Devonish’s advice indeed came alive this past Krismos in Belize:  di use of publications—and by extension media in general—has di function of developing “interesting and attractive ways of presenting the new Creole orthography …. As well, the television and established newspapers could be used as media for publicizing this orthography” (p. 124). This has always served as sterling advice to di members of di Belize Kriol Project, established since di early 1990s to develop, promote and popularize a standard orthography for di Belize Kriol language. Di critical need for popularization of di orthography is advice that is doubly noted, coming as it is from Devonish who, along with UWI and Caribbean counterparts,  initiated di entire ICCLR Charter and who has been—along with Sir Colville Young in Belize, SIL, and local educators and artists—a foremost guru who has helped to shape di Belize Kriol orthography’s development.

Indeed, at di historic January 2011 establishment of di Charter for Caribbean Language Rights, two of di critically important points—and all of di Charter’s 52 articles are critical—speak to di impact of the use of our Creole languages in public information outputs and inputs. Specifically, Article #21, 2 states: “Everyone has the right, as a client, customer, or consumer or user, to receive oral, written and/or signed information in the territorial languages from establishments open to the public”; Article #36 states: “Language communities are entitled to representation of their language in the communications media of their territories, specifically including …”; and Article #38, 1: “All language communities have the right to use, maintain and foster their language in all forms of cultural expression.”

 The ICCLR push for ensuring we memba di  critical role of di publicity part of what wi di do when we promote, research, and add to di WRITTEN language outputs was well in display this past Krismos season in Belize. Di Belize Kriol Project has, for almost a decade and a half since its first draft booklet in 1995 on di initial orthography, published a weekly newspaper column called “Weh Wi Ga Fi Seh” in first di local Amandala newspaper then, and currently, in di Reporter newspaper. Since di middle of di 2000s, the column is also available online where it is also archived for ready retrieval (See http://www.belmopancityonline.com/kriol-language.aspx). In March 2013, di Belize Kriol Project also launched di New Testament in Belize Kriol, culminating almost 15 years of work with SIL, Wycliffe, West Indian Bible Society, Belize Bible Society, and local pastors (See http://edition.channel5belize.com/archives/82857).

What di outreach at the public parade did was to reinforce to us di power of directly connecting with di people we most want to affect. The participation of members of the National Kriol Council of Belize and its literacy arm, the Belize Kriol Project, in an extremely anticipated public procession sponsored by a nationwide radio/TV station engaged the media and the people who say the prominent signage in the Kriol language. This, more any policy per se will make the Bileez Kriol language and all our Caribbean Creole languages be bold , brave, and beautiful in their written forms in the public's eye. Plus, the language is placed always in the context of the culture. The float was jumping with the traditional Kriol Krismos music  made by graters, pint bottles, accordion, shakaz and  of course di Kriol sambai drumming and dancing! Di pikni dehn bai di roadside mi-di taak: “Ma! Dat da Kriol tu?  Dat gud man!" (or something like dat according to the Kriol Council members on the float! Note that di Kriol sambai dancing is still done mostly in rural areas, like Gales Pt. Malanti Village, so di urban youths watching di parade got a bit of cultural learning!) Now, as soon as we can at di Belize Kriol Project, we  want to free up some time, so that we can get back to setting up village booths at village weekend events, not only to continue to promote di Kriol orthography, but also to hold more writers’ workshops with a view to developing more reading materials, fun as well as educational books—and online options now—for promoting di written version of our Creole language, one of the Caribbean English-lexified Creole languages—di Bileez Kriol language! After all, as a visiting literacy assistant Naomi Glock of SIL reiterated during her time in Belize, once you get people reading the Kriol, you will need materials for them to read. [Of course, just getting anyone to read nowadays is a challenge at times! No matter what language di material is written in!] In di meantime, we continue to promote wi priti priti Kriol langwij anyway, anyhow, anytime we can. Kohn … mek wi taak—ahn rait—wi langwij!

International Creole Day (Jounen Kwéyòl Entennasyonnal), St.Lucia

International Creole Month is celebrated in St. Lucia with a month of differing activities, spearheaded by the Folk Research Centre. The celebration began this year on September 30^th and will culminate on October 30^th the Saint Lucian Creole Day, Jounen Kwéyòl Sentlisi. International Creole Day, Jounen Kwéyòl Entennasyonnal, is celebrated October 28^th.

Creole Month festivities include story telling in lyrical Kweyol or Fèsten Kont épi Listwa, Fèt Magwit (La Marguerite Flower Festival), Creole dance Fiesta, Creole Tea Party, Creole Fashion Show and Creole Film Festival. There will be community awareness events in the form of Creole Programme for Students, Cultural Literacy Workshop for Adults, Creole Art & Craft Exhibition and Kwéyòl Literacy Course. There will also be the Konpétisyon Lawenn Kwéyòl, the Creole Queen Pageant and the Konpétisyon Jennès Kwéyòl (Creole Youth Pageant).

Konpétisyon Woulélaba or Woulélaba Competition is one of the highlights of  the celebration. Woulélaba is a local version of cricket though less formal and increases excitement in the local spectator. The game is usually played between two communities. There are several activities which surround the game such as cultural performance of cultural traditions, informal betting on teams, sale of food and drink and often a public dance at the end of the day. At any of these celebrations, visitors and locals can also enjoy tasty dishes such as fishcakes, bwapain woti (roasted breadfruit) and the national dish, greenfig and saltfish.

Dr. Kentry D Jn Pierre, Executive Director of the Folk Research Centre (Plas Wichès Foklò) states: Jounen Kwéyòl is celebrated in St. Lucia every year on the Sunday which is closest to International Creole Day (October 28^th). It represents the grand climax of Creole Heritage Month during which there is a national programme of cultural and education activities in various communities. The main activities usually take place in four communities that are specifically selected as host communities for the particular year. Thousands of people flock these communities to participate in the celebration. Standard activities in each host community include a Creole Mass; a massive Creole Food and Drink Fair; an indoor exhibition of Creole technology, equipment and items depicting the folk life of the ancestors of modern day St Lucians; outdoor demonstrations of traditional technologies and other folk traditions; cultural performances throughout the day, and; other community-specific spontaneous activities. On that day St. Lucians are also encouraged to speak the Creole language as much as possible.

In order to showcase, now and in the future, authentic St. Lucian heritage, the Folk Research Centre attaches much importance to the documentation of the events on Jounen Kwéyòl. Such documentation facilitates the Centre’s ongoing programme of cultural education and the development of St Lucian people and communities.

HISTORY TODAY

THE CHARTER ON LANGUAGE POLICY AND LANGUAGE RIGHTS

IN THE CREOLE SPEAKING CARIBBEAN

Implications for Language Education in Guyana

Contributors

Charlene Wilkinson & Kencil Banwarie

University of Guyana

Department of Language & Cultural Studies

Faculty of Education &the Humanities

In January of this year, a landmark conference in Jamaica concluded with the presentation to members of the public of the final draft of The Charter on Language Policy and Language Rights in the Creole Speaking Caribbean.   Participants at this conference -- linguists, educators and policy makers -- from fifteen Caribbean States, the United States, the United Kingdom met to finalize this document which had its inception in the work of Caribbean linguists begun more than five decades earlier. Current Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Lawrence Carrington, world-renowned linguist, was a keynote speaker at the conference. Two Guyanese lecturers from the University of Guyana, Kencil Banwarie and Charlene Wilkinson were also participants and proud signatories to the Charter along with the other participants. They returned home to introduce it to their peers in the Faculty of Education and the Humanities with the expectation that the University would appreciate the strategic advantage of this historic document and recognise its leadership role in the re-visioning of Guyana’s language policy.

The Charter is built on the foundations of previously established Human Rights treaties: The Charter of the United Nations--The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948); the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966; and the American Convention on Human Rights of 1969.  From the point of view of education, it is a promising beginning to the formulation of a response to the challenges of teaching in the Caribbean because it recognizes the Caribbean Creoles as ‘territorial languages, separate from the European languages from which they derive their vocabulary’. 

What are the implications of having a Charter on language policy and language rights for language education in Guyana?

Although there is, in some quarters, an increasing sense of ownership that suggests a growing pride in the use of Guyanese Creole (Creolese), there is a basic assumption in the society at large that everyone ought to speak English.  The idea that an educated person might be able to use Creolese to express intellectual concepts and important ideas still is, generally, an unthinkable thought.  In fact, a person who does not master English is often derided for aspiring to or accepting positions in the leadership hierarchies of Guyanese society. They often become targets for people who judge their intellectual capacity by their ability to use English. Such privileging of English speech and de-valuing of Creole speech is a consequence of the inheritance from the British which linguists call the ‘English Mother Tongue Tradition’. With respect to language teaching, what this tradition translates to in the ex-British territories of the Caribbean is a notion that learning occurs in a ‘fixed sequence leading to an ideal, arbitrarily defined competence’ which is modelled in books written by speakers of English.

The reported practice in schools of principals forbidding children to speak Creolese and the incontestable evidence that many children and adults feel ashamed because they cannot speak English properly are two of the psychological consequences of this tradition.  In general, there is a ‘dumbing down’ of Creole speakers because of the perception that ‘good’ language teachers always speak good English and that teaching is a process of altering natural (Creolese) speech and  replacing it with the sounds and syntax of English.  Nowhere in the Guyanese education system is there the opportunity for students to develop Creolese in the same way that a French student or a German student would develop French or German.

Language assessment procedures in schools are quite firmly established in a curriculum that renders Creolese both invisible (unwritten) and illegitimate. When students fail to produce good English speech or writing or when they show weaknesses in the comprehension of English, this is usually attributed either to their lack of literacy skills, lack of intelligence, the incompetence of their teachers, or other social, psychological, and even economic problems.  The resulting poor grades, lowered expectations, lack of appreciation for teachers’ efforts, and political fervour about creating social and economic equity in the society are the result of a meritocracy based on English competence reproduced over and over again in the education system.  The personal and social dimensions of experience, and the innate cognitive capacities of students which find expression in the varieties of Creole students speak have no valid place in education. An interesting point to note is the Ministry of Education’s introduction of a policy of remedial English classes for students who underperform in the subject. It would be worthwhile to check on how students are deemed eligible for remedial classes. Is it just because they have low grades? Is any consideration given to the influence of the first language on the students’ learning of English? Are remedial classes truly remedial where they seek to fill in the gaps or “correct” Creolese?

What the Charter makes possible is ‘a truly regional process’ for validating the Creole languages across the Caribbean through the collaboration of governments, the exchange of skilled persons, the collective reform of curricula and the creation of teaching materials. Indeed, the reality that these languages are not the creation of deficient and inferior subjects of European Imperial rule, but of resilient makers of history in response to their new experience still has to be embraced even by the Creole speakers themselves. This public awareness and confidence would be more effectively achieved through a regional process. 

Statistical evidence indicates that the challenges of English language learning faced by students are common to the entire ex-British Caribbean.  In a survey conducted during the 1990’s, a comparison of the performance in English examinations by fifth formers from the Caribbean and fifth formers from England demonstrated that, in spite of comparable high rates of school attendance, the English proficiency of Caribbean students was far below that of native English-speaking students of the same age group.  Linguist and educator, Dennis Craig, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana, attributed this paradox to the Creole-influenced vernacular situation of the majority of Caribbean children.  Furthermore, his observations of language teaching practices in schools led him to make three significant pronouncements about language education:

(a)     ‘In nursery and primary education, the fact that many children can communicate only in Creole is hardly reflected in a critical area such as the teaching of reading.

(b)   There is nothing to indicate, in most cases in schools, that English has the status of a second language for most Caribbean children.

(c)    The education of teachers is usually not designed to give them the necessary linguistic understanding of both English and Creole—an understanding which they need in order to function efficaciously in CIV [Creole influenced Vernacular] situations.’

It is now nearly sixty years since the 1953 United Nations’ stated position about the practical value of teaching literacy in mother tongue, and more than a decade since Craig published his text for teachers,  Teaching Language and Literacy: Policies and Procedures for Vernacular Situations’ (2000). [quoted from above] Craig’s text heralds a significant shift in perspective about the use of language and about language teaching in societies where Creoles are territorial languages. Importantly, Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) has embarked on creating a Linguistics module for use in its Associate Degree programme which began this year. Designed by Kencil Banwarie and Dr. Victorine Solomon, such a module is a step in the right direction in not only raising awareness about our unique linguistic situation in Guyana, but will equip teachers with the right knowledge as they encounter sometimes seemingly complex linguistic scenarios in their classrooms.

This is what the charter says, in summary, about education in schools:

A.    “Education must help to foster the capacity for linguistic and cultural self-expression of the language communities of the territory where it is provided. 

B.     Education must help to maintain and develop the languages spoken by the language communities of the territory where it is provided. 

C.     Initial instruction in one’s first language is crucial as it enhances conceptual development, language acquisition and development, learning in general, and education of the child. 

D.    Everyone has the following rights: 

a.       –to at least initial instruction and literacy in their first language;

b.       –to learn the territorial languages of the territory in which he/she resides; 

c.       –to learn any other language. 

E.     All language communities are entitled to have at their disposal all the human and material resources necessary to ensure that their language is present to the extent they desire at all levels of education within their territory.”

Guyanese linguist, Hubert Devonish, Coordinator of the Jamaican Language Unit at Mona, chaired the Conference.  He pointed out that three major activities were envisioned:  (a) A Regional Council of Language Policy and Rights would be established; (b) Governments, the corporate sector and civil society groups in the various territories would adopt the Charter; and (c) Caribbean Creole Day would be launched.  October 28^th has now been designated for the observance of that day.  The Guyanese Ministry of Education  mission ‘to eliminate illiteracy, to modernize education and to strengthen tolerance’ now certainly appears to be more clearly in sight. It would be interesting to find out, in this election season, which of our competing political parties would be willing to embrace a policy of linguistic democracy which truly validates the voices of all our citizens, as they make promises to lead us into full participatory democracy.

October 20, 2011