Creole in the Caribbean: How Oral Discourse creates Cultural Identities

Abstract

Création littéraire et archives de la mémoire Creole in the Caribbean: How Oral Discourse creates Cultural Identities Le créole des Caraïbes : comment le discours oral crée des identités culturelles

Simplifying definitions of Pidgins and Creoles within the Trinidad and Tobago Context

“…However, while the TrEC and the TEC would have changed over time, some studies suggest that there are actually still similarities between them and certain African languages. In fact, although they are termed English Creoles, Sindoni (2010) asserts that there are more similarities between Caribbean Creoles and African languages than with English. Structural similarities include the use of the predicative adjective with the absence of the copula such as "to be".…”

“…This lack of historical data means that there is hardly any solid data regarding the history and development of the TrEC and TEC. This paucity of recorded data, according to Sindoni (2010), meant that "Pidgin and Creole languages were at a disadvantage because of their oral nature and their poorly documented written tradition made scholarly investigation difficult" (p. 222). However, there would be an oral perpetuation of information from varying sources based on individuals' theories, experiences, connections and biases.…”

“…(p. 5) This negative attitude was not only held by the ruling classes. It was actually also held by the native speakers of Creole who "were not willing to admit that their mother tongue was Creole, in particular in the ex-colonies, given its low prestige status and painful associations with cultural repression, feelings of self-loathing, self-contempt and failed social achievements " (Morgan, 1994 cited in Sindoni, 2010). Thus, ongoing research can help to change this inside perception and generate an attitude of acceptance and pride in what has been accomplished by those from whom this language emerged as it relates to their experiences from displacement, trauma, disregard and psychological shaming to survival, resilience and ongoing self-acceptance.…”