Chemin d’école(Excerpts)

Creole in the Public Eye: Written Instances of Creole in Public Spaces in Guadeloupe

“…From the historical record presented to this point, it should not be a surprise that Creole had no place whatsoever in the official educational programme pursued in Guadeloupe and elsewhere up until at most 25 years ago. 5 In his semi-autobiographical account of his childhood experiences in school, Chamoiseau (1994: 68) writes at length about his initial reactions to hearing French used exclusively for the first time. As a pre-school child, he had been exposed to French to a limited degree at home: ‘Le français … était quelque chose de réduit qu’on allait chercher sur une sorte d’étagère, en dehors de soi, mais qui restait dans un naturel de bouche proche du créole.’ Now in school, he was faced with a different reality, leading him to re-examine his relationship with French: ‘Mais là, avec le Maître, parler [français] n’avait qu’un seul et vaste chemin.…”

“…As a pre-school child, he had been exposed to French to a limited degree at home: ‘Le français … était quelque chose de réduit qu’on allait chercher sur une sorte d’étagère, en dehors de soi, mais qui restait dans un naturel de bouche proche du créole.’ Now in school, he was faced with a different reality, leading him to re-examine his relationship with French: ‘Mais là, avec le Maître, parler [français] n’avait qu’un seul et vaste chemin. Et ce chemin français se faisait étranger’ (Chamoiseau, 1994: 68). Not only was French the language of learning, but Creole was actively decried and rejected in school: ‘Qu’est-ce que j’entends, on parle créole?!…”

“…Où donc vous croyez-vous ici!? Parlez correctement et comportez-vous de manière civilisée’ (Chamoiseau, 1994: 65).…”

“…8 Furthermore, movements to incorporate Creole more squarely into the public school curriculum have met with heated resistance on the part of many parents, as well as less progressive educators. This is not necessarily due to negativity toward Creole per se, but as Giraud, et al (1992: 40) suggest, it could be simply ‘un désir impérieux d’assurer à leurs enfants l’accès à la maîtrise du français, clef de toute promotion sociale’. And even when creoles are taught, the nature of the instruction raises questions.…”