Caribbean people should be proud of their Creole languages as they not only shape identities but also hold the memories and heritage of our ancestors and allow for greater self-expression. This was the message from the Faculty of Humanities and Education’s Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics at UWI, St Augustine, as they recently concluded Creole Heritage Month celebrations in October.
International Creole Day is celebrated annually on October 28, but the entire month is observed as Creole Heritage Month. This year’s theme was One Heritage, Many Voices, Endless Rhythms, and UWI partnered with Alliance Française T&T.
The events included a Kambule play reading, Patois mass and market, Kambule movement and dance rehearsal, as well as scholarly presentations and panel discussions. There were also poetry, visual arts, musical performances and short films.
At the Creole Legacies, Living Voices event on October 28, students led and engaged in a panel discussion on how Creole languages are viewed and treated in the Caribbean region. Students from T&T, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Guyana, Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda shared their experiences.
The panellists, as well as the audience members, were quite amused as they learnt more about different cultures, but also got a clearer understanding of the many similarities among them. But one message remained consistent: We need to embrace our Creoles.
“When I think of Creole, I think of comfort,” SaalÍha Mohammed said. “When I’m not speaking Creole, I feel like I’m not myself. When I speak standard English, I feel like I’m putting on a mask.” Mayanda Cummings, a Grenadian, concurred, adding that her country’s Creole makes her feel connected to home.
They also acknowledged that while they embrace it, they are aware that many still look down on Creole. It is why they believe there should be continued outreach and educational push to help others understand that Creoles are languages. They are not “broken” forms of a standard language and they are not “improper.”
They praised countries like Jamaica and St Lucia for the work they’ve put into recognising their Patois. “I feel like Bajans, Guyanese, Antiguans, we could also make that same push so we could have a better sense of culture and national pride,” Darren Smith of Barbados said.
Dr Byron Jones, linguistics lecturer and undergraduate coordinator, also spoke of his own experience growing up speaking Jamaican Creole (Patois). He is from St Elizabeth, Jamaica, which is known as the breadbasket parish as it is one of the main drivers of the country’s agricultural industry.
“People would sometimes say, ‘You come from a rural area,’ and I would say, ‘No. I’m from the bush,’” he joked.
As a student, he recalled, “When you tell people you’re from St E, people would say ‘Oh God,’ because we only chat Patois there, and the judgement starts… So when you hear that, (you think), ‘What do I do now? Do I embrace it or, in an effort to hide, do I crawl back into myself?’” He praised the students for their discussion and told WE Life and Culture he was proud to see them involved in advocating for the acceptance of Creoles.
Head of the department Dr Savrina Chinien said she was thrilled to host activities that celebrate the richness of Creole languages, cultures and traditions. “They are an essential part of our Caribbean identity,” she said. “They carry our histories, preserve our memories and give expression to the creativity, resilience and diversity of our people… They remind us that language is not simply a means of communication, but it is also a means of understanding who we are and where we come from.”
They also honoured retired professor and former dean Ian Robertson, who is hailed as an icon and pioneer for his decades of research and work in the field of linguistics and, particularly, Creole languages. His field work led to the discovery of the Dutch Creoles Berbice and Skepi Dutch in Guyana in the 1970s–languages that were thought not to exist.
