#3931: Canal comments on several different topics

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From: Francois Canal <axxaxx@yahoo.com>


> Finally, Corbettland is receiving light on the "é"
> and "e" issue.
> From Canal's honest take on existing rules vs.
> simplicity guiding the
> evolution of a language ..., 
> there is a good feel for a satisfying exchange.
> Rather than seeing my point, it was interpreted as I
> was for the French like spelling of the language. 

Poincy needs to refer to his original posting
(05/18/2000) to know that his original proposal was
that of a French-like spelling for Haitian Creole.

> Whatever the ethnic origin of the word is, its 
> reproduction in Ayitian has a phonetic reflection of
> how "am" or "an" sound in French. Ms. Grey is right
> when she says the word was never intended to be said
> in Ayitian, therefore keeps the French spelling. 

The objection to Poincy's proposal is that the
adoption of a French spelling to devise a Haitian
Creole orthography would have defeated the purpose of
the 1979/80 committee. As stated before, "no spelling
system can serve two masters (languages)". It's either
HC is accepted as an autonomous language and therefore
requires an autonomous writing system or it is viewed
as a French dialect and consequently no new system is
necessary to write it. A typical monolingual French
and a monolingual Haitian Creole in a dialogue is the
ultimate test to validating the first stand.

I take this opportunity to raise the audience's
attention to the necessity to take advantage of this
forum for what it offers to Haiti(ans): a medium to
think about the Haitian reality and act on it in order
to bring about the common good in Haiti. More crucial
questions remain untouched (I mean, in depth to
resolution) in this list.

Restavèk still remains a social illness that Haitians
have accepted as a normal way of life. Some would even
go as far as saying Restavèk gives to underprivileged
children in Haiti the chance to go to school and
escape their parents' misery. As Jean Cadet's story
illustrates, a restavèk is nothing less than a child
in slavery. We all know that mandatory schooling for
all children would eliminate the conditions for
Restavèk to exist in Haiti, we, list members, push
aside this issue and focus on retarded and obsolete
position of French spelling for Haitian Creole proven
inadequate decades ago.

Never wonder why Haitian modern residential houses all
have a seperate compartment called "depandans"? For
those familiar with the reality, they know "bòn,
restavèk, e jeran lakou" (domestic servants) are not
allowed to share the main quarter. This is an intact
survival of colonial practice with respect to domestic
slaves. Any architect, in a design proposal would
include a "depandans" without even checking with a
client.

My point in bringing these three issues (Haitian
spelling, Restavèk and architectural design) is to
show that Haiti is still acting (hence thinking)
according to the old colonial regime. Its reality
needs to be questioned at its colonial foundation. A
post-colonial intellectual renaissance needs to be
brought about and adopted in order to do away with
proposal of French spelling for Haitian Creole,
Restavèk and architectural design marking social
divide.

List members would make better use of Corbett's time,
energy and devotion in raising issues relating to
energy self-sufficiency in Haiti. According to the US
Embassy in Haiti "Electricity service is unevenly
distributed among the population and is available to
45% of the population in Port-au-Prince, but only 3%
in the rest of the country."
http://www.usembassy.state.gov/posts/ha1/wwwhk01e.html
The same source reveals that "Haiti's installed
electric power capacity is approximately 223 megawatts
(178mw for Port-au-Prince; 45mw for the rest of the
country)" and that "Estimates of installed private
generation capacity are around 75-100mw." These
statistics are alarming considering the fact that it
is a lot cheaper to produce electricity on a larger
scale. Haiti has a lot to gain in strenghtening the
capacity of an electrical utility company working for
the benefits of the Common Good as opposed to
investing in private small-scale ways of harnessing
and producing energy. 

Water distribution system, mass transportation
(reintroduction of the railroad), expansion of the
road system are among crucial issues list members need
to pay attention to and lead discussion on.

We all need a better Haiti!

=====
Francois Canal
105 SE 4th Ave Apt#B
Boynton Beach, FL 33435
(561)752-0649

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