8074: Language Question from Darian Arky (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Darian and Veronika <bezdomovci@earthlink.net>

It has been my experience that learning the language of the country in which
one resides as a foreigner is absolutely essential.  Like many people, I
learned quickly on my first trip to Paris that my two years of high school
"conversational French" quickly evaporated upon a Parisian's first response
to my bold statement that "I speak a little French."  Though I will receive
a few months of French language instruction before leaving for Haiti,
statistics seem to indicate that, in most cases, only one in 20 Haitians
will speak the French language that I myself will have little command of.
How different is Creole from French?  Is it akin to the difference between,
say, Czech and Slovak (mutually very intelligible), or would it be more like
the wider gulf between Czech and Russian (both Slavic, but only related
enough to provide a series of clues)?  Secondly, are there bilingual
(English-Creole) teachers of Creole in Port-au-Prince?  Would it be possible
to find a teacher who would come to my home in the evenings?  Any guidance
would be much appreciated.