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[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: LAKAT47@aol.com

In a message dated 11/13/02 6:28:00 PM Pacific Standard Time, Lourdes Lafleur
<lourdeslafleur@videotron.ca>writes:

<< I do understand the reluctance of most Haitians living in the US to speak
 French. In my personal opinion, if we do reject the French language we also
 reject a big part of our history and our cultural identity.  >>
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
The problem is not rejecting the French it is rejecting the African that is
killing Haiti.  Kreyòl is the melding of the two cultures.  Haiti is neither
French nor African but a mixture of both (and some Indian, Spanish, etc.)
Rejecting Kreyòl is rejecting the essence of Haiti.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
<<Our Creole is mostly composed of French words. It is pretty easy for a
French only speaking person to understand Creole after only 2 days Haiti.
Just because
we have embraced another culture or have been educated in another language
does not mean that we should spit on our own culture. Haitian culture is
very rich and strong, it is a culture that has been internationally
recognized and we Haitians should be extremely proud of it.>>
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Enough people have refuted the "Kreyòl is almost French" myth so I won't go
into it.  But I gotta say something about the "spitting on our own culture"
remark.  It is not the French culture that has been spit on.  Au contraire.
It is poor, kountry kousin Kreyòl that gets spit upon.  You want us to cry
for the Francophiles?  I don't think I will, thank you.  When shopkeepers and
city clerks treat Kreyòl speakers with the same respect as they do French
speakers then we can talk about how sad it is that there is an effort to
overshadow French in Haitian culture.  French speakers in Haiti (and you know
you all speak Kreyòl) have made Kreyòl speakers ashamed of their lack of
knowledge of French.  Now you know how they feel.  Humility is good!

Kathy Dorce~  (who doesn't put the accent on the e in Dorce anymore as in
Kreyòl there is no need for one in order to pronounce it Dor-say)