#3741: On linguists absence of creativity: Poincy comments

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From: Jean Poincy <caineve@idt.net>

To follow up on the frivolity of the linguists' approach in the
standardization of Ayitian, I want to unveil their lack of creativity
that is further reinforcing the language dependency on the French
language. New Ayitian words, if not created by the masses living the
reality of Ayiti are a carbon copy of French words when the linguists
take matter in hands. 

Taking refuge in their laboratory, they become detached from the raw
Ayitian scenes as a true generator of new words. Their creativity being
hampered in helping the language moving forward, they resort to heavy
borrowings of French word to express their abstract or scientific
thoughts. Indeed Ayitian does not have in its lexicon, corresponding
terminologies. This is understandable due to the fact that the reality
does not have circumstances for these specific words formation.

In Ayiti, there are no instances leading to sound studies integrating
the Ayitian reality to subsequently enabling knowledge acquisition
through accumulation of experience. Hence, it is impossible to find
appropriate words capable of translating abstract ideas. For any attempt
to express such ideas, linguists are forced to use French words by
default as they make an aberrant phonetic twist to make them sound and
be written in a way that would make one say it's Ayitian.

Not being able to find Ayitian appropriate words is a great absence of
creativity leading to scientific perversion and sets the language back
further. For instance, French words like "instituteur",  "audience",
"éditeur", "chercheur", you name it are a pure carbon copy as explained
above when being used by linguists. These simply do not exist in the
language and are completely foreign to the ordinary Ayitian.

The reality in Ayiti does not provide for the usage of such terms by the
people. You would not find an Ayitian make use of "instituteur" when
referring to a school master unless s/he wants to show that s/he has
some level of education. What they would use instead is "professeur" and
"maitre" with the phonetic deformation (profesè & mèt) observed among
the population that I have no quarrel against. For "audience",
"éditeur", "chercheur" have no equivalence among the population
(excluding the sophisticated educated one). 

If the reality for speaking of "audience" were there, Ayitians would
never use the deformed word to express it. Rather they would say, "moun
yo", "tout moun ki la", "nan nou tout la", "nou tout ki la" depending on
what is being said and who is saying it. As for "éditeur" and
"chercheur" the reality provides nothing.  Using them with the phonetic
deformation that we know of rather than finding corresponding terms is
an absence of creativity. I find such abuses on numerous Articles
published in Ayitian and they make the language more and more dependent.
I find the commoners more creative than the linguists or writers. They
are a more reliable group to keep the language healthy; after all they
are the one to bring it to the stage where it is without any linguistic
guidance from no one

There are a number of ways to form new words. 

1.- First and foremost: the extensive use of the realities living by the
people. Actions they undertake are what give lieu to genuine words. 

2.- The use of etymology (which apparently some linguists pretend to
reject)

3.- The heavy borrowing only at the beginning, but less when the
language is fully blown, as it is the case of Ayitian

4.- Simply by making up words and giving them meaning while still keep
in sight the reality.

5.-The use of a mosaic approach in using different components of other
languages or different words while taking into account their roots to
give them meaning reflecting the Ayitian realities.

To consolidate these efforts, the Ayitian lexicon would be updated as
new words would be formed and changed meaning as time goes by.

What linguists or those who write in Ayitian fail to realize that the
people segregate the use of the language into 1) "Kreyòl rèk" (raw
Ayitian spoken mainly by the illiterate masses. 2) "Kreyòl fransize"
(the French like spoken Ayitian with the constant use of French words
pronounced as are in French and are used only by educated ones). 3)
"Kreyòl Ayisien" The linguists or writers make extensive use of the
second one in their work to develop the language with the difference in
pronunciation and spelling to make it sound like the former. This
synergy is hard to absorb by both categories.

According to this observation, we find three distinct groups making more
or less different use of the language. The first two reject the
linguists' form of using the language as they feel it degrading.
Although they are resigned to use it every now and then to excuse
themselves for their growing inability to speak French. The first one
has no choice to speak it as the linguists prescribe because that's all
they know, but they resent it as they strive to get an education and
learn how to speak French. 

The second one rejects it totally, because it sounds ugly to pronounce
the words as if they were speaking the "Kreyòl rèk". They enjoy very
much the French flavor in their way of speaking even though they don't
master French well. On the field the linguists are all alone. As they
failed to check with the reality, they are facing fierce oppositions in
promoting the language among different categories of the population.
Forcing the government to regulate their way of doing things will cause
more damages to the language than help it moving forward. They just need
to revise their unscientific ways of doing it by completely taking
reclusion in their laboratory and ignoring the Ayitian reality.


Ayiti has lived, lives and will live
Mozeb