The U.S. Virgin Islands is predominantly an English speaking island; however the most popular language spoken over the past 400 years has been a Virgin Islands Creole English, as well as Dutch Creole. The U.S. Virgin Islands became an English speaking country in 1917 when the island was formerly the Danish West Indies. Over the years Virgin Islanders have communicated with each other with a dialect some Virgin Islanders call “broken English”, although some scholars call it Creole English. Virgin Islanders have also made up many expressions of wisdom and truth handed them down from earlier generations and are still being used today.
The term creole was formed by enslaved Africans whom were unable to communicate with each other and their owners because they were from West Africa and accustomed to different languages. The enslaved Africans created a language with different grammatical structure. They made it creole and it was passed on to the generations as their native tongue. St. Thomas and St. John are the two Danish colonies had a good amount of the European population of mainly Dutch origin. (CITE) When the British occupied the Danish West Indies from 1801 to 1802 and 1807 to 1815 English became the preferred language. Then, was when Virgin Islands Creole became established. Unlike the European island of St. Croix which was mostly English. (CITE) Irish and Scottish origin led African slaves to develop an English based creole as well. By the 19th century the English creole completely replaced the language of Negerhollands and English Creole became the native dialect of St. John and St. Thomas among the Enslaved. (CITE) Whom were brought to work on plantations on the islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, and Jost Van Dyke. Where the...
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...ill used today which means you will learn sooner or later from your constant mistakes. There are also many proverbs related with culture such as “stone a watah no know when sun hot” which means the ones who are sheltered is unaware of relaity. Another proverb is also “every day numba less” which means a observation and far away the brave music of a distant drum. There are also proverbs still used today in the virgin islands such as “monkey know which tree to climb”, “dutty water can put out fire” and “what yoh does do in the dark must come to light” Many proverbs over the years have still stayed in the virgin and has still be continuously thriving. Virgin Islanders have a significant uniqueness about their dialect as well as their proverbs they have manufactured and created over the years has been and is still continuing to be a big factor in Virgin Islands culture.
As a long-term resident and self- proclaimed “avid tourist of the island”, Mooney has had the opportunity to observe the regional dialects first-hand. This exposure reinforces the credibility of her ethos.
...e, Geneviève, and Armin Schwegler. Creoles, Contact, and Language Change: Linguistics and Social Implications. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Pub., 2004. Print.
Haiti as a rich history, filled with many peoples’ blood and countless hopes of freedom. With such a rich history, the country has yet to become financially stable because of their past. From the beginning of the French settlement where slaves were brought over from Africa to harvest crops, to the dictatorship of the Duvalier family. Haiti has yet to see a time when they are not in need of help. After the racial caste systems were set in place, many people would not see a truly independent country. When France finally gave independence to Haiti, they did it for a price. After they paid that price, the US occupied them because of their location and many resources. Every year in Haiti’s history as a nation and before has effects on the world today. These effects are not hidden in fine print, but blatantly found within Haiti and those who have been involved with Haiti.
Once Enlightenment philosophies created new views on individual’s natural rights and their place in society, resistance to oppressive government was inevitable. The core beliefs of freedom and equality above all served as a catalyst for the revolutions in America, France, and Haiti. Because of these shared ideals each revolution is interconnected with the revolution before it. However, the waves of this revolutionary movement that swept through the Atlantic World became increasingly radical with each new country it entered. By looking at the citizen involvement and causes of the American, French, and Haitian revolutions, the growing radicality of these insurrections can be better understood.
The Virginian Colony was founded in 1607 as the first permanent English colony. The founders name was John Smith. This colony was in the Southern region. Trade and profits were the reason this colony was founded. Many of our countries morals today come from the founding of the Virginia colony.
Cuba is the largest single island of the West Indies archipelago and one of the more influential states of the Caribbean region. After discovery by Christopher Columbus on October 27, 1492, the Spanish conquistador Diego Velazquez de Cuellar established a permanent settlement with 300 Spaniards in the town of Baracoa on the northeastern coast of Cuba in 1511. Spain relies heavily on Cuba as their main source of pure sugar. This earned Cuba the nickname Pearl of the Antilles for its vast beautiful region during the 18th century. The country has an unusual geographical and cultural unity that has given the Cuban people a strong sense of identity and a pride in their heritage.
The impact that the geography, history and economic situation in the country has had on the sociolinguistics of the country is of great importance, and as such it is unavoidable to include the history of Haiti, Haitian people, as well as Haitian Creole in this essay. Here it will be attempted to describe the implications that the history, political turmoil and economical situation have had on the use and status of Haitian Creole today.
The two cultures that I identify myself with Haitian culture and American culture. The American culture is more dominant and I identify myself most with this culture. Although I was born in Haiti and Haitian culture was once my dominant culture, it is now my co-culture. Nonetheless, a combination of these two cultures would be Haitian-American culture.
Louisiana French has been spoken in Louisiana for over two centuries. Louisiana French consists of Cajun French and Creole French. These terms are used synonymously, but they are actually very different languages and cultures. Cajun French originated from Acadian French spoken by immigrants from France’s Canadian territories. Cajun speakers were white. Speakers of Creole French were almost exclusively African slaves and their descendants (Carlisle, 2010). This paper will focus on the Creole French language of Louisiana. As of now, it’s in a state of attrition. The language is only spoken by seven percent of Louisiana’s population. Most speakers are 60 years of age and older. It’s rare to find a fluent speaker under that age because Creole is
According to (Donnelly, 1997, para. 1), “Bahamian Dialect appears to be a dialect of English, it is actually more a creole – though it has decreolized over the years.” It is true that Bahamian English has decreolized somewhat. However, Bahamians still use their dialect on a regular basis to communicate and express themselves. There are major Lingual differences between the Bahamian and American cultures. “Bahamians use the Creole based Bahamian English language. This is the main language exercised by more than 300,000 people” (Olsen, 2008, p. 67).
When the country Haiti is said, one does not think of a nice, relaxing, vacation destination. Thoughts like ‘poverty’ and ‘earthquake’ pop into mind. Haiti has been struggling its whole existance trying to overcome poverty, crime, and natural disasters. Throughout all of this, Haiti’s people and culture has remained as exciting and energetic as it naturally is. From the mountains to the coastal lowlands, Haiti’s culture and struggles make it the interesting tropical island it is today.
My decision to do parts of my web page in Russian and English represents the value that I place on bilingualism and multilingual cultures. Before studying other languages, I had admired such cultures because I felt that their knowledge and understanding of the world was much broader then my own because they could to communicate with more diverse groups of people. These values concerning the importance of language are shared by the Puerto Rican historian José Luis González. In his essay "Puerto Rico: The four Storeyed [sic] Country," he discusses the effects of US colonial rule on Puerto Rican culture. In discussing the relationship between language and cultural hegemony he claims that: "We Puerto Ricans have to learn English, not as the route to cultural suicide whereby we become dissolved into the turbulent mainstream of American life, assimilated to that ‘brutal and unruly North that so despises us,’ to quote José Martí, but so that we may with greater ease and profit integrate ourselves into that rich Caribbean world to which we belong by historical necessity" (30). In these concluding remarks González challenges the traditional nationalist notions of the use of language in the study Puerto Rico, in order to show the value in bilingualism.
As the Hispanic Caribbean has evolved it has managed to grow and thrive beyond belief, whether one is discussing art, music or just the culture alone the Hispanic Caribbean is truly reaping the benefits of allowing themselves to be influenced by many other cultures. While the Hispanic Caribbean is thriving they are still facing the many new found struggles that come along with the territory of becoming more affluent as well as more accepting to other cultures and their beliefs. Often with the growth of large proportions comes many problems, problems also can come about when incorporating of different cultures as a whole as well as just bringing in their beliefs and mannerisms. None the less it can be argued that the struggles being faced in
Caribbean music is formed based on the tradition of Calypso, Soca, Zouk, and Reggae. They own a diversity style music since being bordered by the islands of Jamaica, Haiti and Trinidad. Morden community has fight for their independence and some islands won their or being a part of invading country only. Specially is the freedom of Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica with their self-sufficient and others now belong to the United States. These things had happening at the sametime that broke the Caribbean culture apart and created a diversity history.
Leith, D. and Seargeant, P. (2012), 'A Colonial Language' in Seargeant, P. and Swann, J. (ed.) History, Diversity, Change (U214, English in the World), Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp. 101-149.