[lg policy] International Language Conference on Language Conference Policy in the Creolespeaking Caribbean

Sat Jan 29 15:58:08 UTC 2011

International Language Conference on Language Conference Policy in the
Creolespeaking Caribbean

On January 13th - 14th 2011, the International Centre for Caribbean
Language Research (ICCLR) and the Jamaican
Language Unit at the University of the West Indies, headed by
Professor Hubert Devonish, held an International
Conference on Language Policy in the Creole-speaking Caribbean in
Kingston, Jamaica.

The Conference brought together professional linguists and educators,
on one hand, and those who, because of their
role in culture, education, administration and politics, hold
responsibility for language policy, culture and education on the
other and sought to bring about a Caribbean-wide consensus on how this
region linguistic complexity should be handled
based on a draft Charter on Language Policy and Language Rights in the
Creole Speaking Caribbean and its
implementation.

The Governor-General of Jamaica, His Excellency Sir Patrick Allen,
opened the Conference.

Present at the opening ceremony were several dignitaries from Jamaica
and from various Caribbean countries, who were
welcomed by Professor Nigel Harris, Vice-Chancellor of the University
of the West Indies.

In attendance at the Conference were Her Excellency Dame Pearlette
Louisy, Governor-General of St. Lucia, His
Excellency Sir Colville Young, Governor General of Belize, Dr. Jacqui
Quinn-Leandro, Minister of Education, Sports,
Youth and Gender of Antigua, and other distinguished guests, as well
as representatives of several universities in the
Caribbean, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Dr. Marta Dijkhoff from Curaçao, who gave the keynote address
entitled: Language Policy and Language Rights,
presented a historical overview of the tireless efforts of Caribbean
linguists to get recognition for the languages of
Caribbean people over the past 50 years. She divided the Caribbean
linguists in three generations and referred to the
late Dennis Craig, the late Richard Allsop, Mervyn Alleyne, Frank
Martinus, Ian Robertson, e.a. as the first generation
Caribbean linguists. According to her, these linguists were mainly
interested in the theoretical aspects of Caribbean
languages. They were also mentors of the second generation linguists,
which included Professor Devonish, Drs.
Richardson and herself and others, who besides looking at the
languages from a theoretical perspective, were also
eager to have these languages fully recognized and used alongside the
official languages in the highest echelons of the
societies where they are spoken.

She further elaborated on the work of the Linguistic Institute of the
Netherlands Antilles by Dr. Frank Martinus, Drs. Linda
Richardson and herself. Particular mention was made of the project:
Removal of Language Barriers throughout the
Caribbean under the auspices of CDCC and the establishment of the
Caribbean Language Institute, both spearheaded
by Richardson, Frank Martinus and Dijkhoff. Regrettably, the dream of
setting up the CLI was never realized.

In her address, she also paused at the memory of the famous Haitian
linguist, Pierre Vernet who on January 12, 2010
died in the earthquake together with 100 of his students and the
majority of the linguists who worked at the Faculty of
Applied Linguistics, which he founded at the State University of
Haiti. Pierre Vernet was in large part responsible for the
recognition of Haitian Creole as a full-fledged language.

At the end of her address, Dr. Dijkhoff called on the Caribbean
linguists of the third generation to take up the torch to light
the way to the future and to find a mission and seek to fulfill it,
like the generations before did., presented a historical
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overview of the tireless efforts of Caribbean linguists to get
recognition for the languages of Caribbean people over the
past 50 years. She divided the Caribbean linguists in three
generations and referred to the late Dennis Craig, the late
Richard Allsop, Mervyn Alleyne, Frank Martinus, Ian Robertson, e.a. as
the first generation Caribbean linguists.
According to her, these linguists were mainly interested in the
theoretical aspects of Caribbean languages. They were
also mentors of the second generation linguists, which included
Professor Devonish, Drs. Richardson and herself and
others, who besides looking at the languages from a theoretical
perspective, were also eager to have these languages
fully recognized and used alongside the official languages in the
highest echelons of the societies where they are
spoken.

The panel on Developments in Language Policy and Practice in the
Creole-Speaking Caribbean over the past 50 years
included Dame Pearlette Louisy, Governor-General of St. Lucia, and Sir
Colville Young, Governor General of Belize, as
well as Professor Dr. Lawrence Carrington of the University of the
West Indies and Dr. Dijkhoff and Drs. Richardson, both
linguists and both having served as Ministers of Education and Culture
of the former Netherlands Antilles.

In her presentation, Drs. Richardson gave a comparative overview of
the language policy and language practices on both
French and Dutch St. Maarten. She also elaborated on her contribution
as a linguist/educator to the decade long
language of instruction debates throughout the Netherlands Antilles
and highlighted several measures she took as
Minister of Education and Culture of the Netherlands, such as: the
introduction of Papiamentu in Kindergarten and the
first two years of elementary education in Curaçao and Bonaire; the
implementation of English as language of instruction
throughout elementary and secondary education in Saba in an attempt to
reduce the high rate of retention and drop-outs
and the signing of a protocol with the then Executive Council of St.
Maarten to establish a committee to look into
possibilities of introducing bilingual education on St. Maarten.

The main focus of the Conference was the review of the draft Charter
on Language Policy and Language Rights in
Creole Speaking Caribbean, the implementation of which was discussed
in several working groups dealing with the
violation of linguistic rights and human rights in several sectors of
Caribbean communities, such as the education system,
public administration, law, and the work place. The status of
endangered languages in the Caribbean was also a point of
discussion.

At the end of the Conference, the final draft of the Charter was
presented to the general public, to the media and to other
invited guests and stakeholders. The charter will be forwarded to
several international organizations, including CARICOM
and UNESCO. In the meantime, the Conference attendees are requested to
inform the Government and people of their
countries of the Charter on Language Policy and Language Rights and
the establishment of a Regional Language
Council. Professor Hubert Devonish hopes to visit several countries to
assist in the dissemination of information on the
Charter.

Drs. Richardson commends the St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce and
Industry for recognizing the importance of St.
Maarten participation in this International Conference and for making
it possible for her to participate in the deliberations
at the conference.

Drs. Linda A. Richardson January 2011

http://www.pearlfmradio.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=7109

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