Preserving Culture in a Global Setting

After returning from a very wonderful Quebecois film, which focused on teen angst and the mysteries of parent/ child dynamics, my ELI is very prevalent in my mind. The ties between Creole and foreign films in nasally French may seem far fetched. However, there are similarities beyond the nasalliness within the Quebecois accent and Creole dialects. The importance of this is the preservation of culture and awareness and appreciation of other cultures. For a person living in semi-rural Idaho, culture is prevalent, but the ability to truly appreciate a new, unknown culture is limited by what the University and a few small organizations bring together.  My ELI on Creole is more than learning about an interesting language, but learning about something that I will most likely have few natural occurrences of within my life. I am learning about a culture and language that I have little connection with and little claim to. I am learning how to learn about a culture and language without structure and someone else leaning over my shoulder.

My trip to Guadeloupe this past fall was an incredible experience, and one that I would probably only forget with quite a touch of dementia. While in Guadeloupe, I felt immersed in the culture and I felt a consistent, positive dynamic within the people. Culture is a driving force to diversity in the world and is an intricate, entity.

Beyond the preservation and acknowledgement of a culture, I want to learn basic Creole to expand my language repertoire. I think that it is an interesting language in the way it is spoken and sounds, and I am also interested in the origins of the Creole language. It astounds me that one language, albeit with different dialects, could emerge from separate geographical locations. I am fascinated that throughout several islands and what is now Louisiana, French slaves, generally of a West African origin, were able to create an intricate language that combines native dialects with French, and even a little English and Spanish. It surprises me even more that the language that continues to exist in an internet savvy world and that several cultures emerged from the origin of the Creole language.

I’m excited to communicate with a girl I met in Guadeloupe and my dad’s Haitian grad student to peer into the intricacies of the unknown. Learning verbs and conjugations is tedious, but the lively syntax of Creole makes it enjoyable. I plan that this ELI will fulfill my love of learning language and culture along with giving me another skill to add to my spy repertoire (assuming that an English-Creole translator spy is needed). Hopefully, I will be able to branch out to people who maintain a native Creole culture and language knowledge as well as gain an insight into Creole language and culture, and maybe even integrate some of that culture into semi-rural Moscow, Idaho.

~Celine