Caribbean and African Languages social history, language, literature and education

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"To speak a language means more than to use a certain morphology and

syntax, it means to support the whole weight of a culture and

civilization" (Fanon)

Under slavery, African languages were violently suppressed. Despite

this, Africans in the Caribbean preserved the grammatical core of

their African mother tongues, while using the vocabularies of their

European slave masters. The Creole languages of the Caribbean were

born from this great creative feat of resistance.

This book starts with a brief description of the grammatical structure

of African (Niger-Congo) languages. It then examines the social and

linguistic history of the languages of the Caribbean, identifying

their debt to the languages of Africa.

This debt is also examined in the light of Creole theory up to 2014.

The oral literatures of the Caribbean Creoles and their relationship

to their audiences are considered. Their debt to the oral tradition

of West African is identified.

The final chapter looks at the implications for the teaching of

English as a second language in schools and adult education and also

considers Creoles as a medium for teaching.

This revised edition is issued in response to strong demand. The work

will be of interest to linguists, educators and policymakers and to

anyone with an interest in the history of the Caribbean.