In honour of on December 10th and to celebrate the day in 1948 when the United Nations adopted the , is offering an online workshop at the University of 91直播 on "Decolonising the Linguistics Curriculum."
The workshop will start with a talk titled: 鈥淟anguage as the invisible 鈥榗anary in the mine鈥 in the minefield of human-rights violations."
10th December 2020
Link to join:
Schedule of the day:
3:30-:4:30 Talk by Prof DeGraff: 'Language as the invisible "canary in the mine" in the minefield of human-rights violations'
4:30-4:50 Questions regarding the talk
4:50-5:00 Comfort Break
5:00-6:00 Workshop discussion: Decolonising the Language and Linguistics Curriculum
Abstract:
My case study is my native country, Haiti, where Francophonie and francophilia are linguistic 鈥渂luest eyes鈥 (in Toni Morrison's sense) as they are weaponized for "茅lite closure" (cf. Carol Myers-Scotton) and for (cf. Yves Dejean). In contradistinction, Haiti's national language (Krey貌l) is the one language that can serve as the linguistic foundation for the democratization of education and development. Yet, most state and academic institutions and NGOs in Haiti, including world-famous institutions whose stated mission is to promote human rights, linguistic diversity, etc., routinely devalue Krey貌l in favor of French, and they thus exclude the participation of most Haitians鈥攚ho are typically fluent in Krey貌l only. Through such linguistic (mis-)practices, these institutions participate in upholding We find such brutally exclusionary practices even at the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Justice, even in organizations that proudly boast 鈥渉uman rights鈥, 鈥渒nowledge鈥, 鈥渓iberty鈥 and so on in their titles or mission statements. These organizations will be celebrating "Human Rights Day" on December 10 even as they violate human rights every day of the year. Often times, these organizations are, paradoxically, engaged in producing Krey貌l materials for literacy and human-rights campaigns, for primary education, etc. We'll look at as one spectacular case of such ambivalence vis-脿-vis Krey貌l: since the late 1940s, UNESCO has been producing groundbreaking scientific research and educational materials based on the importance of and for human rights and development; yet UNESCO's leadership in Haiti, more often than not, excludes Krey貌l in its formal proceedings which are typically, with some relatively rare exceptions, conducted and published in French only. One recent exchange in the "Amis de l'UNESCO" WhatsApp group illustrates the depth of these anti-Krey貌l attitudes: when one inquires about Krey貌l translation鈥攁longside the French, English and Spanish simultaneous interpretation being offered at a forthcoming conference by the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie ("AUF") in the context of Caribbean studies鈥攖his inquiry is considered, by UNESCO personnel in Haiti, as "diffamation against AUF." Yet there are more Krey貌l speakers in the Caribbean than French speakers; besides, Haiti, where Krey貌l is the single national language, is the 3rd largest Caribbean country. Taken together, linguistic choices, practices and attitudes in most national and international institutions in Haiti have, for the past two centuries, brutally devalued the capital of Krey貌l on Haiti's linguistic market (in Pierre Bourdieu's sense), making Krey貌l, in effect, much less attractive than French as a medium and subject matter for teaching and learning. In a related vein, linguists themselves, from Saint-Quentin in the 19th century to Bickerton and McWhorter in the 21st century, have often mis-represented the history and structures of Creole languages as a class, even mis-classifying them as the world's "simplest" (read: "most primitive") languages. This is what I've called It is within this complex and ambiguous hegemonic context (social, geopolitical, academic and scientific) that the engages linguists, educators, policy makers, artists, civil society, etc., in a to open up access to knowledge (and power) for all Haitians through the systematic use of This Initiative is a model for opening up access to quality education worldwide, especially where non-colonial languages are, by and large, still excluded in schools and other formal venues.