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Bachelor Thesis from the year 1982 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: A, University of the West Indies, course: Caribbean Studies Project (UC300), language: English, abstract: This paper presents an analysis of the French Creole language situation in Dominica from a largely sociolinguistic standpoint. It is hoped that it will become a valuable addition to the limited data on Caribbean Creoles and Dominican French-Creole, in particular. There exists in Dominica a rather complex linguistic situation consisting of a continuum of English-based creoles and a French-based creole all of which exist alongside the official language, Standard English.
While the English-based creoles remain the language of the masses, the French Creole is considered to be the cultural language of Dominica. Data for this paper was obtained, to a limited extent, from research; there being very little documented information on the French Creole spoken in Dominica. For the most part, information was obtained from personal interaction with creole speakers, personal experience and to a lesser extent, from interviews with Government officials involved in the movement to preserve and promote the French Creole. Valuable information was also obtained from elderly relatives and family friends in the form of riddles, proverbs, anecdotes and much of the material which makes up the glossary.
This paper will show that the French Creole has survived periods of criticism and obscurity. However, it has now gained a fair degree of acceptance and is steadily increasing in prominence.
About the author
Joyette Fabien is a former secondary school teacher and social services administrator, but remains a teacher at heart. She is author of two short story collections , 'Motherless Children and Other Stories' and 'Four Strong Women' published both as paperbacks and as E-books. She is a featured author at Hubpages.com and Selfgrowth.com. and has published a number of articles on LinkedIn. She is also editor of the poems and short story collections of her daughters, Jenel and Jamesa Fabien. These include: 'Lighter Days and Brighter Moments' by Jenel J Fabien and Jamesa J Fabien, 'From "What! No Cheese?" to What Might Have Been' by Jenel J Fabien, 'Life ,Love and Laughter' by Jamesa J Fabien and 'Memories, Magic and Marshmallows by Jamesa J Fabien' . Apart from the fact that she enjoys writing, Joyette uses writing as a means of sharing her knowledge and experience with others as well as a medium for social commentary. Grin offers the perfect opportunity to share her research papers and academic theses with others working in like areas.
