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Language Perception And Usage In Haiti: The Impact On Education And Literacy, Olivia Dunn

Antonian Scholars Honors Program

Although the majority of Haitians are monolingual in Haitian Creole, French has remained the dominant language on the island. Historically, French also has been the privileged language in education, which does not match up with most Haitians’ linguistic reality. In this paper, I analyze education reform in Haiti by first developing a framework for understanding linguistic human rights and the relationship between language and power. This section draws upon the theories of Skutnabb-Kangas, Phillipson, and Bourdieu. I then look at how the development of creole languages impacts how they are perceived. Lastly, I examine three previous education reform projects in …