Haitian Creole

Haitian Creole is a type of Creole language spoken by about 13 million people, mostly Haitians and the Haitian diaspora. Most of its vocabulary is derived from French. This language is called Kreyòl Ayisien by those who speak it.

 Origins 
The language started in Haiti by contact between the white colonizers, who spoke French, and the black people they enslaved, who spoke African languages. The African influences in Haitian Creole can be noticed in the sound, syntax, and vocabulary.Lefebvre (1985).

A recent research project of the Leiden-based Research School CNWS on the topic concerns the relation between Gbe and Surinamese creole languages: A trans-Atlantic Sprachbund? The structural relationship between the Gbe-languages of West Africa and the Surinamese creole languages.

In Haiti, the upper classes have often disrespected Haitian Creole even though they speak it, but the language has recently started to become more accepted. There are more books in Haitian Creole, and it was finally acknowledged in Haiti's constitution in 1987.

 References 

Category:Languages of the Caribbean
Category:Haitian culture
Category:Pidgins and creoles