Sounding Creole
Subtitle: The Politics of Cape Verdean Language, Music, and Diaspora
Contributors: Shelemay, Kay Kaufman; Caton, Steven C.; DeGraff, Michel
Published: 2012
Language: eng
Description: This dissertation investigates the interrelationship of language and music in the complex cultural domain of Cape Verde and the Cape Verdean diaspora in West Africa, Europe, and North America. I illustrate how derogatory tropes of degeneracy, inferiority, and impurity applied to Creole languages and cultures (Creole exceptionalism) have prevented language parity between Portuguese, Cape Verde&rsquo;s official colonial language, and Cape Verdean Creole (CVC), the vernacular of the country&rsquo;s entire population. These tropes and their sociological implications are, ultimately, detrimental to efforts toward development in the country. I show that music, a safe and welcoming space for CVC, plays an integral role in preserving and promoting the language.
Notes: Keywords: Cape Verde, Creole, diaspora, language, music, Portuguese.

Thesis Ph.D. Harvard University 2012