87
Island Studies Indian Ocean-Océan Indien is honoured to host research writings on the Creole language in the region: the proceedings of the 2014 International Colloquium on Creole Language and Didactics in the Indian Ocean. In so doing, the publication is fulfilling its objective to serve as a forum for knowledge sharing and exchange on a gamut of issues pertaining to islands, those of the Indian Ocean region in particular. The present issue inaugurates two dimensions for the publication. The first relates to the nature and content of the articles. Whilst the underlying philosophy of the first issue had been to provide both academic and non-academic contributors with a platform to share the results of their research endeavours, it is hoped that this second issue will meet the exigencies of scholarly rigour expected of academic or scientific publications. The other innovation is geographic in nature, as the articles received are the contributions of authors coming from countries well beyond the shores of the islands of the south west Indian Ocean region. This approach translates the natural inclination towards inclusiveness and the esprit d’ouverture that characterises the island tradition, coupled with the philosophy that languages should know no barriers. The international recognition of creole has prompted over the years momentous efforts to continuously enhance the status of the language. All noteworthy initiatives to that end have been liberally shaped by in-depth studies, systematically conducted both from creolophone and non-creolophone parts of the world to allow the creole language to emerge and break its chains from a lingua franca status to that of an internationally recognized language with droit de cité. Research has been an ongoing process even though resources in support of efforts have been dwindling over the years. There is a felt need to pay tribute to all those institutions and individuals, linguists and other professionals, teachers, researchers, and language lovers who for years have shown palpable commitment to the study and promotion of Creole. The colloquium organized by Lenstiti Kreol and the University of Seychelles has been an opportunity to group a handful of them in October last, and devoting this issue of IS to the papers presented there can be construed as a token of appreciation of these efforts to promote the study of the language. Pursuant to the theme of last year’s conference, papers published here mostly relate to either Creolistics or to the place of Creole language in education. Starting the discussion, Adone (the keynote speaker at the 2014 conference) provides us with some very interesting insights into the acquisition of Creole languages as first languages, by focusing particularly on Seychellois and Mauritian Creole. Gabel then takes over with a discussion of serial verb constructions in Kreol Seselwa. In relation to the same language, Brück proposes a discussion of bimodal reference marking to wrap up the ‘creolistic’ part. Editor's note Choppy then opens up the part on Creole language and education by proposing a reflection on the importance of cultural education for the building of national identity and also to ensure sustainability. To that end, she case studies the Seychelles education system. Deutschmann and Zelime then take a look at the same field, by considering the attitudes that learners harbour vis-à-vis languages (in particular Seselwa) and the rapport with academic performance in specific language subjects. The two subsequent papers focus on Mauritian Kreol. Harmon first proposes a discussion of the epistemology of that language by looking at the way it has been perceived and constructed through academic and popular discourses in both the colonial and postcolonial era. Florigny then carries on with the presentation of research findings relating to whether the learning of Kreol at school impacts on performance in other languages. After Seychelles and Mauritius, Georger and Lebon-Eyquem take us through an exploration of the situation of Creole language in the educational system of Reunion by respectively proposing a rethinking of the didactics of Kréol Réyoné and an evaluation of the validity of interlingual translation as a pedagogical process. On a concluding note to this second issue of Island Studies, we propose to our readers a presentation of one organization that has, for almost four decades now, militated in support of the recognition of indigenous languages in Mauritius, in particular Mauritian Kreol. To that end, Ah-Vee will share the experience of Ledikasyon pu Travayer in diverse endeavours that have led, over to the years, to the increasing recognition that Kreol enjoys nowadays in Mauritius. Besides putting on record our appreciation to the different people who have contributed to this journal by submitting an article, we would also like to extend our gratitude to the eleven members (from seven different countries) of the international scientific committee who have conscientiously ensured that the double ‘blind’ peer review process is effected in a serious but positive manner. On the more practical side, we acknowledge also the tedious and complex task of following up with contributors and reviewers that was methodically handled by Dr Pascal Nadal. Now, we need to look at the future. To sustain the momentum gathered following the organisation of the colloquium, partnering with Indian Ocean-based institutions will definitely enhance the capacity for research and knowledge sharing. In this regard, encouragement is here expressed to institutions as UNESCO, IOC, IORA, Indian Ocean universities and associations dedicated to creole studies worldwide for an effective networking initiative amongst lovers of the Creole language. Dr Kris M. Valaydon 6 - Some new Insights into the Acquisition of Creole Languages 1 12 - The Quacking Duck: Serial Verb Constructions in Kreol Seselwa 20 - Bimodal reference marking in Kreol Seselwa 28 - Lenportans annan en sistenm ledikasyon kiltirel pour lidantite nasyonal, e donk pour soutenabilite 36 - An exploratory study of language attitudes and examination performance among primary and secondary school pupils in the Seychelles 46 - Epistemology of languages – The socially constructed disputed knowledge about Mauritian Kreol: A socio-historical perspective 56 - Représentations et impact réel de l’introduction du Créole mauricien dans le cursus primaire sur l’apprentissage des autres langues 68 - La didactique du créole: d’une didactique cloisonnée de la discipline à une didactique globale du répertoire de l’apprenant 74 - Une pratique enseignante fréquemment observée dans les classes réunionnaises, la traduction interlinguale : efficacité et impact sur les élèves 82 - Enn apersi lor travay ek aksyon Ledikasyon pu Travayer anfaver itlizasyon, devlopman ek rekonesans ofisyel langaz Kreol Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 3 Contents

Editor's note · to the same language, Brück proposes a discussion of bimodal reference marking to wrap up the ‘creolistic’ part. Editor's note Choppy then opens up the part

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Page 1: Editor's note · to the same language, Brück proposes a discussion of bimodal reference marking to wrap up the ‘creolistic’ part. Editor's note Choppy then opens up the part

Island Studies Indian Ocean-Océan Indien is honoured to host research writings on the Creole language in the region: the proceedings of the 2014 International Colloquium on Creole Language and Didactics in the Indian Ocean. In so doing, the publication is fulfi lling its objective to serve as a forum for knowledge sharing and exchange on a gamut of issues pertaining to islands, those of the Indian Ocean region in particular.

The present issue inaugurates two dimensions for the publication. The fi rst relates to the nature and content of the articles. Whilst the underlying philosophy of the fi rst issue had been to provide both academic and non-academic contributors with a platform to share the results of their research endeavours, it is hoped that this second issue will meet the exigencies of scholarly rigour expected of academic or scientifi c publications. The other innovation is geographic in nature, as the articles received are the contributions of authors coming from countries well beyond the shores of the islands of the south west Indian Ocean region. This approach translates the natural inclination towards inclusiveness and the esprit d’ouverture that characterises the island tradition, coupled with the philosophy that languages should know no barriers.

The international recognition of creole has prompted over the years momentous efforts to continuously enhance the status of the language. All noteworthy initiatives to that end have been liberally shaped by in-depth studies, systematically conducted both from creolophone and non-creolophone parts of the world to allow the creole language to emerge and break its chains from a lingua franca status to that of an internationally recognized language with droit de cité. Research has been an ongoing process even though resources in support of efforts have been dwindling over the years.

There is a felt need to pay tribute to all those institutions and individuals, linguists and other professionals, teachers, researchers, and language lovers who for years have shown palpable commitment to the study and promotion of Creole. The colloquium organized by Lenstiti Kreol and the University of Seychelles has been an opportunity to group a handful of them in October last, and devoting this issue of IS to the papers presented there can be construed as a token of appreciation of these efforts to promote the study of the language.

Pursuant to the theme of last year’s conference, papers published here mostly relate to either Creolistics or to the place of Creole language in education. Starting the discussion, Adone (the keynote speaker at the 2014 conference) provides us with some very interesting insights into the acquisition of Creole languages as fi rst languages, by focusing particularly on Seychellois and Mauritian Creole. Gabel then takes over with a discussion of serial verb constructions in Kreol Seselwa. In relation to the same language, Brück proposes a discussion of bimodal reference marking to wrap up the ‘creolistic’ part.

Editor's noteChoppy then opens up the part on Creole language and education

by proposing a refl ection on the importance of cultural education for the building of national identity and also to ensure sustainability. To that end, she case studies the Seychelles education system. Deutschmann and Zelime then take a look at the same fi eld, by considering the attitudes that learners harbour vis-à-vis languages (in particular Seselwa) and the rapport with academic performance in specifi c language subjects.

The two subsequent papers focus on Mauritian Kreol. Harmon fi rst proposes a discussion of the epistemology of that language by looking at the way it has been perceived and constructed through academic and popular discourses in both the colonial and postcolonial era. Florigny then carries on with the presentation of research fi ndings relating to whether the learning of Kreol at school impacts on performance in other languages.

After Seychelles and Mauritius, Georger and Lebon-Eyquem take us through an exploration of the situation of Creole language in the educational system of Reunion by respectively proposing a rethinking of the didactics of Kréol Réyoné and an evaluation of the validity of interlingual translation as a pedagogical process.

On a concluding note to this second issue of Island Studies, we propose to our readers a presentation of one organization that has, for almost four decades now, militated in support of the recognition of indigenous languages in Mauritius, in particular Mauritian Kreol. To that end, Ah-Vee will share the experience of Ledikasyon pu Travayer in diverse endeavours that have led, over to the years, to the increasing recognition that Kreol enjoys nowadays in Mauritius.

Besides putting on record our appreciation to the different people who have contributed to this journal by submitting an article, we would also like to extend our gratitude to the eleven members (from seven different countries) of the international scientifi c committee who have conscientiously ensured that the double ‘blind’ peer review process is effected in a serious but positive manner.

On the more practical side, we acknowledge also the tedious and complex task of following up with contributors and reviewers that was methodically handled by Dr Pascal Nadal.

Now, we need to look at the future. To sustain the momentum gathered following the organisation of the colloquium, partnering with Indian Ocean-based institutions will defi nitely enhance the capacity for research and knowledge sharing. In this regard, encouragement is here expressed to institutions as UNESCO, IOC, IORA, Indian Ocean universities and associations dedicated to creole studies worldwide for an effective networking initiative amongst lovers of the Creole language.

Dr Kris M. Valaydon

6 - Some new Insights into the Acquisition of Creole Languages1 12 - The Quacking Duck: Serial Verb Constructions in Kreol Seselwa20 - Bimodal reference marking in Kreol Seselwa28 - Lenportans annan en sistenm ledikasyon kiltirel pour lidantite nasyonal, e donk

pour soutenabilite36 - An exploratory study of language attitudes and examination performance among

primary and secondary school pupils in the Seychelles46 - Epistemology of languages – The socially constructed disputed knowledge about

Mauritian Kreol: A socio-historical perspective

56 - Représentations et impact réel de l’introduction du Créole mauricien dans le cursus primaire sur l’apprentissage des autres langues

68 - La didactique du créole: d’une didactique cloisonnée de la discipline à une didactique globale du répertoire de l’apprenant

74 - Une pratique enseignante fréquemment observée dans les classes réunionnaises, la traduction interlinguale : effi cacité et impact sur les élèves

82 - Enn apersi lor travay ek aksyon Ledikasyon pu Travayer anfaver itlizasyon, devlopman ek rekonesans ofi syel langaz Kreol

Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 3

Contents

Page 2: Editor's note · to the same language, Brück proposes a discussion of bimodal reference marking to wrap up the ‘creolistic’ part. Editor's note Choppy then opens up the part

This is the second issue of Island Studies, the bi-annual publication of the University of Seychelles. Our focus this time is on various aspects of the remarkable mix of languages and cultures in the western Indian Ocean.

As well as from Seychelles, we welcome contributions from Germany, Sweden and the neighbouring islands of Mauritius and La Réunion. These ‘neighbours’ are, in fact, far

apart, separated by long stretches of the ocean south of the equator. But the islands all share a number of features in common: they were previously French or British colonies, they all experienced the iniquities of slavery, and they have all at different times attracted other settlers (mainly from India and China, as well as Europe).

Seychelles, Mauritius and La Réunion have followed separate political paths in the modern period but the commonality of their shared histories and cultures remains strong. This collection of papers is not only a recognition of what it is shared and what is different; it is also an exploration of what it all means in the present world. In particular, how did Creole languages and cultures (because there is by no means a single version) evolve, and how are they used and viewed today? Why is there such a degree of ambivalence in the way that Creole is regarded, on one hand in Seychelles, and on the other, in Mauritius and La Réunion? Is it something that should be quietly forgotten as a legacy of a painful chapter in history, or is there cause to celebrate the spirit that has kept it alive?

The more one delves into this kind of question the more one discovers how little is known. Each question itself seems to raise more. Nothing is what it seems. History becomes a part of the present, academic inquiry cannot be separated from the realities of politics. This is why the reader is invited to join the debate which the various contributors fi rst opened in July 2014, at a colloquium organised jointly by the University of Seychelles and the International Creole Institute. It is hoped that this unique collection of papers will serve to keep the debate alive, to encourage continuing exploration.

So that the momentum is not lost, the university has recently formed the Education & Culture Research Institute. Part of its brief is to develop Creole studies and research. The Project Director is Dr Jemma Simeon ([email protected]). You are warmly invited to get in touch and to be part of what we hope will be an evolving network with this common interest.

Professor Dennis Hardy

Vice-Chancellor

University of Seychelles

Foreword

Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 20154

DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATION: Dr Kris Valaydon

EDITORS: Dr Pascal Nadal Dr Kris Valaydon

INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE:Dr Evelyne Adelin, Université de la RéunionDr Mooznah Auleear-Owadally, University of MauritiusDr Juliette Facthum-Sainton, Université des Antilles et

de la GuyaneMr Nicholas Natchoo, Mauritius Institute of EducationDr Johan Nordlander, Umeå UniversityMr Shameem Oozeerally, Mauritius Institute of

EducationMr Kaviraj Sharma Peedoly, Mauritius Institute of

EducationDr Jemma Simeon, University of SeychellesProf. Michael Samuel, University of KwaZulu-NatalProf. David Stephens, University of BrightonProf. Rada Tirvassen, University of Pretoria

PROOFREADING & TRANSLATION:Dr Pascal Nadal

ADMINISTRATION: Michel Denousse

FINANCE: Paul Kangethe

PHOTOGRAPHS:University of Seychelles/ Lenstiti Kreol Sesel

PROMOTION & ADVERT:Guy Morel

PROJECT ASSISTANT: Diana Benoit

COVER DESIGN Serge Mondon

PRODUCTION CONSULTANT:SelvanadenNaidoo

The views and opinions represented in this publication are not necessarily those of the institutions to which the authors are affl iated, and should not be attributed to Island Studies / Indian Ocean-Océan Indien.

This issue is published by the University of Seychelles

in partnership with Lenstiti Kreol Sesel

Website: www.islandstudies.net

ISSN: 1694-2582

DESIGN & PAGE LAYOUT Graphic Press Ltd

PRINTED BY

A publication of the University of Seychelles

Page 3: Editor's note · to the same language, Brück proposes a discussion of bimodal reference marking to wrap up the ‘creolistic’ part. Editor's note Choppy then opens up the part

Ser Kreolis, ser lekter,Pour Lenstiti Kreol, sa kolok enternasyonal ki ti fer le 1-2 Oktob 2014 i reprezant en pa pozitiv dan devlopman ek valorizasyon nou lalang maternel. Premyerman, sa kolok i fri en kolaborasyon ant Lenstiti Kreol ek Liniversite Sesel, ki ti sinyen ant le de Sef Egzekitif le 30 Septanm, 2014, lavey kolok li menm. Nou’n fer li koumsa akoz nou krwar ki nou devret montre toudswit, nou langazman pour annan en relasyon aktif e konkret dan nou demars pour kree en foronm entelektyel otour Kreol koman en lalang ek en kiltir dan Losean Endyen. Si nou, koman sa de lenstitisyon akademik ki annan manda ek posibilite pour enfl iyans fason ki dimoun i vwar e servi nou lalang maternel, nou pa fer li, lekel ki pou fer li ?

Lefet ki nou pe ankor en fwa met nou langazman dan piblikasyon sa lakt kolok dan piblikasyon Liniversite, ‘Island Studies’ i konkretiz nou determinasyon pour atenn keksoz ki tanzib. Sa kolok li menm in annan son lefe dan lefet ki sa ki ti partisipe e sa ki’n ekoute atraver medya, in nobou ganny serten lenformasyon ki’n benefi sye zot dan en fason ou en lot. Serten in nobou adres kek mank ki ti annan dan zot resers petet, ou ankor mye, serten in ganny lide lo ki mannyer pour enplimant politik lengwistik dan zot pei oubyen lorganizasyon baze lo bann fe ki bann serser in partaze dan kolok. Me pour rann sa kolok ankor pli itil, i neseser dokimant e pibliy tou lenformasyon ki’n sorti ladan afen ki bann pratiker lansennyman Kreol, bann ki fer resers e bann ki senpleman bezwen referans i ava ganny akse avek en dokiman konkret, e sa dokiman i ava reste koman en dokiman referans byen lontan apre ki kolok in pase. Sa i rezon pli enportan pour pibliy en lakt kolok.

Se dan sa loptik ki mon oule remersye tou bann dimoun ki’n travay dir pour asir piblikasyon sa lakt, depi bann ki’n fer konpilasyon bann prezantasyon, sa ki’n verifye bann teks, sa ki’n fer mizanpaz e sa ki’n asire ki bann prosedir fi nansman i ganny fer. Mon swete ki sa dokiman i ava enn ki a fer tou sa ki’n enplike ladan fyer, sirtou bann ki zot lartik in ganny pibliye.

Ankor en fwa, mersi tou bann akter prensipal dan sa travay e bon apresyasyon tou bann lekter.

Penda Choppy

Mesaz Sef Egzektif Lenstiti Kreol

Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 5

UniSey

Perspectives de recherche en langues dans l’Océan Indien

UniSey

Prospective research endeavours in languages in the Indian Ocean

In a bid to preserve the dynamism for research in languages in the region, we would like to invite people wishing to embark upon joint research pursuits in languages (and related fi elds, like literature and didactics) to get in touch with resource persons from the University of Seychelles on the following email addresses: [email protected] and/or [email protected] and/or [email protected]. UniSey is presently engaged in a number of joint research projects in languages, like the ‘AUF’-sponsored projects titled ‘Cultures familiales et scolaires, regards croisés d’enfants et d’adolescents’ and ‘Curriculum, contextualisation plurilingue et formation des enseignants’, with the University of Reunion and the University of Antananarivo respectively. Also, collaborative research endeavours with the wider world are either already underway, like the Palme Linneaus project with the University of Umea (Sweden), or are currently in the pipeline, e.g. with the University of Cologne and the University of Pretoria. In partnership with the Seychelles Creole Institute, UniSey looks forward to sharing its resources with the larger community of regional researchers and also to partner with them in their own research pursuits.

Dans le but de maintenir une dynamique pour la recherche en langues dans la région, nous invitons les personnes désireuses de se lancer dans des activités de recherche collaboratives en langues (et dans des domaines connexes, comme la littérature et la didactique) à se mettre en contact avec des personnes ressources de l’Université des Seychelles sur les adresses de courriel suivantes : [email protected] et/ou [email protected] et/ou [email protected]’Université des Seychelles est présentement engagée dans un certain nombre de projets de recherche en langues, comme par exemple, deux projets fi nancés par l’AUF : « Cultures familiales et scolaires, regards croisés d’enfants et d’adolescents », avec l’Université de la Réunion, et « Curriculum, contextualisation plurilingue et formation des enseignants », avec l’Université d’Antananarivo. Egalement, des efforts de recherche en collaboration avec le reste du monde sont soit déjà en cours, comme le projet Palme Linneaus avec l’Université d’Umeå (Suède), ou sont actuellement en discussion, par exemple, avec l’Université de Cologne et l’Université de Pretoria. En partenariat avec l’Institut Créole des Seychelles, l’Unisey se fera un plaisir de partager ses ressources avec la communauté de chercheurs de la région et aussi à collaborer avec eux dans la conduite de leurs propres activités de recherche.

Page 4: Editor's note · to the same language, Brück proposes a discussion of bimodal reference marking to wrap up the ‘creolistic’ part. Editor's note Choppy then opens up the part

Some new Insights into the Acquisition of Creole Languages1

1. First Language Acquisition Research

Research, in the fi eld of Psycholinguistics, focuses on various processes such as language production, comprehension, processing or acquisition. In this paper we will deal with Language Acquisition, especially First Language Acquisition (henceforth FLA). Although the term ‘Language Acquisition’ can be used to cover both fi rst and second languages, a distinction between First and Second Language Acquisition (henceforth SLA) is necessary for both empirical and theoretical reasons. For instance, these two processes (FLA) and (SLA) differ fundamentally in

terms of their timing and outcome. Children ‘start from scratch’, so to say, they have no other language prior to the acquisition of their L1. Second language learners in contrast already have their L1 in place. While FLA is guaranteed to be ‘successful’, i.e. the child acquires the target grammar of his/her language and becomes a native speaker, SLA is not guaranteed to be ‘successful’, i.e., the second language learner can learn the target grammar, but failure to do so cannot be completely dismissed. In other words, while the child develops ‘native competence’, we cannot say the same of all second language learners. In this paper we will use the term ‘acquisition’ only to address the process of learning a fi rst language, in contrast, to the term ‘learning’ which applies only in the context of SLA. There are many reasons to this distinction between acquisition and learning, all of which become very obvious when consulting the studies involved in these two fi elds. For the unfamiliarized reader, I recommend the reading of Lust and Foley (2004), Lust (2006), Meisel (2011).

How children acquire languages has been and is still one of the main concerns in the fi eld of FLA. There are two well-established facts in the fi eld: children usually acquire the language they are exposed to, in a more or less similar way, e.g. without much effort, and as compared to second language learners, they have most of their L1 structures in place between three or four years of age. Thus, any proposed theory of FLA has to account for both this uniformity and rapidity in children’s linguistic development witnessed cross-linguistically.

A major challenge for all the theories of FLA is the mismatch between the primary linguistic input and the system actually attained, namely the ability of a native speaker to produce an infi nite number of sentences

including those not heard before and the ability to give grammatical judgments on the language. This mismatch is also known in the generative literature as the ‘Logical Problem of Language Acquisition’. One plausible explanation for this mismatch has been proposed by Chomsky who posits that the course of acquisition is determined by an innate language faculty within the brain that provides children with a genetically transmitted algorithm for developing grammar on the basis of input/experience.

Evidence for this biological predisposition mentioned above which is also referred to as the ‘Innateness Hypothesis’ (henceforth IH) in the literature comes from studies in unrelated areas of research. The formation of Creole languages (that is, the fi rst generation of Creole speakers) has been taken to be a case in point for children, who lack normal linguistic input, and as a result, rely entirely on their innate system to create language (cf. Bickerton 1984 and subsequent work, Senghas 1995). A close look in another area of Linguistics, e.g. the acquisition of sign languages supports this view. This seems to be case when Deaf children of hearing parents are exposed to sign language. Investigating Deaf children of late American Sign Language (ASL) learning parents, Newport (1999) shows that these children are capable of surpassing the linguistic abilities of their parents and are able to construct a more complex grammatical system by making more precise, regular and internally consistent grammatical distinctions. Newport argues that this case is highly interesting because it teases apart the infl uence of biologically programmed behaviour from the infl uence of pre-existing languages, given that there is no input in the environment. Further evidence for the

Keywords: First Language, Acquisition, Innateness, Creole, Input

Prof Dany Adone (University of Cologne, Charles Darwin University, Lenstiti Kreol – Seychelles)Email: [email protected]

Abstract

In this paper I will address the question of how Creole languages are acquired as fi rst languages (henceforth L1). I will focus on the acquisition of Seselwa as a L1 and discuss briefl y some implications of the fi ndings on the acquisition of Seselwa for the area of education. Before I do so, the reader will be introduced to the fi eld of First Language Acquisition (henceforth FLA), which belongs to one of the domains of enquiry in Psycholinguistics. Here we take the generative approach to FLA. The methods chosen for this study will also be briefl y presented followed by an analysis of the data. In the discussion I concentrate on two points: fi rst, the fi ndings on Creole acquisition are related to FLA research, and second, I briefl y discuss the importance of these fi ndings for Education.

6 Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015

CREOLISTICS

Page 5: Editor's note · to the same language, Brück proposes a discussion of bimodal reference marking to wrap up the ‘creolistic’ part. Editor's note Choppy then opens up the part

‘Innateness Hypothesis’ comes from the study by Kegl, Senghas and Coppola (1999) on the emergence of Nicaraguan Sign Language. An even more compelling case in support of the IH is seen in the studies concerned with children home signers who are not exposed to ‘sign language’ and consequently develop a ‘home-grown’ linguistic system (see Goldin-Meadow 2011, Adone 2005).

2. State of the Art

2.1 Overview

We have witnessed within the fi eld of FLA an increasing body of studies including those studies, on the acquisition of non-European languages. While most of the research has been carried out on the acquisition of English and European languages, there are more studies on non-European languages such as Sesotho (e.g. Demuth 1984) Japanese (e.g. see Sugisaki & Otsu 2011), Inuit (e.g. Allen 1996), and Tamil (e.g. Ud Deen 2011) among others. We note however that studies on the acquisition of Creole Languages as L1 are still rare. In spite of the paucity of studies on Creole Acquisition, I would like to mention a few existing studies that have been conducted so far. These studies are based on the acquisition of Morisyen, Seselwa, two French-based Creoles and Roper River Kriol, an English-based Creole in the Northern Territory of Australia. De Lisser (forthcoming) has looked at the acquisition of Jamaican Creole. While all of Adone’s studies (1994, 1997, Adone and Vainikka (1999), Adone (2001, 2006, 2012, and 2014) are based on cross-sectional data, De Lisser’s study on Jamaican Creole is based on longitudinal data. While the cross-sectional data gives a snapshot of the possible stages of grammar development, the longitudinal data of De Lisser allows us to zoom in on the development of grammar. Additionally, Adone has collected naturalistic data to complement the cross-sectional data. For the purpose of this paper I will focus on the acquisition of two aspects of grammar, namely null subjects and serial verb constructions which prove challenging for the Creole-acquiring child.

2.2 Null subjects in First Language Acquisition

Null subject is the term used for sentences without lexical subjects. From a typological perspective, we fi nd languages with null subjects such as e.g. Italian, and Spanish, languages without null subjects, such as English, French, and German. Languages with null subjects usually have verbal morphology that encodes grammatical information such as person, number, case etc. thus making a lexical superfl uous. But there are also languages such as Mandarin Chinese, and some Creole languages that do not have verbal morphology and yet allow null subjects.

In the fi eld of FLA, studies have revealed that children pass through a stage in which they produce ‘subjectless’ sentences, regardless of the type of languages they are exposed to. As an example, children acquiring English, a typically non-null subject language, initially go through a null subject stage – that is these children produce sentences with missing subjects, similar to children growing up in a null subject language environment. A closer look shows that initially, these null subject sentences are typically non-fi nite (no AUX or verb infl ection for Tense) (Hyams 1986, 1989, 2011, Guilfoyle 1994, Weissenborn 1992, Wexler 2011). This observation is well attested cross-linguistically, thus making this phenomenon of missing subjects a robust phenomenon in Early Child Grammar. Several hypotheses have been put forward to account for the early existence of missing subjects in these grammars ranging from the Pro-drop Hypothesis, Topic-drop Hypothesis, Root subject drop and Truncation Hypothesis to the Information structure Hypothesis (for an overview see Hyams 2011).

2.3 Serial Verb Constructions in First Language Acquisition

Serial verb construction (henceforth SVC) is the term used for complex predicates with at least two verbs involved. Aikhenvald (2006) has shown that there is a considerable amount of cross-linguistic variation as to the core properties of serial verbs. However,

among all the properties there seems to be a set of core properties such as two or even three verbs functioning as a single predicate without coordination, subordination, or syntactic dependency. Although the study of serial verb constructions has attracted a lot of attention in typological studies, it has hardly been the object of study in FLA. One reason for this lack of interest is because most FLA studies focus on European languages, which as we know, do not have SVC. One exception is the discussion of SVC as part of recursion found in Roeper (2007). Following Adone (2014) I use the term ‘verb chain’ here to refer to the initial production of V+V patterns found in the FLA data other than the Creole data. It is worth mentioning here that some scholars, native speakers of American English (henceforth AmE) consider AmE to have a limited set of serial verbs with verbs such as come and go etc. Despite the noted lack of attention on the acquisition of SVC, the V+V pattern has been reported by Bowermann (1982), Bickerton (1995), Roeper (2009) and Radford (personal communication) with verbs like fall, drop, go, come and bring as seen in the following sentences:

(1) Mommy push me fall(N1 V1 N2 V2)One child from Bowerman (1982)

(2) Go open door.(V1 V2 N2)(Seth 23 months, Bickerton 1995)

(3) I did go in the kitchen throw it, dad.

(N1 AUX V1 PP V2 N2) (Bickerton 1995)

3. Methodology

3.1 Subjects

For the null subjects, I used and reinterpreted the fi ndings published in my doctoral thesis in 1994. At that time I had gathered data from 20 children in several age groups between 1;9-3;8 and the data was spontaneous.

For the Seselwa data I chose 40 monolingual children, all native speakers of Seselwa. They were divided into four age

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groups between 4;0-6;0. Here I have included both spontaneous and elicited data.

For the serial verb constructions study I selected the spontaneous speech of Morisyen-acquiring children in conversations. The subjects were the same children as mentioned above. In the Seychelles I used the data published in my (2012) study based on the 80 children and collected new data in 2014 with a series of experiments that will be explained later. There were 40 Seselwa-acquiring children involved in the 2014 experiment, all monolinguals. They were all from Au Cap pre-primary school. They came from a wide variety of economic background and were without any known mental or language impairment.

3.2 Material

For the null subject experiment in Seselwa, a production task was used. Children were asked to tell the experimenter the Frog Story based on a picture book. As for the serial verb construction experiment conducted in 2014, another production task was used. 16 video clips of daily actions were presented to the child one after the other. The contexts were all typical contexts in which a serial verb construction is required. In order to keep children motivated, someone dressed as Batman performed the activities each time. Here are two example sentences that illustrate the actions of Batman:

(4) Batman pran mop netway lakaz (Batman took the mop and cleaned the house)

(5) Batman ale vini/monte desan peron (Batman went up and down the stairs)

3.3 Procedure

In the Frog Story task, children looked at the pictures and described the pictures. In the serial verb construction experiment children were asked to watch the video clips carefully and after each video they were asked by the experimenter to tell her what they had seen on the videos. The task took around 25 minutes to be administered.

4. Data

4.1 Null subjects in Adult Seselwa

In both Morisyen and Seselwa we fi nd null subjects. Providing a detailed analysis of these null subjects in the adult grammars would go beyond the scope of this paper, thus the author refers the reader to Syea (1985), who has worked extensively on null subjects in Morisyen. Null subjects in Seselwa behave similarly to those found in Morisyen. In Morisyen as well as in Seselwa2 we fi nd both lexical subjects and null subjects:

(6) ou ti pe galope3 /taye ale (Morisyen/Seselwa) (you were running away)

(7) e ti pe galope/taye ale (Morisyen/Seselwa)

According to Syea, TMA markers are required to license the null subjects as we see in the sentences (8-9). Please note the e represents an empty category that is the equivalent of a null subject in these sentences. All examples are mine:

(8) e ti pe desan victoria komela (XY was going to Victoria this morning)

(9) e ti/pe/pu ekout so vwazen fer kankan (XY was/is/will listen(ing) to his/her neighbor kick a stink)

4.2 Serial Verbs in Adult Seselwa

In Seselwa we fi nd many serial verb constructions of various types. The reader is kindly referred to Gabel (see this volume). For a long time the issue of SVC in Morisyen and Seselwa has been hotly debated and much doubt was even casted on the existence of serial verb constructions (Bickerton 1989; 1990, Corne 1977, Michaelis 1994). Recent work reveals Seselwa has a range of serial verb constructions, some of which are lexicalized (see Adone and Choppy 2015):

(10) li pe monte desan peron (S/he is going up and down the stairs)

(11) ou pu assize manze bwar. (You will sit, eat and drink= party)

As a native speaker of Morisyen it is usually not diffi cult to converse with Seselwa native speakers given that these two Creole languages are sister languages. However to be on the safe side, I asked 10 adults between 20-50 years of age for their judgments in order to improve the translations of the sentences I originally designed. Creole speakers usually prefer either a tense, aspect or modality marker accompanying the verb. As the present tense is zero-marked, I modifi ed these sentences by adding a tense marker ti.

(12) Batman ti pe monte desan peron (Batman was going up and down the stairs)

(13) Batman ti pran pom met dan bol (Batman took the apple and put it in the

bowl)

4.2 Child Data

4.2.1 Null SubjectsIn this section we will take a close look at these two areas

of grammar. First, we will turn to the null subjects. Please note that sentences (14-17) are taken from an early study on null subjects (Adone 1994). The following sentences are from Adone’s study on Seselwa in 2014. Morisyen children around (1;9) produced null subjects in their grammars without TMA markers:

(14) e peny atet‘I comb my hair’ (LAU 1;9)(15) e met sa laba‘you put this over there’ (MEL 1;10)

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Around (2;4) we fi nd 1) 70-90% lexical subjects, 2) various T/M/A markers 3) null subjects and INFL elements:

(16) e in teny‘she has switched it off’ (LUD 2;4)(17) e in ale‘Guy is gone’ (RAC 2;4)Around (3;0) an increase of null subjects with 60-80% of null

subjects licensed by TMA markers:(18) lot zur la e ti grif mwa‘the other day the cat scratched me’ (CAT 3;7)(19) get e pe rule‘look! It is rolling’ (PAS 3;1)

At this point I would like to present a brief re-interpretation of the Morisyen data against the background of recent progress made in the fi eld of FLA. Stage one in Morisyen is defi nitely to be interpreted as a stage with missing subjects. The data shows that there are other missing/optional elements such as objects, modals, nonfi nite verbs, no infl ection), thus confi rming the cross-linguistically well attested stage of optionality. This stage is followed by a second stage in which we fi nd a quantitative difference, i.e. a drop in missing subjects, an observation which was previously diffi cult to explain given that Morisyen is a null subject language. A close look at the data reveals two changes: a drop in missing subjects and the appearance of the fi rst TMA markers, especially the Aspect marker, ‘fi n’. These two changes, we believe, can be accounted for, only if we assume that children at this stage entertain both the non-null subject and null subject options. Children seem to be ‘undecided’ whether their L1 is a null subject or non-null subject language. This situation remains the same until there is suffi cient evidence to favour one option over the other, as proposed by Valian (1991) for other data. While searching for some other possible explanations, I decided to count the frequency of null subjects in the adult sample. This revealed that 50-70% of the time adults used null subjects, thus showing variability that does not help these children. I believe this is a plausible reason for the children’s slow move from (+lexical subjects) to (-lexical subjects). As both options are available in adult grammar, the input can be regarded as variable and ambiguous input, which makes it hard for children to settle on one option. Given that children are usually known for being conservative in their behavior in acquisition, I would say that here they go with what seems to be the safest choice, that is lexical subjects until they master that null subjects are licensed by TMA markers. This is confi rmed by the development in the third stage in which we fi nd an increase of null subjects, an increase in sentences with TMA markers and null subjects, modals, and the fi rst combination of TA/TM markers.

Thus, the point I want to make here is that Creole-acquiring children are often exposed to ‘variable’ and ‘ambiguous’ input. As a result, this impacts their choice, which leads to a U-shape development in the data. At this stage, we might ask ourselves why Creole-acquiring children have this problem while Italian children don't. The answer is very straightforward, namely in Italian the cues are clearer. Morphological agreement encoded in the verb in Italian

indicates clearly the conditions for null subjects.

4.2.2 Serial Verb Constructions

As already stated earlier, spontaneous data on serial verb constructions was gathered in Morisyen. Here are a few examples4 :

In the experiment data on serial verbs with Batman conducted in (2014) we fi nd the following picture:

Diagram 1: Distribution of Null subjects with TMA and modals in Early Morisyen Grammar

In the spontaneous Seselwa data collected in year 2000, we fi nd the following sentences5:

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Diagram 2: Verb+Verb constructions, and alternative competing constructions

It becomes obvious that children produce verb chains (following the V+V pattern) in many of the daily activities that Batman performed, e.g. such as mopping the house, or going up and down the stairs etc. In the initial stages of development of Seselwa grammar the verb+verb constructions were regarded as verb chains because they are similar to the ones produced by children acquiring languages that do not have serial verb constructions. However children involved in the Batman experiment are from 4 years of age and all master the complex structures of their L1 such as e.g. WH-questions, relative clauses, passives. What this current study highlights is that children combine verbs in a V+V pattern to express some of the actions taking place. In contrast to the previous study (Adone 2012) children had not been primed, and thus they freely chose the verbs to combine to express the action. From diagram 2 it becomes clear that pu-constructions as well as the epi/prezan/apre constructions compete with verb chains. The older the children, the more alternative constructions to V+V are used. The graph shows that children around 5;6 years of age increase the alternative constructions which follows the French (et) puis / a présent /après.

5. DiscussionThe fi ndings on missing subjects in Morisyen and Seselwa

confi rm what has already been observed in other studies, namely that missing subjects are part of Early Child Grammar. These missing subjects are typically found in non-fi nite sentences (i.e. with no auxiliary or any verb infl ection for tense). But the development in stage 2 with the drop in missing subjects from 60% to 30%-40%, the increase of lexical subjects and the fi rst appearance of T/M/A markers, reveals that some signifi cant changes are taking place in the grammar. These three observations seem to correlate. We can assume that children have left what I call the ‘universal missing subject stage’, only when they start using null subjects with TMA markers. It is only then that they do produce the target-like null subjects. This fi nding confi rms that children need some time to work out the adult pattern of null subjects, especially when the input is variable and ambiguous. More recently, I studied 40 Seselwa children between (4;0-6;5). These children are comparable to the Morisyen children in stage 3. Over 90% of the null subjects they produce were accompanied by a T/M/A

marker, thus showing very clearly that these children have acquired the correct null subjects found in the adult grammar. Here we expect children to encounter some diffi culties since the move from a (+null subject) language to two (-null subject) languages, English and French. With respect to input, we expect it to be more variable given the close relationship between Morisyen and French nowadays. Two studies on ‘bilingual acquisition in Mauritius, might be of interest to the inquisitive reader (Adone 2006, Florigny 2010).

A look at serial verb constructions is also very similar to the observations made in the area of null subjects. All children produce verb chains and target-like serial verb constructions. This means that children are capable of producing V+V patterns that even expand to V+V+V, a possible option in the Seselwa grammar. In fact, this behavior of the Seselwa children with respect to the creation of V+V chains supports the common view that children overgeneralize patterns in language acquisition. A worrying development to take note of here, is that children nowadays use the alternative constructions with ‘epi, apre, prezan’ etc. more as compared to the ones recorded in early 2000. Gabel (this volume) has also noticed that serial verb constructions are not always accepted by the ‘younger’ Seselwa speakers of the student generation in a grammaticality judgment task.

In both areas (null subject and serial verb constructions) we witness teachers correcting children. In the case of null subjects, children are corrected, and thus discouraged to use the (+null subject) option, which is correct in Seselwa. In the case of verb chains or serial verb constructions, teachers often insist that children insert a temporal conjunction such as ‘epi’ or ‘apre’. Null subjects and many other aspects of Creole grammars are often regarded and misunderstood as ‘bad language’ by the native speaker educators and teachers. Before I go any further, I would like to mention two points here. First, I would like to insist that I am not blaming teachers for this situation. Second, I am merely pointing at some unfortunate situation and am suggesting some steps about how to possibly improve this situation. Although discussing this complex situation here would go beyond the scope of this paper, I would still like to mention a few factors that contribute to this unfortunate situation. These are, for instance, incomplete knowledge of the L1 grammar (which is normally learned and consolidated during schooling years), lack of linguistic training for teachers, and little awareness on culture/language, especially when it comes to systematic comparison of grammatical differences between English/French as opposed to Seselwa. Seselwa scholars have repeatedly pointed at these factors in the past.

This problem can be partly overcome by providing regular linguistic workshops and including cultural/linguistic training in the teacher training courses. These linguistic courses, if well designed, will defi nitely help boost up the educators’ and teachers’ awareness and self-confi dence required for teaching L1 and L2 languages.

6. Conclusion

In this paper we have looked at the development of two complex areas of grammar. It has become obvious that Creole-acquiring children behave very much like other children acquiring their L1. However there is an issue with the variable or ambiguous input. This is refl ected in the data. With respect to educators

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and teachers, they can contribute to the process by getting the appropriate linguistic training required which would allow them to better guide children at school. To end on a positive note, it is worth mentioning two institutions ‘The National Heritage’ and ‘Lenstiti Kreol’ that provide a wealth of Indigenous cultural/linguistic knowledge that can be included in cross/trans-cultural and linguistic training for educators and teachers.

RésuméCette communication traite de la question de l’acquisition des langues créoles en tant que langues premières (désormais L1). Je me pencherai sur l’acquisition du Créole Seychellois (Kreol Seselwa) comme langue première et je discuterai brièvement de certaines implications que ces résultats sur l’acquisition du Seselwa peuvent avoir pour le domaine de l’éducation. Mais avant cela, je proposerai une introduction au processus d’acquisition des langues premières, qui découle de l’un des domaines d’enquête de la psycholinguistique. Nous adopterons ici une approche générative à l’acquisition des langues premières. Les méthodes utilisées pour la présente étude seront également brièvement discutées et s’ensuivra une analyse des données. Pour la discussion, je me concentre sur deux points : premièrement, les résultats se rapportant à l’acquisition du créole sont liés à la recherche en acquisition des langues premières, et deuxièmement, je discute brièvement de l’importance de ces résultats pour le domaine de l’éducation.

• Adone, D. (1994). The Acquisition of Mauritian Creole. Amster-dam: Benjamins.• Adone, D. (1996). The Acquisition of Ngukurr Kriol as First Lan-guage. Report for AIATSIS. Canberra.• Adone, D. & Vainikka, A. (1999). Acquisition of Wh-Questions in Mauritian Creole. In M, De Graff (Ed.), Language Creation, and Change: Creolization, Diachrony and Development (pp. 75-94). Cambridge: MIT Press.• Adone, D. (2001). A Cognitive Theory of Creole Genesis. Düs-seldorf: Heinrich-Heine Universität.• Adone, D. (2005). Acquisition without a Language Model: The Case of Mauritian Home Sign. BUCLD 29, pp.12-23. • Adone, D. (2006). “Interference in Bilingual Grammar: Evidence from Morisyen and French bilingual speakers”. Paper presented at the LSA/SPCL conference in Albuquerque.• Adone, D. (2012). The acquisition of creole languages: how chil-dren surpass their input. New York: Cambridge University Press.• Adone, D. (2014). “On Acquiring Creole Languages as First lan-guages”. Keynote paper given at the Formal Approaches to Creole Studies (FACS 4), 6-7 November 2014. CNRS. Paris. • Adone, D. and Choppy, M.T. (2015). “Kot nu vire turne no vwar li”. Unpublished manuscript. Mahe, Seychelles. • Aikhenvald, A. Y.( 2006). Serial Verb Constructions in Typologi-cal Perspective. In A. Aikhenvald & R.M.W. Dixon (Eds.). Serial Verb Constructions – A Cross-linguistic Typology (pp. 1-68). Ox-ford: OUP. • Allen, S. (1996). Aspects of Argument Structure Acquisition in Inuktitut. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.• Bickerton, D. (1984). The language bioprogram hypothesis. The Behavioral and Brain Sciences 7(2), 173-221.• Bickerton, D. (1989). Seselwa Serialization and its Signifi cance. JPCL 4(2), pp. 155-185.• Bickerton, D. (1995). Language and human behavior. Seattle: UOW.• Bowermann, M. (1982). Reorganizational processes in lexical and syntactic development. In E. Warner & L.R. Gleitman (Eds.), Language Acquisition: the State of the Art (pp. 319-346). Cam-bridge: CUP.• Corne, C. (1977). Seychelles Creole Grammar – Elements for Indian Ocean Proto-Creole Reconstruction. Tübingen: TBL-Verlag Narr.• De Lisser, T.N. forthcoming. The Acquisition of Jamaican Cre-ole: The Emergence and Transformation of Early Syntactic Sys-tems. (Doctoral thesis).• Demuth, K. (1984). Aspects of Sesotho Language Acquisition. Bloomington: Indiana University Linguistics Club.• Florigny, G. (2010). Acquisition du kreol mauricien et du fran-çais et construction du discours à travers l’analyse de productions orales d’enfants plurilingues mauriciens : la référence aux entités. (Doctoral thesis).• Guilfoyle, E. (1984). The Acquisition of Tense and the Emer-gence of Lexical Subjects in Child Grammars of English. McGill Working Papers in Linguistics. 2(1), pp. 20-30.• Goldin-Meadow, S. (2003). The Resilience of Language. What Gesture Creation in Deaf Children Can Tell us about how all Chil-dren Learn Language. New York: Psychology Press.• Hyams, N. (1986). Language acquisition and the theory of pa-rameters. Dordrecht: Reidel.• Hyams, N. (1989). The Null Subject Parameter in Language Ac-quisition. In K. Safi r & O. Jaeggli. (Eds.). The Null Subject Param-eter (pp. 215-238). Dordrecht: Reidel. • Hyams, N. (2011). Missing subjects in Early Child Grammar. In J. de Villiers & T. Roeper (Eds.). Handbook of Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition (pp. 13-52). Dordrecht: Springer. • Kegl, J., Senghas, A., & Coppola, M. (1999). Creation through Contact: Sign Language Emergence and Sign Language Change in Nicaragua. In M. DeGraff (Ed.). Language creation and language change: Creolization, diachrony, and development (pp. 179-238). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.• Lust, B. C. & Foley, C. (2004). First language acquisition: the es-sential readings. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishing.

• Lust, B. C. (2006). Child language: acquisition and growth. Cam-bridge: CUP.• Meisel, J. (2011). First and Second Language Acquisition: Par-allels and Differences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.• Michaelis, S. (1994). Komplexe Syntax im Seychellen-Kreol. Verknüpfung von Sachverhaltsdarstellungen zwischen Mündli-chkeit und Schriftlichkeit. Tübingen: Narr.• Newport, E. L. (1999). Reduced Input in the Acquisition of Signed Languages: Contributions to the study of Creolization”. In M. DeGraff (Ed.). Language creation and language change: Cre-olization, diachrony, and development (pp. 161-178). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. • Roeper, T. (2007). The prism of grammar: how child language illuminates humanism. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT.• Roeper, T. (2009). The Minimalist Microscope. How and where Interface Principles guide Acquisition. BUCLD 33:1, pp. 24-48.• Senghas, A. (1995). “Children’s Contribution to the birth of Nica-raguan Sign Language.” MIT Working papers in Linguistics.• Sugisaki, K. & Otsu, Y. (2011). Universal Grammar and the Ac-quisition of Japanese Syntax. In J. de Villiers & T. Roeper (Eds.). Handbook of Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition (pp. 291-317). Dordrecht: Springer. • Syea, A. (1985). Aspects of empty categories in Mauritian Cre-ole. (Doctoral thesis). The British Library. UK.• Ud Deen, K. (2011). The Acquisition of the Passive. In J. de Vil-liers & T. Roeper (Eds.). Handbook of Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition (pp. 157-187). Dordrecht: Springer. • Valian, V. (1991). Syntactic subjects in the early speech of Amer-ican and Italian children. Cognition 40, pp. 21-81.• Weissenborn, J. (1992). Null subjects in early grammars: Im-plications for parameter setting theories. In J. Weissenborn, H. Goodluck & T. Roeper (Eds.) Theoretical Issues in Language Acqui-sition (pp. 269-299). Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum. • Wexler, K. (2011). Grammatical Computation in the Optional Infi nitive Stage. In J. de Villiers & T. Roeper (Eds.). Handbook of Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition (pp. 53-118). Dordrecht: Springer.

References

End Notes

1I would like to thank Penda Choppy, Pascal Sylvain Nadal, Marie Therese Choppy, Astrid Gabel, Melanie Brück, and Kathrin Klein for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper. I take full responsibility for the current content. I am very grateful to Patricia Cabredo-Hofher and the audience at the Paris workshop 6th November 2014 for their comments and remarks on my keynote speech on the Acquisition of Creole Languages.

2 Marie Therese Choppy, p.c.

3‘Galope/galupe’ is Morisyen while ‚taye’ is Seselwa

4The following two examples are taken from Adone (1994).

5These sentences are taken from Adone (2012).

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The Quacking Duck: Serial Verb Constructions in Kreol Seselwa

Keywords: serial verb constructions, types, variation, Kreol Seselwa

Astrid Gabel (University of Cologne)Email: [email protected]

Abstract

It has been discussed whether Serial Verb Constructions (SVCs) can be found in Kreol Seselwa, a creole language spoken on the Seychelles (Bickerton, 1989, 1990; Seuren, 1990; Corne, Coleman & Curnow, 1996). SVCs are constructions that contain at least two verbs expressing one event or closely connected sub-events (Muysken & Veenstra, 2006). This article will revisit the aforementioned debate and argue that SVCs do exist in Kreol Seselwa based on criteria proposed by Aikhenvald (2006a) and others. Furthermore, different types of SVCs will be presented that have been found in previous studies (Bickerton, 1989; Adone, 2012). After that, an ongoing study will be described. The methods used for this study will be presented and discussed with regards to problems that arose during the fi rst fi eldtrip. Solutions to these issues will also be suggested. In addition, preliminary fi ndings will be presented. It will be shown that the types of SVCs found in other studies can be confi rmed. Furthermore, the data gathered so far suggest that there might be a variation in the use of SVCs depending on the age of the speaker. Finally, a conclusion and an outlook on future research will be given.

1. IntroductionIn the end of the 1980s and in the

1990s, there was a debate about so called Serial Verb Constructions (SVCs) in Indian Ocean Creoles in general and in Kreol Seselwa in particular1. In 1989 Bickerton published his article “Seselwa serialization and its Signifi cance”. Before this article it was assumed that no SVCs are present in Indian Ocean Creoles. This was due to the fact that the occurrence of SVCs in creole languages was usually attributed to the infl uence of substrate languages (Muysken & Veenstra, 1994, p. 289). Since the substrate languages of Indian Ocean Creoles – mostly East African languages – do not exhibit SVCs, the Creoles could also not have these constructions (Bickerton, 1989, p.174). However, Bickerton (1989) conducting a study on the Seychelles and working closely with Mrs. Choppy Senior has shown that those can indeed be found in Kreol Seselwa. This claim was refuted by Seuren (1990), which in turn led Bickerton to the publication of the article “If It Quacks Like a Duck… A Reply to Seuren” in 1990. In this article, he claims that if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it has to be a duck. Therefore, he argues that if it looks like an SVC and behaves like an SVC, it has to be an SVC. Hence, the title of this article: “The Quacking Duck: Serial Verb Constructions in Kreol Seselwa”.

This article revisits the discussion about SVCs in Kreol Seselwa and represents the fi rst fi ndings of an ongoing study. The study is part of a project that is conducted in cooperation with the Lenstiti Kreol Enternasyonal. It aims at investigating whether SVCs exist in Kreol Seselwa and if this is indeed the case, the study also examines which types of SVCs occur and how their structures can be analyzed. The

study will also explore whether variation in the use of SVCs with regard to age, socioeconomic factors and region can be found on the Seychelles.

2. Serial Verb ConstructionsSVCs have been defi ned as “[…] a

sequence of verbs which act together as a single predicate, without any overt marker of coordination, subordination, or syntactic dependency of any other sort” (Aikhenvald, 2006a, p. 1). This means that they display a single action that can consist of sub-events or closely related actions. According to Aikhenvald (2006a), they occur mostly in creole languages, in languages of West Africa, Southeast Asia, Amazonia and Oceania. A high correlation between SVCs and isolating languages has been found. But there are also non-isolating languages that have been proven to exhibit SVCs (e.g. Olutec, cf. Zavala, 2006; Tariana, cf. Aikhenvald, 2006b)

Several criteria have been proposed to identify SVCs . Aikhenvald (2006a) lists the following properties of SVCs2:

1. As it was mentioned above, the verbs in an SVC, taken together as a single predicate, constitute a unit.

2. They appear in a single clause without coordination or subordination such as ‘and’, ‘or’, ‘because’ or ‘therefore’.

3. No intervening speech pause or intonation break can be discerned, such as those that appear in e.g. coordinated sentences.

4. The individual verbs have the same tense, mood and aspect value as well as negation. I.e. if

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one verb is negated, the other ones are understood as being negative as well.

5. As mentioned above, SVCs display one event or closely connected actions/sub-events.

6. They usually share arguments, i.e. subjects and objects.The following examples from Saramaccan and Sranan, two

creole languages spoken in Suriname, South America, meet some of the criteria mentioned above3.

1) A kúle gó (Saramaccan)3SG run go‘He ran away.’ (Muysken & Veenstra, 2006, p. 244)

In this example, one can see that there are two verbs kúle and gó that appear in the same clause without overt markers of sub- or coordination. They describe one action as can be seen from the translation ‘ran away’ and they share the same argument, i.e. the 3rd person singular subject. Furthermore, both appear with the same TMA markers, in this case none.

2) A teki a fi si seri (Sranan)S/he take the fi sh sell‘S/he sold the fi sh.’ (Sebba, 1987, p. 60)

Once again, here two verbs teki and seri appear in the same clause, constitute one event and share the subject and the TMA markers. Additionally, in this example both verbs also share the object a fi si.

There are different approaches to a typology of SVCs that can be taken. First, the focus can lie on a formal approach and second, the types can be presented with regards to their function. Concerning the formal approach, Aikhenvald (2006a, p. 21) notes that there are on the one hand asymmetric and on the other hand symmetric SVCs. Asymmetric SVCs are characterized by the occurrence of one verb from a semantically unrestricted class and one verb from a semantically restricted class. In example (2), the verb ‘take’ is from a restricted class, whereas ‘sell’ is from an open class, i.e. the latter could be substituted by e.g. ‘give (to the cat)’ or ‘throw (on the fl oor)’. Asymmetric SVCs are likely to get grammaticalized according to Aikhenvald (2006a, p. 30). This means that the verb from the restricted class loses its verbal character and becomes more functional. For example, verbs of saying in the restricted position can turn into a complementizer akin to the English ‘that’ in sentences such as ‘He thinks that’ (Aikhenvald, 2006a, p. 32; cf. also example (4) below). Symmetric SVCs, on the other hand, contain verbs which are both taken from unrestricted classes. In contrast to asymmetric SVCs, symmetric ones can be lexicalized, i.e. they are turned into idioms and the verbs can no longer be separated without losing a specifi c meaning (Aikhenvald, 2006a, p. 34).

The second approach to a typology of SVCs comes from a functional perspective. Here, the different types of SVCs are classifi ed according to the function they express. Muysken & Veenstra (2006) distinguish the following types: First, they introduce the so called Directional type. These SVCs typically involve verbs of motion and can describe a direction to or from something. Example

(1) above can be classifi ed as this type.

Furthermore, they identify Argument Introducing SVCs. In this type, different verbs can be found that license the occurrence of another argument besides the subject. For example, ‘give’ in the example below introduces a Goal or Recipient, i.e. ‘the Frenchman’.

3) A tjá sondi kó dá dí Faánsi sèmbè GOAL3SG carry thing come give DET French man‘He presented something to the Frenchman.’ (Muysken &

Veenstra, 2006, p. 246)

Another example of this type are the SVCs that contain a ‘take’ in the fi rst position which introduces a direct object as was shown in (2). SVCs involving ‘take’ can have two different interpretations. First, they can be understood as Theme-serials (Law & Veenstra, 1992), which means that the direct object of the fi rst verb is the theme of the second verb. Theme is understood here as an “entity undergoing the effect of some action” (Radford, 2004, 480), also called patient. So in the example (2), the ‘fi sh’ is the object of ‘take’ and at the same time something happens to the ‘fi sh’, i.e. it is sold. Second, they can be Instrumental-serials in which the direct object of the fi rst verb serves as an instrument with which the second action is performed. An example of this type can be found below in (14). Finally, apart from ‘take’ and ‘give’ SVCs, one can also fi nd SVCs that contain ‘say’ after verbs of saying, thinking or knowing within this Argument Introducing type. As it was mentioned above, the second verb, i.e. ‘say’ in this example, has been shown in the literature (cf. Aikhenvald 2006a, p. 32 and references therein; Heine & Kuteva 2002, p. 261f.) to develop into a complementizer. Example (4) illustrates this case.

4) Mi sábi táa á búnu1SG know say 3SG=NEG good‘I know that it is not good.’ (Muysken & Veenstra, 2006, p.

246)

Muysken & Veenstra (2006) furthermore distinguish the Aspectual type. This type usually involves a verb that marks the duration of an event such as ‘fi nish’. This can be seen in the example below, in which the action described by the fi rst verb is completed by the second verb.

5) Mi jabí dí dóo kabá1SG open DET door fi nish‘I have fi nished opening the door.’ (Muysken & Veenstra,

2006, p. 247)A further type that has been found can be described as

Degree type. In these constructions a comparison is expressed with the help of a verb such as ‘pass’ or ‘surpass’. The sentence in (6) is an example of this.

6) A bebé daán pása mi3SG drink rum pass 1SG‘He drinks more rum than me.’ (Muysken & Veenstra, 2006,

p. 247)Causatives are another type of SVCs. In these constructions,

one sub-event is caused by another event. The (sub)events are very closely connected and constitute a unit. This can be seen from

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is used in this SVC. It can also be seen that only one verb has an overt aspect marker. Nevertheless, both verbs are understood as describing an ongoing process, i.e. the aspect marker is shared by both verbs (criterion 4 above).

The fi rst type of SVCs presented above – the Directional type – has been reported by Michaelis (1994). She gives the following example.

11) I’ n taye n ale6 He ASP run ASP go‘He ran away.’ (Michaelis, 1994, p.52)

This example is similar to example (1) and it describes a motion away from something. Here, one can see an instance of repeated/overt aspect marker on both verbs. It has to be noted that Michaelis (1994) subsumes this phenomenon under the cover term asyndetic construction, i.e. a juxtaposition of same clauses without an overt marker of sub- or coordination. These have been differentiated from the phenomenon of serial verbs (e.g. Chris, Corne & Coleman, 1996). However, she notes that a scalar approach might be feasible, i.e. that the example above has developed out of the following sentence:

12)I’ n taye i’ n ale He ASP run he ASP go‘He ran away.’ (Michaelis, 1994, p. 52)

In Michaelis’s (1994) terminology, example (12) is not considered to be an SVC since according to her, no overt subject (I in this case) can appear in front of the second verb in an SVC. Example number (11) has developed out of (12) since in the former example, the second subject is no longer overt and this might be called an SVC according to Michaelis (1994).

The second type, Argument Introducing ‘give’ and ‘take’ has been observed by Adone (2012) and Bickerton (1989). This can be seen in the following examples:

13) Zan - in - tir - larzan - dan - labank - in - don - li John - ASP - take - money - in - bank - ASP - give - her‘John withdrew money from the bank for her.’ (Adone,

2012, p. 57; slightly altered by Adone, p.c.)

14) Zot pran balye koko bat Kazer They take broom coconut beat K‘They beat the Kaiser with a coconut broom.’ (Bickerton,

1989, p. 158; abbreviation in original)

Example (14) can be compared to example (2) above since this also involves the verb ‘take’. But in contrast to (2) it expresses an instrumental reading (i.e. the ‘broom’ is the instrument with which the ‘Kaiser’ is beaten). There is an ongoing scholarly discussion about the existence and status of Argument Introducing ‘say’ in Kreol Seselwa (Bickerton 1989; Seuren 1990; Gilman 1993). As it was shown above, these SVCs typically have the verb ‘say’ after verbs of speaking and knowing. In Kreol Seselwa structures like the following can be found:

15) Mon - ti - kone - pudir - I - fer - rom I - TNS - knew - ?say - he - made - rum

the example below, in which ‘the rain’ causes ‘her hair’ to become wet4.

7) Dí tjúba tá kái mbéi hen uwíi munjáDET rain ASP fall make 3SG hair wet

‘It is raining so that her hair becomes wet.’ (Muysken & Veenstra, 2006, p. 249)

Finally, there are two types of SVCs that can be classifi ed as open-ended concerning the selection of the verbs. First of all, there are so called Resultatives in which the second verb describes a result of the fi rst verb as in example (8):

8) De sikópu hen kíi3PL kick 3SG kill‘They kicked him dead.’ (Muysken & Veenstra, 2006, p. 250)

And second, SVCs with more than 2 verbs can be classifi ed as an open-ended type, termed Clausal Constructions by Muysken & Veenstra (2006). According to them “anything goes as long as it is semantically and pragmatically apt” (Muysken & Veenstra, 2006, p. 250). Usually, these are ordered according to the temporal order in which the actions appear (Aikhenvald, 2006a, p. 28). The sentence in (9) below serves as an example.

9) A kídi dí fou náki kíi limbo bói njan3SG caught DET bird hit kill clean cook eat‘He caught the bird, struck it dead, cleaned, cooked, and ate

it.’ (Muysken & Veenstra, 2006, p. 250)

In this example, it can also be clearly seen that an SVC is not necessarily composed of two verbs, but can contain more verbs, in this case six, even though this is rather the exception. Usually, SVCs with more than two verbs consist of three verbs (Adone, 2012, p. 60).

3. Serial Verb Constructions in Kreol Seselwa

Having introduced SVCs and their respective types in the preceding section, the following section will now deal with SVCs in Kreol Seselwa. According to Bickerton (1989; 1990), Choppy (2013; p.c.) and Adone (2012, p.c.), SVCs do exist in Seselwa. Two general remarks have to be made in the beginning. First of all, Bickerton (1989) points out that there is a tendency towards tensed serials in Kreol Seselwa. This means that SVCs that contain an overt tense or aspect marker on both verbs are preferred to those that only contain an overt marker on one verb. But this does not necessarily apply to all SVCs as can be seen from example (10) below. Second, as noted in the grammar written by Choppy (2013), SVCs in Kreol Seselwa include the long form of the verb rather than the short version. This can be seen from the example (10) below.

10) Gete - I - pe - monte desann - parey - en - fol5 Look - 3SG - ASP - go up - go down - like - a - mad‘Look, she is going up and down like a madwoman.’

(Choppy, 2013, p. 87)

Here, the long form monte instead of its short form mont

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‘I knew that he made rum.’ (Bickerton, 1989, p.162; question mark in original)

As one can see from the question mark in the transcription, there is a disagreement how to analyze pu or pou that is attached to dir. Two possibilities are presented in the literature. First, this can be analyzed as a form of the preposition/complementizer pour. The second possibility is to analyze this akin to the tense marker pou that indicates future tense. Seuren (1990) and Gilman (1993) opt for the fi rst analysis. Gilman (1993) traces this form back to an East African/Bantu infl uence. He (1993, p. 54) argues that in Bantu one can fi nd preverbal affi xes that together with the verb ‘say’ constitute a complementizer. Likewise, in Kreol Seselwa, the word poudir serves as a complementizer (i.e. akin to English ‘that’ in ‘I know that’) and is composed of the verb ‘to say’ and a preverbal prefi x. In contrast to that, Bickerton (1989) argues that pou is a remnant of a tense marker that has fused with the verb dir but the newly derived word is still classifi ed as a verb by Bickerton. If it indeed is still taken to be a verb, then this would qualify as an SVC since here, once again, two verbs appear without overt marker of sub- or coordination, with the same argument and with the same TMA marking (since pou is no longer understood as a future tense marker). If Seuren’s (1990) and Gilman’s (1993) analysis applies, this does not constitute an SVC since in this case a subordinator in form of the complementizer or preposition pour is present.

Another, more undisputed type that can be found in Kreol Seselwa is the Aspectual type. This can be seen in the following example:

16) Ti - garson - I - n - penn - en - bwat - in - fi ni Little - boy - 3SG - ASP - paint - a - box - ASP - fi nish‘The little boy fi nished painting the box.’ (Adone, 2012, p.

198)

Here, the verb fi ni signifi es that the fi rst action denoted by the fi rst verb has come to an end.

Furthermore, we fi nd the following sentences and structures in Kreol Seselwa:

17) Mari - in - pus - sa - tifi - fer - li - tonbe Mari - ASP - push - this - girl - CAUS - 3SG - fall“Mari has pushed this girl and made her fall.’ (Adone, 2012,

p. 199)

This is an example for so called Causative SVCs. This can also be seen by the transcription of fer ‘make’ as a causative.

Finally, open-ended SVCs such as Resultatives and Clausal Constructions/multi-verb constructions also have been observed by scholars such as Bickerton (1989) and Adone (2012). This can be illustrated with the help of examples (18) and (19). In (18), an action or state is described as a result of the fi rst one. In (19), a sequence of sub-events is described in chronological order. However, here it can be questioned, to what extent this can also be classifi ed as a ‘give’ Argument Introducing type.

18) Mari - in - avoy - so - manze - enler - in - tonb - ater Mari - ASP - throw - 3POS - food - up - ASP - fall - ground‘Mari has thrown her food on the fl oor’. (Adone, 2012, p.

199)

19) I - rase - griye - donn - nu - pu - nu - manze He - pull - grill - give - us - for - us - eat‘He pulled up [the manioc], cooked [it], and gave [it] to us to

eat.’ (Bickerton, 1989, p. 165)

As a conclusion, it can be said that all types proposed by Muysken & Veenstra (2006) have been found in Kreol Seselwa with the exception of Degree Serials. However, the status of Argument Introducing ‘say’ SVCs in Seselwa is still unclear. These fi ndings and studies have been taken as a basis for further investigations in the ongoing study described below.

4. MethodologyThe corpus of data gathered in this study is composed of

naturalistic and elicited data. There are two types of naturalistic data in the corpus, written and spoken. The written sources mainly consist of stories and books published by the Lenstiti Kreol and of newspapers that already have been collected by the author of this article. Finally, offi cial documents such as the constitution and others will also be taken into account for further analysis. Spoken naturalistic data, TV and radio broadcasts as well as spontaneous speech will be included at a later stage.

Elicited data come from three methods used in a study conducted in 2014. First of all, an interview was conducted in order to determine sociolinguistic and biographical background such as age, origin, mother tongue and other languages. The form of an interview was preferred to a questionnaire in order to be able to gather the necessary background information mentioned above on the one hand and on the other hand to be able to be fl exible in case the participant would like to talk freely about any given topic. At the end of the interview, participants were asked to name their favorite dish and to describe how it is made. This has been included since the use of SVCs has been assumed to be very likely in such descriptions. An example for the occurrence of an SVC is the following sentence: pran diris met dan kastrol7.

The second method employed was an elicitation task. For that, several fi lms were created based on actions that have been reported in the literature to be described with the help of SVCs and other actions that have been thought of as being possible SVCs. Participants of the study were asked to watch the fi lms and describe what was happening in the videos in their own words. For example, one short fi lm depicts a man who is walking up and down the stairs. This was expected to elicit the SVC Msye monte desann akin to the structure that was presented in example (10). Another fi lm is based on an SVC that has been reported in many languages and shows a man taking a knife and cutting the bread. The targeted SVC in Kreol Seselwa could have the following structure: I ip ran kouto ti koup dipen.

The third method consisted of grammaticality judgments. Participants were asked to rate sentences presented to them on a scale of 1-7 (Likert Scale task). In order to avoid problems that might arise with such a scale, e.g. missing metalinguistic awareness (Schütze & Sprouse, 2013, p. 28), it has been paraphrased. So for example, 1 on the scale stands for: “I can speak and write the sentence.”, 3 stands for “I would not use it but I have heard

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20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-80 80-90

7 2 4 2 1 0 1

others use it.” And 7 stands for “This sentence is not acceptable at all.”. The list of sentences was compiled by the researcher and consisted of two parts. The fi rst part aimed at establishing whether SVCs are present in Kreol Seselwa and at eliciting the different types reported in the literature. The second part included various tests such as different TMA markers, extraction of arguments and placement of negation markers, and is crucial to a structural analysis of the syntax of SVCs in Kreol Seselwa.

The interviews done so far lasted about an hour and were recorded on audio and video. As a video recording device an iPad mini was used. For the audio recording a Zoom H2n and two external omnidirectional lapel microphones, Audio-Technica ATR3350, were used. As Rice (2012) points out, an informed consent is vital for an ethical behavior in research. Therefore, participants of the study were asked to give the researcher the permission to record the sessions and were informed that they can retract single statements or their participation in total whenever they like and without giving reasons. Furthermore, it was assured that their names would not be published and that they would remain anonymous. Finally, participants could decide for what their data may be used, e.g. whether for the ongoing research project/Ph.D. thesis, for articles in journals or presentations at conferences.

5. Findings & DiscussionSince this article is based on an ongoing study, all fi ndings

below are preliminary results. Currently, the data are being transcribed and translated with the help of the Lenstiti Kreol Enternasyonal and linguistic students from the University of the Seychelles and they will subsequently be analyzed. Therefore, the following is based on fi rst impressions rather than on statistical analysis. In the ongoing study, 17 participants in total have already been interviewed. 15 of those are female and 2 male. All of them were born and raised on Mahé. Table 1 shows the distribution according to age.

Table 1: Age distribution of participants Study 2014

So far in this study, a clear picture concerning typology emerges based on the elicitation methods used. All of the examined types above have been found in the ongoing study with help of the grammaticality judgments. A further type that was tested for was the Degree Type that has not been reported in the literature about Kreol Seselwa. The sentence used for this test was the following:

20) Zan grandi depas MarieZan grow (sur) pass Marie‘Zan is bigger than Marie.’ (Gabel, 2014, study)

This sentence was unanimously rejected and judged 7 on the scale. Furthermore, all the participants of the International Colloquium also considered this sentence to be not acceptable at all. But a second sentence with depas that was tested was usually

accepted.21)Zan ti taye depas Marie Zan TNS run (sur)pass Marie‘Zan runs faster than Marie.’ (Gabel, 2014, study)However, this sentence should rather be classifi ed as

a Directional SVC as Muysken & Veenstra (2006, p. 247) have suggested for Saramaccan. Here, two verbs of motion (‘running’ and ‘overtaking’) appear in one clause without any overt markers of sub- or coordination and with a shared subject. Therefore, this sentence is to be classifi ed as an SVC but not as a Degree but a Directional type due to the verbs of movement.

Concerning the so-called say/poudir serials, the current study confi rms that structures with poudir can be found in Kreol Seselwa. The sentence that was mentioned in example (15) and found by Bickerton (1989) was included in the grammaticality judgments and was accepted in general. Furthermore, other sentences with poudir were also included such as the following:

22) - Zan - ti - dir - ou - poudir bis - pou - tarde Zan - TNS - say - you - ?say - bus - TNS - late‘Zan told you that the bus will be late.’ (Gabel, 2014; study)

These were also accepted as grammatical. In both examples (15) and (22), the criteria proposed by Aikhenvald (2006a) apply if poudir is analyzed as a verb. In this case, no sub- or coordination intervenes between the two verbs. Additionally, no speech pause or intonational break could be discerned when the participants read out the sentence in the current study. Also, these sentences describe closely connected actions in the sense that the second verb introduces the content of what is being referred to by the fi rst verb. Furthermore, various tests conducted in the study have shown that a different tense marker cannot appear before the word poudir which could be seen as an argument for an analysis as an SVC. However, if poudir is indeed taken to be a complementizer, an aspect or tense marker can likewise not appear to its left. Hence, more research concerning these probable serials has to be conducted in order to prove or disprove their status as SVCs in Kreol Seselwa and in order to analyze their structure.

Concerning the production of SVCs in the elicitation task, it seems that younger people do not tend produce as many SVCs as older people. However, this fi nding is based on fi rst impressions and needs verifi cation with the help of the analysis that is currently being undertaken. Furthermore, the data suggest that there is only a slight difference between older and younger people concerning comprehension, i.e. judgment task. Once again, this observation has to be statistically confi rmed.

In general, some issues with the methods could be discerned. Concerning the above mentioned grammaticality judgments, several problems came up but these could however be solved during the interviews. As it was stated above, the often mentioned problem concerning missing metalinguistic awareness was preempted thanks to the paraphrased scale. Another problem that was encountered during the interviews was the focus on writing, pronunciation or semantics rather than on the syntax/grammaticality. Because the researcher is no native speaker of Kreol Seselwa, at the beginning of the study the sentences were

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given to the participants in writing. This led some to remark on the spelling and therefore some sentences were not rated high on the scale. After spending some time in the Seychelles and after practicing, the researcher read out the sentences. However, this led to corrections in pronunciation. Finally, sometimes sentences were rejected due to the content rather than its syntactic form. All these problem could however be reduced and solved since the judgment task was embedded in a conversation. Therefore, the participants were not given a form to fi ll out but rather asked orally about the sentences. Hence, misunderstandings could easily be clarifi ed and further questions concerning the structure could be posed. For example, the sentences that originally were rejected were accepted and rated 1 on the scale after the spelling was corrected.

Some problems arose concerning the elicitation task. Since SVCs are considered to express one event or more very closely connected sub-events, the short fi lms sometimes included a too long break or duration to elicit SVCs. So for example, to elicit monte desann the man goes up the stairs, stops on the landing, waits and goes back down. Therefore, this event can rather be described by two actions since there is a pause/event break in between those two movements. Luckily, this problem was noticed before the study started and the fi lms were edited in advance. Furthermore, some participants started describing the event while watching and fi nished the sentence before the action was over. Then they realized that the action was going on and added a second sentence, usually starting with ‘and’. If this occurred, participants were asked to fi rst watch the whole video and then describe what they have seen after that. Finally, sometimes actions were described as a whole including only one verb. For example, instead of the sentence in example (23), utterances like those in (24) occurred.

23) En - myse - pran - lavyanne - met - lo - barbekyou A - man - take - meat - put - on - barbecue‘A man takes the meat and puts it on the barbecue.’ (Gabel,

2014, study)

24) En myse pe fer barbekyou A man ASP make barbecue‘A man is barbecuing.’ (Participant #009; Gabel study 2014)

Because of this, it was very important to also include grammaticality judgments in the study so that sentences could be tested even if they did not occur in the elicitation data. Furthermore, some sentences could not be depicted in videos, and therefore had to be verifi ed via a judgment task. This is especially true for Argument Introducing ‘say’ serials.

6. Conclusion and Outlook

In conclusion, this ongoing study confi rms the existence of Serial Verb Constructions in Kreol Seselwa. Structures that contain two verbs fulfi ll all criteria mentioned by Aikhenvald (2006a) and therefore should be considered SVCs. It was shown that these structures contain at least two verbs, no marker of sub- or coordination, the same TMA markers and same negation value as well as shared arguments. In addition, all types proposed

by Muysken and Veenstra (2006) have been confi rmed with the exception of Degree serials which do not seem to be present in Kreol Seselwa. Furthermore, the study has shown that there are constructions that include poudir in Kreol Seselwa. They have been assumed to be examples of the so called Argument Introducing ‘say’ SVCs (Bickerton, 1989). However, as it has been indicated above, further tests and research concerning this type are necessary in order to determine the status of these constructions. Pour has also been analyzed as a complementizer (Seuren, 1990, Gilman, 1993) which would indicate that sentences containing a verb of knowing/saying and poudir are not SVCs. Furthermore, it has to be investigated, in how far this is an instance of grammaticalization, i.e. whether the second verb undergoes transformation from a verb to a functional category – a complementizer.

This article has also shown that a variety of used methods is necessary in order to gather reliable data. As it was mentioned in chapter 5 (Findings/Discussion), all methods have their shortcomings and need to be balanced by others. In addition, the importance of communication during the gathering of data via judgment and other elicitation tasks has been stressed. This helps to prevent misunderstandings and the incorrect classifi cation of sentences on the scale due to errors in spelling, phonology or semantics. Furthermore, this also shows that fl exibility during interviews is needed in order to get the best results. Therefore, this study employed a semi-structured interview, an elicitation task and a grammaticality judgment task conducted during an interview as well as naturalistic data such as written and spoken sources.

In general, more participants are needed so that viable statements about the use and structure of SVCs can be made. Furthermore, as one can see from table 1 and from the description in section 4 (Methodology) above, more variety concerning participants is needed. This refers to gender and age as well as to regional origin. During the International Colloquium on Creolistics and Creole Language Didactics, it was suggested by the audience that Kreol Seselwa spoken on La Digue is different to that spoken on Mahé. Therefore, further trips are being planned at the moment in order to get a better picture with regard to variation.

With the help of these future data, the hypothesis that there is a correlation between age and the use of SVCs proposed in this article will be tested. Furthermore, it will be investigated whether there is a correlation between regional variation and use of SVCs. Thus, inter-island variation will be investigated as well as the question whether Kreol Seselwa on La Digue differs signifi cantly from that spoken on Mahé with regard to SVCs.

Finally, a detailed analysis of the structure of all SVCs in Kreol Seselwa will be undertaken in the future. For this, the different tests that have been conducted in 2014 will be investigated and evaluated. Furthermore, other tests will be devised in order to gather even more data on phenomena such as argument extraction during upcoming trips to the Seychelles.

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• Radford, A. (2004). Minimalist Syntax: Exploring the Structure of English. Cambridge: CUP.

• Rice, K. (2012). “Ethical Issues in Linguistic Fieldwork”. In N. Thieberger (Ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Linguistic Fieldwork. Oxford: OUP. 407-429.

• Schütze, C. & Sprouse, J. (2013). “Judgment data”. In D. Sharma & R. J. Podesva (Eds). Research Methods in Linguistics. Cambridge: CUP. 27-50.

• Sebba, M. (1987.) The Syntax of Serial Verbs. An Investigation into Serialisation in Sranan and other languages. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

• Seuren, P. A. M. (1990). “Still no Serials in Seselwa. A Reply to “Seselwa Serialization and its Signifi cance” by Derek Bickerton. In JPCL 5:2. 271-292.

• Zavala, R. (2006). “Serial Verbs in Olutec (Mixean)”. In A. Aikhenvald & R.M.W. Dixon. (Eds). Serial Verb Constructions – A Cross-linguistic Typology. Oxford: OUP. 273-300.

RésuméLa question de savoir si les constructions verbales sérielles (CVS) existent en Kreol Seselwa, langue créole parlée aux Seychelles, a déjà fait l’objet de discussions (Bickerton, 1989, 1990; Seuren, 1990; Corne, Coleman & Curnow, 1996). Ces constructions contiennent au moins deux verbes exprimant un seul événement ou des « sous-événements » étroitement liés (Muysken & Veenstra, 2006). Cette communication repassera en revue le débat précité, tout en arguant que les CVS existent bel et bien en Kreol Seselwa, en utilisant pour cela les critères proposés par Aikhenvald (2006a), parmi d’autres. En outre, différents types de CVS fi gurant dans des études antérieures (Bickerton, 1989; Adone, 2012) seront présentées, suite à quoi une étude en cours sera décrite. Les méthodes utilisées pour cette étude seront présentées et les problèmes ayant surgi au cours du premier exercice de collecte de données seront discutés. Des solutions à ces questions seront également proposées et les résultats préliminaires de l’enquête seront présentés. On démontrera que les types de CVS révélés dans d'autres études peuvent être confi rmés. En outre, les données recueillies jusqu’à présent suggèrent qu’une variation dans l’utilisation de la CVS pourrait se produire en fonction de l’âge du locuteur. Enfi n, une conclusion et une perspective sur les recherches à venir seront proposées.

End Notes1I would like to thank Mrs. Penda Choppy and the staff of the Lenstiti Kreol

Enternasyonal for making this project possible. Additionally, a thank you to the

Lenstiti Kreol and the University of the Seychelles for the organization of the

International Colloquium on Creolistics and Creole Language Didactics. Furthermore,

a special thanks to the people who have participated so far in the study and to all

the people on the Seychelles for their warm welcome, incredible openness and

friendliness. I would also like to thank my fellow Seychelles traveler Melanie Brück

for the long talks and discussions about methods and the study. Furthermore,

thanks to Joelle Perreau, Sharon Adrien, Merna Eulentin, Machella Horter, Virginie

Nibourette and Fiona Payet for all their help. Many thanks to the two anonymous

reviewers for their helpful comments, all errors remain mine. And fi nally, a big

thank you to my Ph.D. supervisor Prof. Dany Adone who got me interested in creole

languages and is a constant source of great advice.2For example: Foley & Olson (1985), Sebba (1987), Bickerton (1989) and Muysken &

Veenstra (1994). However, since Aikhenvald (2006) relies on “existing terminological

consensus” (p. 1) her criteria are presented and taken as the basis for the study.3Here and in the following examples, the verbs that form the SVC are underlined

by the author of this article. No emphasis is placed in the original except in Adone

(2012).4The example in (7) is shortened.5Transcription and translation by the author of this article.6English transcription and translation by the author of this article.7This is an example of a Theme serial, comparable to example (2).

CREOLISTICS

Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201518

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201520

CREOLISTICSBimodal reference marking in Kreol Seselwa

Keywords: Person reference, Spatial Reference, Co-speech Gesture, Kreol Seselwa

Melanie Anna Brück (University of Cologne)Email : [email protected]

Abstract

This article investigates both linguistic and gestural strategies of classifying and identifying locations and individuals in Kreol Seselwa (KS). In this context the pointing gesture with its various levels of deictic abstraction plays an important role. Various research suggests that the function and use of gestures (Kendon, 2004a; Wilkins, 2003) as well as the linguistic structure of person and spatial reference (Levinson, 2003; Stievers, Enfi eld, & Levinson, 2007) differ across cultures. Since a large number of gesture studies have been concerned with standard European languages, the investigation of Kreol Seselwa may help to gain further insights into the tripartite system of language, gesture, and culture. This paper will deal with the following research questions: (1) Which lexical means can be used in KS to refer to individuals and locations? (2) Which gestures accompany these lexical means?

1. Introduction

Referring to individuals and locations is a basic communicative act present in everyday interaction. As will become evident in this paper, the act of referring to individuals and locations in a spoken language not only involves vocal means, i.e. the words uttered, but is also realized with the help of co-speech gestures. Especially the pointing gesture has been found to frequently fulfi l a referring function (Kendon, 2004a). Furthermore, cultural aspects specifi c to

a certain language community have been shown to have an impact on the nature of reference as well: cross-linguistic research has presented differences in the use of gestures (Kendon, 2004a; Wilkins, 2003) and differences in the use of linguistic means (Levinson, 2003; Stievers, Enfi eld, & Levinson, 2007) for person and spatial reference across cultures. In order to gain more insights to these cross-linguistic and cross-cultural differences, this paper investigates the strategies of reference marking in Kreol Seselwa (KS). For this purpose two research questions will be addressed:

(1) Which lexical means can be used in KS to refer to individuals and locations?

(2) Which gestures accompany these lexical means?

This article investigates the vocal and gestural means of individuating a person or location in KS by drawing evidence from data collected for a PhD project in 2014. Chapter two will give an introduction to general processes of person and spatial reference. This will be followed by background information explaining the area of gesture studies with the focus being set on the pointing gesture. After a short overview of the methods applied in the process of data collection in chapter three, both vocal and gestural data connected to spatial and person reference will be presented in chapter four. The fi fth chapter will then discuss the data in the light of the theoretical background presented in chapter two. Finally, a conclusion will be drawn.

2. Theoretical BackgroundThe area of reference marking

can be approached from multiple points of view. While traditional semantics

focusses for example on the difference between sense and reference, pragmatic approaches take a look at different strategies of introducing and maintaining referents throughout discourse. At the same time, a grammatical point of view deals with the syntactic structure of co-referential expressions such as anaphora. Further linguistic disciplines that have dealt with reference marking are for example cognitive linguistics, anthropological linguistics and sociolinguistics. This shows that referring to individuals or locations is a very complex process which involves different layers of linguistic knowledge. It also becomes evident that knowledge of the linguistic system as such, i.e. knowledge of grammatical, phonological, and semantic rules, does not suffi ce for successfully establishing reference but that it involves additional integration of cultural and conceptual dimensions. An example for a cultural convention having an impact of the choice of a reference form would be taboos (e.g. Adone & Maypilama, 2014; Levinson, 2007). Conceptual knowledge may infl uence the establishment of reference for instance in cases of spatial cognition (e.g. Levinson, 2003; Majid et al., 2004).

In the light of this complexity it is crucial to investigate not only the different disciplines involved in reference marking in isolation but also their interaction with each other. The interface examined in this paper is the one between two modalities involved in human communication, i.e. spoken language and gesture. Spoken language will be investigated by focussing on lexical means, whereas the gestures taken into account are pointing gestures (see chapter 2.2).

2.1 Reference in language

The different ways of referring

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 21

to locations and individuals are highly language-specifi c and differ across cultures (Haviland, 1993; Levinson, 2003; Stievers, Enfi eld, & Levinson, 2007). Several linguistic means may be involved here, such as for example descriptions, names, demonstratives, pronouns, adverbs or prepositions. Descriptions may differ in length and usually are designed to match the needs of the immediate communication. That is, depending on various contextual factors, a descriptive reference to a location may be as short as the house over there or as long as the house that is located on the right side of the road going from place X to place Y. The same counts for person reference, which may be as detailed as the girl with the long hair wearing black shoes or as compressed as that girl. Names are commonly used for both people (e.g. Sally) and locations (e.g. Mahé) and have been formed by cultural conventions over time. Demonstratives may also be used to establish reference to a certain location or person and often include additional information. In the case of the English language, for example, the two demonstratives here and there differ in the proximity from and in the in- vs exclusion of the speaker (Levinson, 2004). Another example would be this vs. that, also including information about the proximity of the object or person to the speaker. Again, the specifi c information encoded in demonstratives differs across languages (see e.g. (Dixon, 2003). Prepositions and adverbs convey spatial information such as location on a vertical or horizontal axis or proximity, whereas pronouns are usually rather used for person reference.

The lexical repertoire for spatial reference and its actual use in an utterance depends strongly on the so called Frame of Reference (FoR) applied in a certain language. A multitude of cross-cultural studies have shown that spatial reference can be realized in three different ways – intrinsic, relative, and absolute (Adone & Maypilama, 2014; Danziger, 2010; Haviland, 1993, 2000; Kita, 2009; Le Guen, 2011; Levinson, 2003; Niraula, Mishra, & Dasen, 2004; Özyürek et al., 2008; Vos, 2012). According to Levinson (1996) a FoR is a certain coordinate system with which an entity can be located spatially. This

spatial reference can be realized in three major ways and differs across cultures. An intrinsic FoR uses features of a ground object to locate the entity of interest. An example for this would be

(1) The milk is at the spout of the kettle (Danziger, 2010, p. 169)

Here, the location of the milk is described using the properties of the kettle, i.e. that it has a spout on one end and a handle on the other end. In a language applying the relative FoR the anchoring point for spatial reference is not a certain part of a grounding object, but rather the speaker himself. Speaker orientation is the crucial starting point from which a spatial reference is created. Danziger (2010, p. 169) gives the following example for a spatial description within a relative FoR:

(2) The milk is to the right of the kettle. (From the speaker’s perspective)

Unlike in (1), this relative strategy in (2) locates the milk from the point of view of the speaker. Finally, an absolute FoR uses a fi xed coordinate system, which does neither depend on object properties (such as the intrinsic FoR) nor on the speaker’s perspective (such as the relative FoR). This fi xed coordinate system can be for example cardinal directions or prominent landmarks. In an absolute FoR one could for example use a construction as displayed in (3) to refer to the location of an object:

(3) The milk is to the east of the kettle. (Danziger 2010, p. 169)

It is important to note that determining the FoR of a certain language does not depend on what is linguistically possible, but rather on which option is conventionally used. That is, even though in English descriptions such as in (3) are possible in certain contexts, native speakers will rather use descriptions such as in (2) in their everyday interaction. Furthermore there are languages which may have a mixed system (Majid et al., 2004; Pederson, 2012). Finally, it has been pointed out that the overall choice of a

conventional FoR may also have some effect on cognitive strategies for dealing with spatial arrays (see for example Levinson, 1996, 2003; Majid et al., 2004). I kindly refer the readers to (Gumperz and Levinson, 1996; Levinson, 2003; Majid et al., 2004) for a detailed discussion of the language-cognition interface in the light of linguistic relativity, which would go beyond the scope of this paper.

2.2 Gesture

Gesture can be defi ned as “actions that have the features of manifest deliberate expressiveness” (Kendon, 2004a, p. 15). This means that gestures are not random movements but may convey semantic, pragmatic and even syntactic information. This information is closely linked with the information conveyed by speech and is conveyed simultaneously. Thus, gesture and speech are co-expressive and synchronous (McNeill, 1992). In the framework of Kendon (2004a) gestures are not randomly produced within an utterance but planned together with speech to fulfi l a communicative intention.

From a linguistic perspective, gestures can be described according to their form features and their function. The form features a gesture can assume consider the handshape, movement, the position in which a gesture is performed, and the orientation of the hand (e.g. palm up vs. palm down) (Bressem, Ladewig, & Müller, 2013). In addition to the distinct form features, gestures can also assume various functions. Pointing gestures and iconic gestures, i.e. gestures depicting a certain object or idea, are referential. Pragmatic gestures – so-called beats – structure the utterance rhythmically and put emphasis on certain words. Finally, interactional gestures are mediating social interaction. Furthermore, the so-called Kendon’s continua (Kendon, 2004a; McNeill, 2000) categorize gestures according to their relation to speech (from highly dependent to independent), their linguistic properties (from non-linguistic to linguistic), their degree of conventionalization (from not conventionalized to highly conventionalized) and their character of semiosis (from global and synthetic to segmented and analytic).

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201522

CREOLISTICSAs mentioned above, this paper

focusses on the pointing gesture, prototypically involving an extended index fi nger. However, as e.g. Wilkins (2003) or Adone & Maypilama (2014) mention, other forms such as e.g. lip pointing can also occur. This kind of gesture can be considered to be special since it is assumed to be part of the fi rst communicative acts in children (Liszkowski, 2010) and so far has been found in language communities all over the world (Kita, 2003). Pointing is considered to be a deictic act, i.e. its interpretation is only possible if considering the immediate spatial (‘here’) and temporal (‘now’) characteristics of the utterance. It can be described by virtue of its starting point (i.e. the speaker’s body), a certain vector (i.e. the direction of the gesture) and its referent. Furthermore, the pointing gesture can fulfi l three main functions. It can refer directly to an existing and concrete referent, e.g. an object in the immediate environment. The second function is called metonymic pointing. In this case, the gesture also refers to a concrete referent. However this referent is not located in the immediate surroundings but rather associated with a certain location. For example, someone can talk about a non-present person and meanwhile point to the chair where this person usually sits. Even though this gesture points to the chair, the context makes it clear that it is the person and not the chair which is being referred to. Finally, pointing gestures can also be metaphoric. Here the gesture refers to a concept or an absent referent without any connection to a certain location. Again, the interpretation of this gesture is only possible with knowledge of the context.

3. MethodsData collection took place during

a one-month stay on Mahé during which 23 native speakers were interviewed. The different age groups were represented as follows: age 21-30: 8 participants; age 31-40: 4 participants; age 41-50: 3 participants; age 50+: 8 participants. The majority (20) of interviewees were female.

The data were collected in the form of group interviews involving at least two participants for two reasons: fi rst, the adaptation of linguistic output to the

language skills of the interviewer – i.e. “foreigner talk” – could be minimized by two native speakers talking to each other; and second, the conversational setup allowed the circumstances to appear less formal and promoted a more natural use of language. The sessions were audiotaped and videotaped in accordance with the participants.

In order to avoid a one-sided view on the linguistic and gestural strategies applied in KS, both spontaneous, semi-elicited and elicited data were collected. The individual sessions usually started with a short sociolinguistic interview in English, followed by a discussion part where the participants were asked to talk to each other in KS about their individual opinions or experiences with certain topics. These conversation topics were chosen to elicit so-called locally anchored narrations (Levinson & Enfi eld, 2001) such as e.g. the impact of the Tsunami 2004 on the Island, but also sociocultural issues such as the role of family and neighbourhood today as compared to the participants’ childhood. Elicitation tasks covered both the production and comprehension of gestural and vocal reference to locations and individuals. For eliciting spatial reference, a variant of the space games created by the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics (Levinson et al., 1992), questions concerning the immediate environment and the geography of the Seychelles, and a game including a fi ctional map were used. Person reference was elicited by the narration of short cartoons and the discussion of videos presenting ambiguous sentences with and without gestures.

Transcription of the vocal data was done by native speakers of KS according to the basic GAT 2 conventions. The gestural part was transcribed using ELAN. General analysis was done in ELAN and EXCEL.

4. Results

4.1 Linguistic strategies of

referring to locations and

individuals in KS

This analysis will deal with demonstratives, adverbs, prepositions

and pronouns. Names and referential NPs will not be considered since their analysis would go beyond the scope of this paper. Please also note that table 1 and table 2 do not claim to be exhaustive.

Table 1 lists some lexical items which are used to refer to locations in KS (cf Choppy, 2013). On the horizontal plane KS expresses multiple degrees of proximity, from very close to the speaker (e.g. isi) to very far from the speaker (e.g. lwen). The vertical plane can also be divided according to different degrees, as e.g. anba and ater demonstrate. Furthermore, purely spatial information may also be combined with e.g. person reference (kot, se), the idea of a boundary (andeor) or an action (anndan, i.e. the action of putting something inside of e.g. a box). Also, the combination of spatial information with movement is possible, such as in e.g. annaryer and annavan. Finally, some spatial terms can also be metaphorically extended, i.e. they can be used to describe a concept which does not directly have to do with space anymore. An example for this is par lao, which can be used to describe a certain social hierarchy as in (4)1 .

(4) I par lao mon.S/he is above me (hierarchically

speaking)Another example is dan. In this

case the idea of a location inside of e.g. a container can be extended to a general reference to an institution – e.g. dan lakres – or even to a temporal reference. The latter case treats a temporal term such as e.g. a month similar to a concrete container to form an utterance such as in (5) (Gillieaux & Choppy, 2012).

(5) Nwel I dan mwan Desanm Christmas is in December.

Table 2 lists the main lexical strategies to refer to individuals (cf. Choppy 2013). KS distinguishes between fi ve personal pronouns used for nominative case and direct/indirect object marking. While mon/mwan refers to the speaker herself, ou refers to the addressee of the conversation. The pronoun i/li is used to refer to a single individual which is neither the addressee nor the speaker of the

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 23

conversation. Furthermore, the pronoun nou indicates a group of people consisting of at least the speaker and the addressee. Finally, zot can refer to two different kinds of groups. The fi rst kind is a group of addressees excluding the speaker, while the second kind of group excludes both the speaker and the addressee.

In addition to the personal and object pronouns, KS also has different demonstrative pronouns and determiners. Similarly to pronouns, demonstratives

do not have consistent referents. This means that one always needs to take into account the context of utterance in order to determine the concrete referent. Sa (this/that) can function as both demonstrative pronoun and demonstrative determiner (Choppy, 2013). This means that it can either modify a noun (demonstrative determiner) as in (6) or stand for a noun (demonstrative pronoun) as in (7).

(6)i Sa pti garson i ankoler.

This little boy is angry. (Gillieaux & Choppy, 2012, p.3)

(7) Sanmenm sa ki mon ti pe dir ou.That’s what I was telling you.

Generally speaking, there are three demonstrative pronouns – sa and sanmenm sa for singular and tousala for plural – in KS (Choppy, 2013, p 61). Furthermore, KS also provides three different demonstrative determiners – sa for singular, lezot for defi nite plural and (tou) sa bann for indefi nite plural (Choppy, 2013, p 74).

4.2 Gestural strategies of referring

to locations and individuals in KS

Co-speech gestures were mainly produced by using one or both hands. Observed handshapes are displayed in table 3.

The gestures produced were spread over all degrees of proximity, i.e. near to the body, an intermediate distance in neutral gesture space, and far from the body. Especially the latter location, far from body, was extensively used in both spatial and person reference. In these large gestures, gesture space was frequently extended to the back and to the side. Movements observed in co-speech gestures were mainly smaller wrist movements, straight movements within both intermediate and extended gesture space, as well as arced movements covering the same locations in space as the straight movements.

From a functional viewpoint several general patterns could be observed. First, pointing gestures accompanied spoken references to both individuals and locations. In the case of person reference, direct pointing to a present person, metonymic pointing to a person who e.g. had just left the room, as well as metaphorical pointing to a person not connected to the immediate environment have been observed. In the case of spatial reference, both direct pointing and metaphorical pointing were used.

Second, both spatial and person reference were often accompanied by gestures far beyond the neutral gesture space. Person reference was sometimes accompanied by a straight hand movement

Kreol Seselwa English type

deor, andeoroutside (general), outside

(boundary)containment

anndan, ladaninside (general), inside

(boundary + action)containment

dan in containment

kot, se at (+ person reference)location associated with

person

ver, ankouri towardsmotion relative to

ground object

annaryer, annavan backward, forward motion relative to fi gure

la, isi, akote/o bor, pre, laba, lwen

here, next to, near, there, far

proximity to ground object (horizontal plane)

devan/anfas/vizavi, deryer in front of, behindrelation to object

from the speaker’s perspective

a gos, a drwat left, rightrelation to object

from the speaker’s perspective

(par ) lao, anlerup (in relation to ground

object), up (general)vertical plane

anba down/below/under vertical plane

ater on the ground vertical plane

lo onrelation to ground object

(vertical plane)

ant betweenrelation to two ground

objects (vertical & horizontal)

parmi amongrelation to several

ground objects (categorization)

Table 1 Spatial reference in KS (Choppy, 2013)

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24 Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015

CREOLISTICS

to the side applying the TH-handshape. Furthermore, the B-handshape was also applied. However, the function of the two gestures was often mixed, i.e. it often included a referential part as well as a pragmatic part structuring the speech (see chapter 2.3) or an additional

spatial component. The B-handshape co-occurred with reference to both fi ctional

Kreol Seselwa English type

mon, ou, i, nou, zotI, you, he/she/it, we, you/

theypersonal pronoun

mwan,ou, li, nou, zotme, you, him/her/it, us,

you/themdirect/indirect object

pronoun

sa, sanmenm sa, tousala this/that, that is, all thisdemonstrative pronoun

(singular, plural)

sa, lezot, (tou) sa bannthis/that, these/those, all

these/those

demonstrative determiner (singular, plural defi nite, plural

indefi nite)

Table 2 Person reference in KS (Choppy, 2013)

characters and actual individuals, while the TH-handshape usually only occurred with reference to existing individuals. Spatial reference was also usually accompanied by a straight hand movement, however extending even further to the side, to the top or even over the shoulder into

the space behind the speaker’s body. Furthermore, this kind of referential

gesture applied the IX-handshape, the 5-handshape or the B-handshape. These extended gestures usually occurred during reference to existing locations on the Seychelles as opposed to rather small gestures accompanying reference to fi ctional places. While gestures of the IX-handshape usually accompanied spoken reference specifying a certain location, gestures of the 5- or B-handshape tended to co-occur with utterances concerning e.g. a general direction. In many cases the direction of the pointing gesture coincided with the actual location of its referent during the time of utterance.

5. Discussion

This chapter gives a preliminary analysis of the data gathered in 2014. Since they are part of an ongoing PhD project, a quantitative analysis has yet to be done. Thus, the points raised in this chapter refer to tendencies observed in the fi rst steps of data analysis.

The data presented in chapter 4 illustrate that spatial and person reference cannot always be clearly separated from reference to other concepts. For example, while the spatial term anndan refers to a general idea of an inside location, ladan adds the reference to an action – i.e. putting something inside e.g. a box – to the purely spatial reference. Furthermore, deor refers to a general idea of an outside location with andeor adding the concept of a certain boundary to it. Finally, the spatial terms kot and se not only contain information about a location, but also about a specifi c person with which this location is associated. Similarly, the person reference marked by the demonstratives presented in table 2 can only be properly interpreted when considering factors such as the content previously uttered or the immediate context of the utterance. In the latter case, spatial reference may be added by for example pointing to a certain person. A very interesting case combining spatial and person reference is the expression par lao. In the standard case par lao specifi es a position which is higher than a certain reference object. However, it can also be metaphorically extended and used to refer to a specifi c hierarchy among people (see

Term Description Example

IX extended index finger

TH extended thumb

5 open hand

L extended thumb and index finger

(pistol)

B flat hand

Table 3 Handshapes of referring gestures in KS

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25Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015

example 4). The idea of a higher position is then used to specify a social position higher up in the hierarchy. Similarly, the spatial term dan can also be used to refer to a temporal term, which then is reanalysed as some sort of container (see example 5). This transfer of spatial information to other domains has been claimed to be a very basic process in the area of Localism (see Pederson, 2012).

The demonstrative system of KS can be used to express differences in distance, such as in isi vs laba. However, there is no overtly marked distinction between this/these and that/those. For both distal and proximal information concerning individuals or objects, the same demonstrative can be used. The difference drawn here is between singular and plural as well as defi nite and indefi nite referents (Choppy, 2013).

The gestural strategies to refer to locations and individuals very often involved pointing gestures. As described in 4.2. the IX-handshape often accompanied spoken reference to a specifi c location while the 5-handshape and the B-handshape tended to co-occur with general spatial reference and direction giving. Person reference on the other hand was mainly accompanied by the TH-handshape and the B-handshape. It is important to note that in a lot of cases these gestures were produced in the extended gesture space, i.e. either far to one side or far up. While a pilot study conducted by Brück in 2014 showed that extended gesture space is also used in gestures accompanying direction giving in German, the extension in the case of general references to locations and individuals in KS may be interpreted as a cultural convention (cf Kendon, 2004). Furthermore, it is not clear whether gestures with the IX-handshape are always instances of direct pointing or can also function as general markers of person and spatial references in some cases. The collection and analysis of additional data is necessary to suffi ciently clarify this aspect. Finally, the data suggest that the gesture space varies when comparing reference to existing locations on the Seychelles with reference to fi ctional locations. When participants were asked to describe directions, routes or specifi c locations

on the Seychelles, they reliably used very large gestures within the extreme periphery. However, when the assignment was to give each other directions to certain locations presented on a fi ctional map, the gestures were mainly produced within much more limited space. This may be due to the communicative function of gestures (Kendon, 2004a). The description of an existing location to an obviously ignorant person (i.e. the interviewer) requires the speaker to structure the information as detailed and comprehensible as possible. One strategy for this could be the extensive use of gesture space. The description of a fi ctional map in a game-like situation, however, may require a different kind of information, such as a general overview rather than actual directions. Furthermore, while the description of actual locations on the Seychelles always implied the goal that the listener could in principle fi nd her way, the description of the fi ctional map rather implied the goal of the speaker remembering the spatial setup and successfully fulfi l the task of the game. Thus, within Kendon’s (2004a) framework, the gestures were adapted to the different communicative needs of the two situations.

After a fi rst look at the spoken and the gestural strategies for referring to individuals and locations, one may assume a relative FoR for KS. As mentioned in 2.1, within this FoR the speaker is used as a reference point for orientation. Words such as e.g. devan and deryer or a drwat and a gos only make sense if the speaker’s perspective is taken into account. Furthermore, the fact that metaphorical pointing, i.e. pointing to a neutral gesture space, is possible also suggests a relative FoR (Le Guen, 2011). However, when giving directions or describing a certain place on the Seychelles, participants frequently pointed directly towards the actual location of the referent. Furthermore, the coast line and especially the coastal highway on Mahé have been found to be the anchoring points of a more or less fi xed system of orientation. This makes sense considering the special geographic circumstances. With Mahé being a relatively small island, landmarks such as the coast-line or the inland mountains are omnipresent and

constitute a reliable means of orientation. Thus, the possibility exists that KS applies a mixed system concerning the FoR where the absolute FoR is mainly represented in the gestural modality. This scenario is in accordance with Pederson’s (2012) suggestion that spatial references depend on the context of an utterance rather than on a fi xed FoR. In the case of KS, the context triggering an absolute FoR may be the inclusion of actual geographic information as opposed to circumstances in which for example the orientation of objects and fi ctional arrays trigger a relative FoR.

First analysis of the gesture-speech ensemble used for referring to individuals and locations suggest that the two modalities are closely intertwined. Both modalities were used to express person or spatial reference, i.e. they were functioning co-expressively. Furthermore, gestures referring to a certain location or individual did not occur in isolation but usually in company with a referring expression, i.e. the two modalities expressed the respective information synchronously.

6. Conclusion

In conclusion, Kreol Seselwa has a variety of vocal and gestural strategies at its disposal. It has been shown that reference to locations and individuals is bimodal, i.e. it comprises both a gestural and a linguistic part. Both parts rely on cultural conventions. The spoken strategies of spatial and person reference including differences such as the different degrees of proximity as well as other domains, such as action, and the tendency towards a relative FoR represent cultural conventions formed over time. The gestural modality depends on cultural conventions in e.g. the extended use of gesture space or the specifi c handshapes used for different kinds of referring acts. Furthermore, gesture and speech may both also be dependent on the actual context of the utterance, as the different modes of pointing or the potential referents to demonstrative terms show. Future research aims at analysing further factors infl uencing the choice of a certain gestural form and at investigating the structural aspects of the gesture-speech interaction.

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26 Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015

CREOLISTICSAcknowledgementsI would like to express my gratitude

to Penda Choppy and the staff of the Lenstiti Kreol Enternasyonal for their support in this research project. I am also indebted to Dany Adone for her supervision and valuable advice of this research project. In addition, I would like to thank all the participants of the study on the Seychelles and Machella Horter, Fiona Payet, Sharon Adrien, Merna Eulentin and Virginie Nibourette for helping me with the transcriptions and translations. Furthermore, many thanks go to Marie-Thérèse Purvis, Marie-Rheine Hoareau, Zan Klod Mahoune and Guilhem Florigny, Joelle Perreau, Pascal Nadal, and Astrid Gabel. Finally, I am grateful for the helpful comments by the reviewer.

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RésuméCette communication porte sur les stra-tégies à la fois linguistiques et gestuelles pour la classifi cation et l’identifi cation des emplacements et des individus dans le Kreol Seselwa (KS). Ainsi, le geste consistant à pointer vers quelque chose, avec ses différents niveaux d’abstraction déictique, joue un rôle important. Divers-es recherches suggèrent que la fonction et l’utilisation de gestes (Kendon, 2004a ; Wilkins, 2003) ainsi que la structure linguistique par rapport à la personne et la référence spatiale (Levinson, 2003; Stievers, Enfi eld & Levinson, 2007) dif-fèrent selon les cultures. Etant donné qu’un grand nombre d’études portant sur les gestes ont été réalisées par rapport aux langues européennes standard, l’enquête sur le Kreol Seselwa peut aider à acquérir de nouvelles informations sur le système à triple dimension : langue, geste et culture.Les sujets de recherche suivants guideront la présente communication : 1. Quels moyens lexicaux peuvent être utilisés dans le KS pour désigner les individus et les lieux ? 2. Quels sont les gestes qui accompagnent ces moyens lexicaux ?

End Note1 Many thanks go to Ronia Anacoura for suggesting this

example.

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015

An Avril 2004, Minister Lakiltir ti pour lapremyer fwa, lans en polisi kiltirel ki ti defi nir bann gran prensip gouvernman vizavi devlopman kiltirel nou pei. (Fodre kanmenm note ki mazorite sa bann prensip ti’n plizoumwen etablir dan bann Plan Devlopman 5an ki Dezyenm Repiblik ti pibliye dan bann lannen 80). Bokou bann prensip sa polisi kiltirel ti enplik par nesesite, en lalinyman avek progranm ledikasyon. Ledikasyon ti pou bezwen sa mwayen ki ti pou servi pour swa prezerve swa devlop nou leritaz kiltirel. Dan bann lobzektif sa polisi par egzanp, i annan en mansyon proteksyon propriyete entelektyel, devlopman bann valer moral, spirityel e etik nou pep, asir akse tou dimoun avek kiltir ek lar, promosyon en nasyon kiltive atraver devlopman konesans ek lenformasyon, formasyon dan bann domenn lar li menm, eks… Tousala i posib selman si ou annan en pep ki edike kiltirelman. Se ensi ki Minister Lakiltir ek Minister Ledikayon, an konformite avek demann polisi kiltirel ek bann stratezi ki gouvernman ti pe devlope sa letan pour 2020, ti zwenn ansanm pour form en Komite Ledikasyon Kiltirel pour adres sa bann bezwen. Bi sa papye se pour diskit lenportans annan en sistenm ledikasyon ki pran an kont kiltir endizenn e vwar ki laspe ledikasyon kiltirel ki egziste deza dan sistenm ledikasyon Sesel.

Dabor, defi nisyon ‘Ledikasy-on Kiltirel’ ki sa komite ti sorti avek i konm swivan:

Cultural Education is the acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values which enable us to become culturally literate and informed individuals who will

understand and appreciate our: • History and historical origins;• Seychellois identity and develop

a sense of cultural and national pride;

• Seychellois Kreol Language and other national languages;

• Cultural values, shared beliefs, wisdom and customs;

• Natural and Cultural Heritage and traditions and the importance of its protection, preservation and conservation;

• Creative or artistic expressions;• Commitment towards ratifi ed

conventions and international conventions; and

• Cultural diversity. Sa defi nisyon annefe, i pran an

kont defi nisyon UNESCO pour kiltir, ki konm swivan:

…the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features that characterise a society or social group” (including modes of life, value systems, religious and other beliefs and traditions). (UNESCO Mexico City Declaration on Cultural Policies, 1982, p. 1).

Fodre note ki defi nisyon ki Komite Ledikasyon Kiltirel in donnen i anglob non selman kiltir endizenn ki prop a son pei, me i osi enkli konsiderasyon pour devlopman artistik e global bann aprenan, latolerans ek diversite kiltirel ensi ki respe pour bann konvansyon enternasyonal. Sa i toutafe apropriye anvi rol ledikasyon pour devlop en zanfan globalman. Kestyon enportan i, akoz en ledikasyon kiltirel? Ki

28

Lenportans annan en sistenm ledikasyon kiltirel pour lidantite nasyonal, e donk pour soutenabilite

Mo kle: kiltir, ledikasyon, soutenabilite

Penda Choppy (Lenstiti Kreol Sesel)Imel: [email protected]

Abstre

Sa papye i santre lo promosyon ek soutenabilite lidantite kiltirel atraver en sistenm ledikasyon ki pran an kont konteks kiltirel son sosyete, pli presizeman, ledikasyon kiltirel dan Sesel. Bi prensipal se pour diskit otour lenportans ledikasyon kiltirel dan kreasyon and promosyon lidantite nasyonal e kiltirel, e donk ariv ver soutenabilite kiltir fas a globalizasyon. Lefet ki en Komite Ledikasyon Kiltirel ti’n deza ganny kree par en kolaborasyon ant Minister Ledikasyon ek Departman Kiltir dan Sesel i endike ki gouvernman Sesel i konsyan sa konsep ledikasyon kiltirel e i vwar nesesite pour konsider son lenplimantasyon. Sepandan sa komite pa’n dire; rezon pour ki i neseser vwar ki bann eleman kiltirel ki deza egziste dan nou sistenm ledikasyon e dan ki fason sa i kapab ganny soutenir oubyen amelyore. Bann resers ek diskisyon ki’n deza fer otour sa size i devret servi koman bann gid pour bann pti leta zil parey Sesel. Sa i enkli bann gran lorganizasyon ki fer resers dan domenn ledikasyon ek kiltir tel ki UNESCO, bann psikolog ek syantis ledikasyon ek kiltir ensi ki bann dokiman polisi ki egziste lokalman. I swetab ki bann ki fer desizyon i a kapab ganny konvenki par bann largiman ki sa papye i fer vizavi bann danze annan en sistenm ledikasyon ki pa pran an kont konteks kiltirel.

Kreol dan ledikasyon

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 29

diferans i kapab fer? Komite Ledikasyon Kiltirel ti fer plizyer travay group ek lanaliz e parmi bann dokiman ki’n sorti dan sa bann legzersis i en ‘SWOT Analysis’ (etadelye) vizavi ledikasyon kiltirel dan ka spesifi k Sesel. Plizyer gran pei devlope ek bann lorganizasyon enternasyonal tel ki UNESCO in osi fer plizyer lanaliz dan sa domenn, e annefe, lamazorite bann gran pei (leg: Lafrans, Lalmanny, Langleter), ensi ki plizyer pti pei (leg: Philippines) in deza fi ni devlop zot progranm ledikasyon kiltirel e pe met li an pratik. Dan tou sa bann ka, rezon prensipal pour sa lapros i lidantite nasyonal e en ledikasyon konpreansiv ki dan lavantaz sak endividi (psikolozikman) ensi ki pei an zeneral. Dan son rapor pour Konsey Lasanble Parlmanter Eropeen lo ledikasyon kiltirel an 2008, Barbara Putz-Plecko i ilistre sa konsep klerman:

The function of schools in society is not only to give our children knowledge and skills, but

to open up spheres of experience and development in which young people can get to know

themselves and become familiar with the world, and which will comprehensively foster the

development of their personalities. (Putz-Plecko, 2008, p. 3).

Tradiksyon: Fonksyon lekol dan lasosyete se non selman pour donn nou zanfan konesans ek abilite me osi pour ouver bann rezo leksperyans ek devlopman ki pou permet bann zenn konpran zot lekor e konn lemonn, e ki pou an menm tan stimil devlopman zot personnalite.

Pour en zanfan, menm en adilt, konpran son lekor, i bezwen dabor konnen ki son lorizin, kwa sa, son kiltir, savedir bann pratik, valer, krwayans son sosyete e akoz (lorizin ankor) e ki plas son pei e son sosyete dan makrokozm global. Andotmo, i bezwen konn listwar son pei ek son pep, i bezwen konpran psikolozi son pep, e i bezwen lye tousala avek leres lemonn, sirtou ki Sesel i en pti pei ki depann bokou lo son lanvironnman eksteryer pour sirviv. Sa i a kapab posib si en sistenm ledikasyon i ganny met an plas ki entegre kiltir endizenn avek kiltir global, savedir,

en ledikasyon kiltirel konpreansif. Par egzanp, tandis ki listwar lemonn i ganny montre dan kirikilenm, listwar larezyon ek listwar lokal osi i bezwen ganny montre. Sa i a permet bann aprenan fer sa lyen ant zot bann koutim ek tradisyon ki’n devlop lokalman ek bann ki’n ganny enfl iyanse par bann pei larezyon ek bann levennman global. En zanfan Seselwa i a kapab konnen e konpran ki i annan en kontribisyon ase enportan bann mo Malgas dan Kreol Seselwa, e akoz. Menm kot i konsern laprantisaz lezot lalang ki pa endizenn, aprenan i a kapab vwar lemonn andeor atraver bann liv ki’n enporte e ki refl ekte dizon, kiltir Eropeen ou Afriken, me i devret annan egalman bann liv Angle oubyen Franse ki refl ekte kiltir Kreol dan son zistwar ki i rakonte ensi ki dan son ilistrasyon. Savedir, ledikasyon kiltirel i bezwen ganny entegre dan tou size. Sa i enkli osi bann size lar, ki parfwa i kapab ganny konfi ze avek sa konsep ledikasyon kiltirel li menm (omwen dan konteks ki Komite Ledikasyon kiltirel Sesel ti pe vwar li).

I neseser donk, konpran byen diferans ant ledikasyon artistik ek ledikasyon kiltirel, parske le de i annan en lyen tre enportan. Putz-Plecko i fer referans avek en letid ki Anne Bamford in fer pour UNESCO, ledikasyon kiltirel i kapab ganny vwar koman ledikasyon dan bann size lar e ledikasyon atraver lar (savedir lizaz lar koman en zouti pedagozik dan tou kalite size lekol), e i’n konklir ki sa kalite ledikasyon i kapab servi koman en moter pour devlopman endividyel sak zelev.

Tandiski ledikasyon artistik i komans avek size li menm, ledikasyon kiltirel dan son sans pli larz i ‘dialogical’ (fer atraver dyalog) e i met lanfaz lo fason ki dimoun i enterakte avek lezot imen ek zot lanvironnman – e sa i kontribye ver abilite dimoun pour sosyalize e partisip aktivman dan lavi zot sosyete, a diferan nivo e dan diferan fason. Annefe, UNESCO i vwar abilite imen pour antre dan dyalog enterkiltirel e donk arive konpran kanmarad nenport ki kiltir zot sorti ladan koman fakter kle ki pou desid nou lavenir lo later: “(t)he ability to enter into intercultural dialogue and transcultural understanding

will decide our future.” (UNESCO, 1982).

Sepandan, sistenm ledikasyon Sesel i enn ki’n byen ankadre an konteks ledikasyon pour tou atraver bann polisi ki defi nir akse avek ledikasyon ek kalite ledikasyon. Menm dan ka ledikasyon kiltirel, nou kapab dir ki sa i deza egziste dan plizyer laform, zisteman, akoz Minister Ledikasyon in rekonnet nesesite pour byen fond nou bann zelev dan zot kiltir. Polisi lalang Minister Ledikasyon i fer provizyon pour lansennyman lalang maternel dan staz primer e progranm lekol i enkli listwar ek zeografi Sesel, ledikasyon sivik, lar ek larelizyon dapre pratik mazoriter (Kretyen – me provizyon i ganny fer ki sa ki pa Kretyen pa oblize swiv kour larelizyon) e serten liv i ganny prodwi lokalman ki refl ekte kiltir lokal. Progranm artistik i osi enkli partisipasyon dan bann levennman nasyonal tel ki Festival Kreol, lafwar listwar ek bann aktivite mize, bann klib leritaz, eks… (vwar latab 2). Kestyon i reste, ki degre e ki laform sa ledikasyon kiltirel pou pran, si nou oule ankadre li pli byen? Kwa annefe, ki manke?

Kot i konsern metod ledikasyon atraver lar dapre lapros Putz-Plecko, i tre enprobab ki gouvernman Sesel pou konsider sa en metod pratik pour reviz nou sistenm ledikasyon vi ki i deza annan en sistenm anplas ki depi bokou deseni, bokou in ganny envestir ladan. Sepandan, etan donnen ki Komite Ledikasyon Kiltirel ti’n ganny kree, i dir tousel ki sa de minister konsernen (Ledikasyon/Kiltir) ti’n fer serten rekonesans vizavi nesesite vwar kalite ledikasyon ki egziste dan sa konteks e pour vwar ki mannyer pour amelyor lo sa ki ti deza egziste san bezwen fer en revizyon drastik ki ti pou antrenn en gran kout fi nansyel. Petet defi nisyon UNESCO pour ledikasyon kiltirel i pli pratik pour Sesel vi ki i met bokou lanfaz lo perspektiv kiltirel; e sa i ede pour anmenn koezyon sosyal e promouvwar miltikiltiralite dan bann sosyete ki enkorpor plizyer sours kiltirel. Globalman, sa i osi kontribye ver latolerans vizavi ladiferans e ankouraz bann kominote pour konpran, apresye e valoriz zot prop kiltir ek lidantite e donk zot valer ek lenportans koman imen.

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201530

Kestyon ki ti ganny serten kantite deba ti ki laform sa ledikasyon kiltirel ti pou pran si nou ti pou konsider entrodwir li dan lekol. Malgre ki ti annan serten konsiderasyon dan direksyon en size ki ti a kapab ganny evalye, tou bann lendikasyon UNESCO i montre ki meyer fason pour enplimant en tel proze se pour enser li otan ki posib dan tou size. Kiltir, efektivman i enplik tou laspe lavi, e donk, dan diferan fason, i kapab ganny entrodwir dan diferan size. Me dabor, ti pou neseser fer en evalyasyon tou bann laform ledikasyon kiltirel ki deza egziste dan lekol, e de la, konsider bann lezot fason ki i ti a kapab antre dan bann size enstrir depi langaz, lasyans, matematik, eks, parey in elabore pli o.

Premye konsiderasyon i pou bezwen, lalang endizenn, savedir lalang maternel. Lalang endizenn i labaz kiltir nenport ki sosyete akoz se atraver lalang ki nou fer tou nou panse, kapab eksprim nou listwar, devlop nou abilite kreatif, eks… Dan son lanaliz lo teori edikasyonnel Lev Vygotsky, Depree ShadowWalker i fer resorti ki bokou model pedagozi endizenn i enkorpor lalang endizenn pour rezon primordyal ki lalang i sa baz fondamantal ki fer sa lyen ant imen, son pase ek son zanset. Donk lalang i en eleman krisyel nou lankadreman sosyal e psikolozik:

Lev Vygotsky theorized that language forms the cognitive tools by which education, formal or informal, is developed. Languages are the social cultural tools which incorporate the acquisition of knowledge across the dynamic domains of human development: phylogenesis, ontogenesis, and social-historical theory… Without language we could not further analyze or explore the ideas, experiences or the history of human beings. We could not bring the ancient knowledge of our ancestors into pour contemporary experiences. This approach to education incorporates and acknowledges the individual’s unique dynamic cognitive development within society and ancestry. (ShadowWalker, 1994, p. 2).

Lo sa kote, i byen evidan parey in mansyonnen oparavan, ki Sesel in pran

mezir neseser depi byen lontan pour enkli son lalang maternel dan ledikasyon. Bann premye pa i kodifi kasyon lortograf (Apprenons la nouvelle orthographe, Bollée & Jorre de St. Jorre, 1978), answit bann deskripsyon gramer (Kreol Seselwa: premye- katriyenm liv – Lenstiti Kreol, 1980’s… + Gramer Kreol Seselwa, M.T. Choppy, 2013), e byensir, tousala i bezwen akonpannyen par en politik defi nitiv vizavi lalang, e natirelman Konstitisyon Sesel i sa dokiman debaz ki nou bezwen konsidere.

Sapit 1, Lartik 4 (Konstitisyon Sesel, 1993 – Tradiksyon Kreol)

Kloz 1: Bann lalang nasyonal ava Kreol, Angle ek Franse.

Kloz 2: San al kont kloz 1, en dimoun i kapab servi nenport lalang nasyonal dan nenport sityasyon, me en lalwa i kapab fer provizyon pour lizaz enn ouswa plis sa bann lalang pour nenport rezon spesifi k. (Lenstiti Kreol, 2014, p.13).

Minister Ledikasyon osi in fer son prop polisi ledikasyon vizavi lalang maternel dapre polisi lalang ki’n defi nir dan Konstitisyon 1993.

In the two years of Crèche Education, children aged 3+ to 5+ use Creole as a subject and language of instruction for the fi rst two years for all subjects on the curriculum. Thus Creole is the language of instruction in the early childhood years (Crèche – Primary 2).

From Primary 3, Creole is still taught as a subject, but it is maintained as a language of instruction for certain subjects such as religion, PSE…

At Secondary level, Creole is the medium for certain subjects. It also plays a vital role as a support language and it maintains this status throughout the education system. (Policy on languages in the Seychelles. National Curriculum, p.3).

Bokou in ganny dir lo size zistifi kasyon lizaz lalang maternel dan ledikasyon an term pedagozik, me nou kapab kanmenm fer referans avek largiman Annegret Bollee ki i ti prezante dan en konferans isi Sesel an 2003:

Abstract

This paper focuses on the promotion of an education system that takes the cultural context of its society into consideration, and thus assures its sustainability: more precisely, it focuses on the question of cultural education in Seychelles. The main objective is to discuss around the subject of the importance of a cultural education in the creation and promotion of a national and cultural identity, which in turn, boosts cultural sustainability in the face of globalization. The fact that a Cultural Education Committee was created through the collaboration of the Ministry of Education and the Culture Department of Seychelles points to a certain awareness within the Seychelles government of the concept and the necessity of its implementation. It is a fact however, that this committee has not lasted. This is why it is necessary to evaluate the existing cultural elements within our education system and to see how these can be sustained and improved. Researches and debates surrounding this topic which have been made by international bodies concerned with education and culture, such as the UNESCO and world renowned researchers, psychologists, education scientists, etc, as well as existing policy documents should serve as a guide to small island states like the Seychelles. It is hoped that the arguments put forward in this paper will help to convince decision makers of the dangers of having an education system that does not take culture into consideration.

Kreol dan ledikasyon

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 31

Size Eleman ki deza egziste Amelyorasyon propoze Lezot konsiderasyon

Langaz (Angle/Franse)Liv ki’n prodwi lokalman avek zistwar lokal (prodiksyon bileng par egzanp)

Kreasyon en korpous teks pour lizaz pedagozik ki byen ankre dan kiltir Kreol menm si i an Angle oubyen Franse

Dan ka Kreol, son devlopman entelektyel e formel i pa posib lo en gran plan si i pa antre dan segonder.

Lektir/LekritirTeks spesyalize pour lektir ek lekritir a tou nivo ki sitye lokalman e prepare lokalman

Ilistrasyon ki pran an konsiderasyon konteks lokal. (Rekonsider ‘Ocean Readers?’)

Lasyans Mannyel skoler nivo PrimerLizaz plis sityasyon lokal pour referans.

Leg: Prosesis desalinasyon delo e diskisyon lo son viabilite dan ka Sesel?

Listwar‘Syllabus Segonder i kouver listwar Sesel depi lepok dekouvert ziska 3enm Repiblik.

Ledikasyon tersyer: plis lo lorizin nou pep, nou lalang ek nou kiltir (leg: kontribisyon Madagascar, Mozambique…)

Lesklavaz, kolonyalizm, eks… pe ganny kouver konsiderableman. (Kod Nwar…)

Zeografi Zeografi Imen, Politik e Fizik i ganny kouver konsiderableman dan ‘syllabus’.

Plis lanfaz lo vilnerabilite Sesel koman en pti leta zil, lefedser, sanzman klima

Klib Lanvironnman i zwe en rol enportan. (Sepandan i paret ki sa i pa spesifi k pour Sesel?)

MatematikProgranm pti lanfans i enkli prodiksyon mannyel skoler ek gid ansenyan.

Eski nou annan en sistenm konte presi isi Sesel ? (abaz 5 ? – kont koko dan plantasyon…)

LarSize opsyonnel: lar vizyel, lartizana…

Fabrikasyon lartizana tradisyonnel e son devlopman?

Kiltir/FoklorLadans tradisyonnelMoman KreativiteLezot aktivite Festival Kreol…

Eksplorasyon lorizin bann ladans, zistwar, manze, krwayans…

Rol Madagaskar, Mozanbik, Lenn ek Lasin pa’n gann sifi zaman eksplore…

Latab 1: Propozisyon Penda Choppy (2009) pour bann eleman ledikasyon kiltirel dan ledikasyon piblik.

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015

Cultural Education is the acquisition of knowledge, skills attitudes and values which enable us to become

culturally literate and informed individuals.

Elements of Cultural Education Curriculum provision

History and historical origins• Social Studies in primary where the child studies how his/her immediate environment (village, district, community) evolved • History of Seychelles in Primary 6 and Secondary 1 to 3

Seychellois identity and develop a sense of cultural and national pride

Cross Curricular and in particular • Social Studies in Primary • Citizenship Education in Primary and Secondary

Seychellois Kreol Language and other national languages

• Trilingual language policy in education• Kreol – the mother tongue is the medium of instruction at early childhood and is a subject taught at other levels • English and French taught as subjects from early Primary with English as medium after Early Childhood

Cultural values, shared beliefs, wisdom and customs • Cross curricular/permeated across all subjects

Natural and Cultural Heritage and traditions and its importance of its protection, preservation and conservation

• Social Studies, Geography (education for sustainable development), History, • Schools have Wild Life Clubs • Environmental Education is cross curricular • Technology and Enterprise includes “Hospitality” “Food Preparation” which adopt an approach from the Seychellois perspective

Creative or artistic expressions• The Arts which include both Visual and Performing Arts, traditional dance, Languages

Commitment towards ratifi ed conventions and international conventions

• Citizenship Education

Cultural diversity • Cross Curricular

Latab 2: Bann eleman konsep ledikasyon kiltirel dapre Minister Ledikasyon.

32

Kreol dan ledikasyon

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Litilizasyon lalang maternel dan ledikasyon bileng oubyen trileng i servi trwa obzektif:

• Premyerman, pour devlop fakilte konyitif, sa vedir fakilte pour konpran konsept konkre e abstre e pour eksplik zot korekteman. Ler zanfan in konpran kisisa boner, maler, lasans, malsans, laliberte, lopresyon..., i aprann fasilman ki pour sa menm konsept i annan bann mo diferan dan lezot lalang: happiness, misfortune, good luck, bad luck, freedom, oppression…

• Dezyenmman, pour devlop kapasite langaz. I annan enterdepandans ant lalang maternel ek lalang etranze, sa vedir ki konpetans dan lalang etranze i depann lo konpetans dan lalang maternel. En bon metriz lalang maternel, dan lokirans Kreol Seselwa, i rann posib en bon lakizisyon lalang etranze, dan lokirans Angle ek Franse.

Konesans sistenm gramatikal lalang maternel i fasilit laprantisaz gramer lalang etranze. Ler zanfan in aprann son lalang maternel, i kapab rakont en levennman pase, koz lo fi tir, form en fraz kondisyonnel; i kapab eksprim sengilye oubyen pliryel, i konn diferans ant en lakaz, bann

lakaz, detrwa, plizyer, bokou lakaz, eks.

Ler i aprann lalang etranze, i pou dekouver ki i annan striktir ki parey, me osi striktir ki diferan. Ansenyan i kapab ed li rekonnet sa diferans si zanfan in aprann analiz bann striktir son lalang maternel, si i konnen kisisa en verb, en non, en azektif, en pasif…

• Trwazyenm obzektif i konsern domenn afektif. En zanfan ki konmans lekol dan son lalang maternel i santi li alez. I santi li alez si i konfronte tou dabor avek lalang e kiltir ki an larmoni avek son lidantite. I kapab ouver labous san en santiman lensekirite lengwistik, i kapab demann kestyon, satisfer plennman sa kiryozite natirel ki tou zanfan i annan. I kapab aprofondir son konesans dan lazwa.’ (Bollée, 2003, p.3).

Apard lizaz lalang maternel koman en zouti debaz pour ledikasyon kiltirel, lezot fason entegre li dan sistenm ledikasyon an antye i bezwen enplik bann size prensipal ensi ki size opsyonnel. Sa latab ki swiv i fer serten propozisyon.Minister Ledikasyon par kont, i annan son prop konsep ledikasyon kiltirel e i konsidere ki i pe deza fer provizyon pour sa dan son kirikilenm. Swivan i dokiman ki Seksyon Kirikilenm in donnen ki detay sa progranm.

Lapros Minister Ledikasyon

Lenstiti Kreol Sesel.

33

RésuméCe texte traite de l’importance de promouvoir un système d’éducation qui prend en considération le contexte culturel de la société et qui en assure ainsi sa pérennité. Nous nous concentrerons plus précisément sur la question de l’éducation culturelle aux Seychelles. L’objectif principal est de discuter de l’importance d’une éducation culturelle dans la création et la promotion d’une identité nationale et culturelle. Celle-ci stimulera, à son tour, la durabilité culturelle face à la mondialisation. La création d’un Comité pour l’éducation culturelle par le ministère de l’Éducation et celui de la Culture témoigne d’une certaine prise de conscience de la part du gouvernement seychellois de la notion d’éducation culturelle et de la nécessité de sa mise en œuvre. Mais cependant, ce comité n’a pas duré et voilà pourquoi il est nécessaire d’évaluer les éléments culturels existants au sein de notre système d’éducation et de voir comment ceux-ci peuvent être maintenus et améliorés. Les études et les débats autour de cette question par des organismes internationaux concernés par l’éducation et la culture, comme l’UNESCO, par des chercheurs de renommée mondiale, des psychologues, des pédagogues, etc., ainsi que par le biais des documents politiques existants devraient servir de guide pour les petits Etats insulaires comme les Seychelles. Il est à espérer que les arguments avancés dans ce texte aideront à convaincre les décideurs des dangers d’un système d’éducation qui ne prend pas en compte la culture.

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Kreol dan ledikasyon

Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201534

Bibliografi • Bollée, A. & Jorre de St. Jorre, D. (1978). Apprenons la nouvelle

orthographe. Cologne.

• Bollée, A. (2003). Lalang Maternel dan Ledikasyon. Paper pre-

sented to commemorate International Mother Language Day, 21st

February. National Institute of Education Seychelles, Mt. Fleuri.

• Choppy, M.-T. (2013). Gramer Kreol Seselwa. Au Cap: Lenstiti

Kreol Sesel.

• Gédéon, E. (2014). Cultural Education in the Seychelles National

Curriculum. Curriculum Section, Ministry of Education.

• Gouvernman Sesel. (2014). Konstitisyon Repiblik Sesel. Au Cap:

Lenstiti Kreol.

• Government of Seychelles. (1993). Constitution of the Republic

of Seychelles. Victoria: The Government Printer.

• Ministry of Education, Seychelles. (1998). Policy on languages

in the Seychelles: National Curriculum. Mont. Fleuri: Ministry of

Education.

• Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture. (2004). The Cultural Policy

of Seychelles. Victoria: The Culture Department.

• Putz-Plecko, B. (2008). Background report on cultural education:

The promotion of cultural knowledge, creativity and cultural un-

derstanding through education. Conducted by the Parliamentary

Council of Europe. Paris: University for Applied Arts, Vienna.

• ShadowWalker, D. (n.d.). Vygotsky and Indigenous Cultures:

Centuries of Language Centered Learning. Retrieved from http://

www.u.arizona.edu/~deprees/fi nalpaper.pdf

• UNESCO. (1982). Mexico City World Declaration on Cultural Poli-

cies, World Conference on Cultural Policies. Retrieved from http://

portal.unesco.org/culture/en/fi les/12762/11295421661mexico_

en.pdf/mexico_en.pdf

i petet servi koman en legzanp pour bann lenstitisyon ledikasyon tersyer oubyen pos-segonder pran lapros kiltirel an konsiderasyon kan zot prepar zot progranm. Lakademi Tourizm par egzanp i annan en konponan kiltir lokal pour zot bann etidyan ki enplik en serten nivo resers. Sa i en linisyativ ki tre enportan an vi rol mazer ki tourizm i zwe dan nou lekonomi. Sepandan, eski sa ki etidyan i aprann lo nou kiltir dan zot bann lenstitisyon skoler i ganny sifi zaman eksplwate dan devlopman lendistri kiltirel ek tourizm? Sa i en kestyon ki demann eksplore. Koman en pti leta zil ki par nesesite i bezwen ouver avek leres lemonn e i depann bokou lo kontak avek leres lemonn, globalizasyon i kapab annan en lenpak negativ lo lafason ki nou kiltir i ganny reprezante dan domenn lospitalite par egzanp: sa i kouver depi larsitektir (ki stil akomodasyon nou konstrir?), lakwizin (ki fason nou eksplwat oubyen reprezant manze Kreol ki partikilye a Sesel?), lekspresyon kiltirel an term ladans, lar vizyel, literatir, dekor…(kwa ki vreman endizenn e ki mannyer prezerv zot…?)

Konklizyon: Kestyon soutenabiliteLedikasyon kiltirel i esansyel pour

soutenabilite nou lidantite nasyonal, devlopman nou pep dan son spesifi site, e sirvivans nou kiltir. Swivan i enn de legzanp bann lenpak ki labsans en ledikasyon kiltirel i kapab annan ensi ki bann solisyon posib:

• Kreol pou reste seti e evantyelman i kapab mor si nou pa elarzi son fonksyon (piblik pa krwar dan en lalang ki ‘pa neseser’ ler ou al liniversite, ler ou fer laplikasyon pour en travay, e pli enportan, ki pa al pli lwen dan lansennyman formel ki standar Primer. En lapros posib i kontinyasyon lansennyman Kreol dan Segonder e Pos-segonder ki termin dan en diplonm aprofondi pour fonksyonner piblik.

• Anmezir vye zenerasyon i mor, bokou konesans endizenn i mor avek zot, e nou kiltir i sanze ziska nou nepli konnen kwa ki tradisyonnel. Par egzanp : (i) en zanfan ki ti ganny demande lekel son pla Kreol favori ti dir ‘spageti’; (ii) eski ladans tradisyonnel ki montre dan lekol i swiv versyon tipikman Seselwa (prototip)? (iii) bann dekorasyon lotel, eski i refl ekte vre kiltir Kreol oubyen i pe ganny enfl iyanse par fenomenn egzotizasyon? Par egzanp

bokou lotel senk zetwal konmela i servi bann dekor ki enfl iyanse par kiltir Azyatik, pli partikilyerman, Thailand. Eski i pa posib pour enstrir bann dekorater lo bann laspe dekorasyon ki refl ekte nou kiltir? Egalman sa i kapab aplik pour lansennyman oubyen lapratik nou bann ladans ek lakwizin Kreol otantik pour ki nou pep i a napa sa konfi zyon lo lekel ki pour li e lekel ki sorti ayer.

• Ilistrasyon ek teks literer e mannyel ki pa pran an kont lanvironnman lokal i kapab fer nou bann zanfan devlop bann konpleks ki anmenn ver alyenasyon kiltirel. Lansennyman lar i bezwen annan en konponan ilistrasyon lanvironnman Kreol ki pran bann pratik kiltirel an konsiderasyon.

Evantyelman, ki nou pou annan ? En kiltir swadizan global ki san nanm? En pep ki kree mwens e mwens? Kreativite i bezwen en lasours klasik e tradisyonnel ki donn en pep modern en lapartenans zeografi k, istorik e kiltirel.

Finalman, Minister Ledikasyon ek Departman Lakiltir tou le de i deza annan an plas bann eleman debaz pour anmenn ver en bon nivo ledikasyon kiltirel – me zot bezwen fer en evalyasyon bann progranm ki egziste e retabli sa Komite Ledikasyon Kiltirel koman sa mwayen evalyasyon e inovasyon ki ava annan en plan long term pour tous tou domenn lasosyete e enpakte pozitivman lo lavenir nou Kreolite.

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201536

1. IntroductionThe attitudes held towards different

languages in any society are not the random product of individuals’ personal aesthetic preferences. Much research has instead shown (Lippi-Green, 1997; Gardner 1985; Bokhorst-Heng & Santos Caleon, 2009) that attitudes are closely linked to the economic advantages/disadvantages associated with the language in question, so-called instrumental attitudes related to the desire to receive social-status recognition or profi table benefi ts (Gardner and Lambert, 1972). Language, however, is of course not only a question of economy. It is also an integral part of our identity and culture. In this sense language attitudes are also related to the desire to be integrated into a language community and culture, so-called integrative attitudes (Gardner and Lambert, 1972). From a monolingual perspective, a mind-set representing the norm in most Western societies according to Crystal (1987), there is no confl ict between these two forces shaping language attitudes. In fact they often complement and strengthen each other. In many parts of the world, however, the situation is more complex.

Due to a colonial legacy, numerous nations have been struggling to chisel out the role of indigenous languages in offi cialdom. In many such contexts, ex-colonial language/s (often English) still represent a prerequisite for the path to economic success and prestige, while local vernaculars are confi ned to less formal domains – the street, the market, conversations with family and friends – high in affective value, but hardly the way to go if

“I used to like writing in Kreol but now I only use English”

Dr Mats Deutschmann (Umea University) & Justin Zelime (University of Seychelles)Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

An exploratory study of language attitudes and examination performance among primary and secondary

school pupils in the SeychellesKey words: post-colonial, language attitudes, language policies, language-in-education planning, L2 medium of instruction

Due to a colonial legacy, numerous nations have been struggling to fi nd the role of indigenous languages in offi cialdom. In many such contexts, the ex-colonial language/s (often English) still represent the path to economic success and prestige, while local vernaculars are low in status and confi ned to less formal domains. In this respect, Creole languages have traditionally been particularly stigmatised.In the following article, we will examine pupils’ (year one to nine) language attitudes towards the three national languages in the Seychelles – the mother tongue Kreol Seselwa, and the two ex-colonial languages English and French – in two schools, and explore how these attitudes compare with the general performance in the national examinations. The results show that pupils in primary school are positive towards Kreol in all four literacy skill domains, and that these positive attitudes are mirrored in the P6 national examinations. In contrast, there is a clear change in attitudes towards writing and reading in Kreol, once pupils enter the secondary level; secondary school pupils do not seem to favour Kreol as a written medium. We are also able to show that the positive attitudes pupils in primary and secondary schools also hold towards English are not refl ected in exam results. English together with Mathematics are the two subjects with the lowest national average grades in the P6 examinations. Finally, our results indicate that girls hold more favourable attitudes towards all the key literacy skills in all the languages investigated, and that these attitudes are refl ected in the performance in the national examinations; girls outscore boys in all the language subjects and the poor performance of boys, especially in written English, is of concern. We argue that the positive attitudes and results in Kreol in primary school should be built on in order to increase general literacy in all language subjects, and that extending the role of Kreol as an academic subject into secondary levels may help in this pursuit and raise literacy levels as well as the general status of the language. Further the fi ndings have greater implications for language-in-education policies in post-colonial contexts, some of which are discussed below.

Abstract

Creole in education-Guest contribution

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 37

you want to get on in life. In this respect few languages have been as stigmatised as Creole languages.

Kreol Seselwa (hereafter simply referred to as Kreol), a French lexifi er-based Creole, which represents the mother tongue of the vast majority of the population in the Seychelles, is no exception. In spite of concerted efforts to raise its status in the eighties and nineties, efforts which have also resulted in the language today being a key component of the national identity construct (see Nadal, 2014), it is still struggling to fi nd its role in education, fi nancial spheres, in written media etc; while most Seychellois seem to be proud of Kreol, “colonial hangovers” make it hard for Seychellois to accept it as “one equal to other languages” (Mahoune, 2000). This is in line with folk-linguistic views held of Creoles around the world. According to Frank (2007), it is still not uncommon to hear people refer to Creoles as not real languages, broken French/English or patois – imperfect deviations or corruptions a of prestigious ex-colonial language. According to the same author and others (see Fleischmann 2008, for example), this is especially true in the education sector, where these “nonstandard speech varieties” are often seen to “impede progress and upward mobility” (Frank, 2007:2). It is reasonable to assume, that educators’ attitudes towards languages infl uence the pupils’ attitudes, and in extension the latter groups’ interest and motivation to perform in different language subjects.

In the following article, we will examine pupils’ (year one to nine) language attitudes towards the three national languages, Kreol, English and French, in two schools in the Seychelles, and explore how these attitudes compare with the general performance in the national examinations (in primary six (P6) and secondary three (S3)). We will also discuss the implications of our fi ndings on language-in-education and general language policies.

1.1 Theoretical framework and

previous research

Dörnyei (2003:4) makes a distinction between language learning from other school subjects. More so than any other subject, he sees language learning as “socially and culturally bound” and a “deeply social event”, where issues such as multiculturalism, language globalization, language contact, and power relations between different ethnolinguistic groups all play a part. There are, of course strong arguments that all learning is socially and culturally bounded forms of languaging, and this becomes particularly apparent in contexts where ex-colonial languages are used as mediums of instructions in education. Using English as medium of instruction in a post-colonial context, for example, often also entails adopting culturally bounded knowledge systems based on Western scientifi c norms. English thus becomes synonymous with ‘true knowledge’ (as opposed to indigenous ‘beliefs’) and an essential component of ‘progress’. In these contexts, instrumental and integrative motivational forces that have their origin in the past colonial structures, and which have advantaged the middle class elite, will affect attitudes of the general population towards different languages in educational contexts.

According to Van der Walt (2004), for example, attitude surveys that show instrumental motivation for the learning of

English are often used in Africa to justify policies for the use of English as a language of learning and teaching. Ager (2001: Chapter 6) also points to the power of integrative motivation in these contexts. In many post-colonial contexts English is seen as the gateway to membership of a powerful educated elite of English speakers, undermining the position of indigenous languages. The fact that such systems also exclude large proportions of the population (see Garrouste, 2011, for example) and thereby indirectly hinders development is often overseen.

Consequently, there is often general distrust towards the use of indigenous languages in education. Investigating the issue of English-medium vs. vernacular instruction in Ghana, Mfum-Mensah (2005:80), for example, found that a majority of the study participants expressed the view that using the vernacular as an instructional medium was “a subtle strategy employed by the elite to perpetuate the communities’ marginalization from mainstream society”. This suspicion is not unfounded; it is a well-documented phenomenon in many post-colonial contexts that while policymakers publicly agree with, and/or propagate and implement language policies that strengthen the role of vernaculars in education and offi cialdom, the same group will subvert the very same policies by sending their own children to private, elite English medium of instruction schools (Laitin 1992:43). At the same time, various studies from around the world – the Seychelles (Bickerton: 1990); Mauritius (Sauzier-Uchida, 2009); the Maldives (Mohamed, 2013); and Haiti (Hebblethwaite, 2012), for example – have shown that giving local languages a more prominent role in education helps to improve the learning situation for the masses, thereby decreasing inequity, and raising the knowledge capital of a nation.

“The language question” in post-colonial contexts is thus an intricate matter, and striking the right balance between the role of indigenous languages and the need for ex-colonial languages in order to ensure international opportunities for the population, is an ongoing challenge (see Hamid et al, 2014 for a more thorough account). Applying Spolsky’s (2004) “three component model of language policy” to this type of language policy making context reveals some of the complexities involved. According Spolsky, language policy making has three components: language practices – the languages that a speech community selects as parts of its linguistic repertoire and the ways in which these are used; language beliefs or ideology – the beliefs the speech community has about languages and their use; and specifi c efforts made to modify or infl uence the practices of the speech community. In Creole contexts language practices in offi cial contexts are often entirely based on the past colonial structures and changing these is a mammoth task involving enormous practical and economic efforts. This type of work is often made more diffi cult by deeply rooted negative language beliefs about Creole languages. A commonly held belief, for example, is that Creole languages do not have the requisite terminology to deal with the world of (western) science, mathematics, or technology, an obvious myth since all human languages are able to adapt to changes in society and evolve ways of describing new knowledge paradigms. These two aspects, i.e. deeply ingrained language practices based on colonial structures and negative beliefs towards the indigenous language, thus mean

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201538

With independence in 1976, and the subsequent coup d’état in 1977, the status of Kreol improved, and it began its journey towards becoming an offi cial language with a role in administration, culture and education. This was by no means an easy undertaking. There was no written standard, no orthography, no formalised grammar and no literature written in Kreol. Further, the elevation of Kreol to a formal language was not given, even among its native speakers. According to D’Offay (1980: 268), “The dominant group, […], had managed to persuade the Creole-speakers that their ‘speech’ was so inferior in status as to be a ‘non-language’ […]”. The implementation of Kreol as a medium of instruction and a school subject in its own right in education thus involved a marathon effort where grammar descriptions, orthography and spelling had to be agreed upon, learning materials had to be constructed and teachers had to be trained (see Fleischmann 2008: 58-67 for further details of this process). In January 1982 Seychelles, however, became the fi rst Creole-speaking nation in the world to implement a Creole language as a medium of instruction in education. The Seychelles has since been joined by three other nations: Haiti, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, but the majority of the fi fty or so Creole-speaking nations in the world still do not recognise their languages’ role in education (Siegel, 2005). There were other language reforms during the eighties and nineties that favoured Kreol’s offi cial role in society. In 1981, for example, Kreol became the fi rst national language before English, and in 1993 a trilingual language policy was written into the National Constitution whereby Kreol was given equal status to English and French (see Nadal, 2014).

In spite of these initial efforts to promote Kreol’s role in education and elsewhere, there are indications that its position has suffered setbacks in recent years. After concerns were raised in the Language Policy Review Committee (LPRC) report in 1994, Kreol’s role as medium of instruction was reduced from the fi rst four to the fi rst two years of schooling in 1996. One of the motivations for this, according to Gedeon (personal communication 2012), was that policy makers argued that with increased exposure to English in popular media (television for example), children were better equipped to handle an earlier switch to English as medium of instruction. This type of argument is a refl ection of the continued low status of Kreol in the Seychelles, and adds further strength to Siegel’s claims that programmes of literacy in Pidgeons and Creoles in post-colonial countries are transitional and “not an end in itself but rather […] a means of acquiring literacy in the European offi cial language(s), which are used for higher education and government […]” (2005:149). Kreol is not studied beyond the primary level and confi ned to non-academic subjects. According to Nadal (2014: 42) this situation has profound repercussions since pre-service primary teachers who train for teaching Kreol at primary level themselves have very limited knowledge of written Kreol “as they have been completely cut off from the language during the fi ve years of their secondary schooling”.

Today, Kreol remains the medium of instruction during Key Stage 1 (see Figure 1 below), after which it is replaced by English. Kreol then remains a school subject during Key Stages 2 and 3 after which it is totally abandoned in the system as an academic subject. However, according to the National Curriculum Framework (Ministry

Creole in educationthat the specifi c efforts needed to change language practice and beliefs will require massive efforts of prestige and image planning (Liddicoat, 2013). Key efforts in language-in-education planning are particularly important here in order to avoid recessive cycle language developments, situations where the lack of promotion of a local language in education gives fuel to those that claim that the language is unfi t for formal purposes, thereby further diminishing its role, motivating added restrictions to the domains where it is used, ultimately, leaving it in a very weak position, at worst as an oral vernacular (see Bossong, 1980). On the other hand, there are plentiful examples of language planning which have led to so-called expansive cycles, where the active use of a language in all domains, including education, the media, science and technology, has resulted in the long-term survival and growth of a language. The efforts made to revitalize English in the 15th-17th century following the long period of stagnation after the Norman invasion is only one example.

1.2 Background –

the Seychelles context Seychelles became a British colony in 1815, prior to which

it was governed by the French. By this time, Kreol Seselwa, a French-based Creole closely related to the Creoles of Mauritius and Rodriguez, had become fi rmly established as the language of every-day communication. As a marginal colony of little importance, however, the Seychelles were largely left to their own devices; the British presence was mainly restricted to the administrative sphere, where English also became the offi cial language. French kept its role in religious practice and high culture, areas controlled by the francophone elite of colonial descent, the “white bourgeoisie”, or the so-called Grands Blancs (Bollée 1993:88). Since schools were mainly run by the Church, French was also the medium of instruction in education until the1940s. After moves to make education more secular, the church-owned schools were fi nally replaced by more formal and organized arrangements, based on the English system and language in 1947 (Fleischmann 2008: 74).

During the entire colonial period, Kreol remained a low status language, and only existed in its spoken form, as illustrated by Mrs. Elva Gedeon, Senior Curriculum Development offi cer at the Ministry of Education: ”Creole, it was not even considered as a language” (personal communication, recorded interview, 9 November 2012). It was confi ned to informal discourse and completely banned from schools: “Creole was out of the question. We were punished if we spoke Creole in class” (Gedeon, 2012). Such punishments could include “writing lines”, formal rituals designed to bring ridicule to the “offender”, and even corporal punishment (see also Fleischmann, 2008:141). The language situation in the Seychelles during this historical period is a direct refl ection the pre-independence power structures on the islands: the British were the formal administrative rulers, while the Grand Blancs still retained considerable economic power and infl uence. A prerequisite for access to positions of power (within the fi elds of administration, law, religion and education, for example) among the general Kreol-speaking population (94 per cent according to Moumou (2004: 46)) was mastery of English, and to a lesser extent French.

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015

of Education 2013:16) any of “the three national languages can also be used as support languages in the teaching of particular subjects, depending on the context and circumstances of students, teachers and schools, to ensure a maximum level of understanding by all learners”. This includes Kreol, but based on our observations and experiences this rarely seems to be the case (see Deutschmann, 2014).

English also remains the main language of administration, in economic transactions and in the tourism industry, and there are indications that this development is further spurred on by global economic pressures (see Laversuch 2008). Similarly, the use of Kreol in written media is limited to a “symbolical presence”, […] restricted to reporting about events of lower news value” according to Nadal (2014: 43). Two areas where the role of Kreol in the Seychelles excels are in audio-visual media “with the language being used without any complex whatsoever in almost every locally-produced TV programme” (Nadal 2014:43) and in politics where it is the working language of the parliament.

2. The Study 2.1 Aims

The aim of this study is to explore attitudes to the three language subjects, Kreol, English and French, among pupils in primary and secondary schools in the Seychelles. These languages also represent the offi cial national languages in the National Constitution. Our initial hypothesis is that English will be viewed particularly favourably since it is also the main medium of instruction and the language that carries the highest prestige in offi cial contexts in the Seychelles. We are also interested in how pupils perform in the three language subjects and aim to compare attitudes to performance in the National examinations with the initial hypothesis that positive attitudes towards a language/subject also increases motivation and in extension performance.

2.2 Method

Most of the data was collected in two schools, one primary and one secondary school, in the Seychelles during late autumn 2013. Two parallel classes from each year were chosen at random in order to get a representative sample and all in all, 261 pupils from the primary school and 141 pupils from the secondary school were included in the study according to the distribution in Table 1 below.

Pupils were given a questionnaire survey – a so-called ‘smiley questionnaire’ – where they were asked to answer a set

of six questions about their attitudes to the subjects Kreol, English and French. There were two general questions and four questions related to each specifi c literacy skill in the language (oral, aural, reading and writing). Information about the pupils’ gender was also included in the survey:

1. Do you like learning language X this year?2. How diffi cult is language X this year?3. Do you like speaking language X this year?4. Do you like listening to language X this year?5. Do you like reading in language X this year?6. Do you like writing in language X this year?The questionnaire was constructed in such a way that pupils

could choose one of fi ve alternatives on a fi ve point Likert scale in response to the questions. These alternatives were illustrated with ‘smiley faces’ (sad, neutral and happy) that symbolised the different values on a Likert scale. For example, two sad faces (see Figure 2. below) represented the value of one on the Likert scale. There were also illustrations of the particular language skill in question to facilitate comprehension. This was particularly relevant for the younger pupils.

Prior to distributing the questionnaires the researchers

explained the content and purpose of the survey in Kreol, and gave careful instructions on how to fi ll it in. The researchers were also present during the answering process in order to assist pupils who had questions about the content. Note that we asked class teachers to leave the room during this process so that pupils would free to express their opinions anonymously. Note also that the surveys used in the secondary school classes (S1-S3) were slightly modifi ed and did not include questions on general attitudes towards the school subject Kreol since this language ceases to be part of the curriculum after P6. The questionnaires were then collected and average values (1-5) were calculated for each question based on the sum of the individual responses.

39

Table 1. Distribution of pupils included in the study in relation to classes and gender (P=primary and S=Secondary)

Class P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 S1 S2 S3 Total

Girls 22

(47%)

23

(47%)

22

(52%)

20

(47%)

26

(59%)

16

(44%)

24

(51%)

22

(48%)

25

(52%)

200

(50%)

Boys 25

(53%)

26

(53%)

20

(48%)

23

(53%)

18

(41%)

20

(56%)

23

(49%)

24

(52%)

23

(48%)

202

(50%)

Total 47

(100

%)

49

(100

%)

42

(100

%)

43

(100

%)

44

(100

%)

36

(100

%)

47

(100

%)

46

(100

%)

48

(100

%)

402

(100

%)

Figure 1. Key Stages in the Seychelles educational system (Ministry of Education, 2013).

Figure 2. Example of question format in ‘Smiley questionnaire’.

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201540

In the second part of this study, we look at the examinations results from the 2013 national examinations (Ministry of Education, 2013). Here we use the averages from the P6 cohort (1303 pupils) in Kreol, English and French and the S3 cohort (915 pupils) in English and French. We also break down the results from the P6 examinations into the different sub-tests (listening comprehension, reading comprehension, and writing) and examine gender differences in grade distributions in the P6 examinations. This part of the study is limited to the P6 cohort as such data was unfortunately not available for the S3 examinations.

Note that we have not attempted to conduct any statistical analysis to show correlation between language attitudes and performance. The primary reason for this is that the data sets do not match: the entire national cohorts are used for the exam results, while only two classes are used in the attitude survey. Further, the data generated from a Likert scale survey are such that they cannot be used in a Spearman Rank Correlation Test; this type of data simply contains too many ‘joint ranks’ (ten pupils in a class scoring fi ve for a particular question, for example) to make an analysis meaningful. Our comparison between the two data sets should thus be seen as entirely exploratory, revealing potential areas for further research.

2.2 Results

2.2.1 Attitudes and performance in the subjects of Kreol,

English and French

In this section we fi rst examine the results from our attitude survey and then explore how our results compare to performance in the P6 and S3 national examinations of 2013 in these subjects.

Attitude survey resultsIn response to the fi rst general question “Do you like

learning language X this year?”, we found that pupils were most positive towards Kreol during the time it remains a subject in school (P1-P6). Apart from the pupils in primary 1, all pupils were almost equally positive towards English. French, however, is less favoured, gradually losing in popularity as the pupils progress through the system (see Figure 3. below – note that the “Y” axis in all the fi gures below represent the pupils average responses on the fi ve-grade Likert scale where fi ve represents a very positive response and one a very negative response).

In response to the second general question “How diffi cult is language X this year?”, we found that Kreol was considered the easiest subject in school followed by French in Key Stage 1 (P1 and P2), while English was viewed as most diffi cult in this key stage. This relationship, however, changes in Key Stage 2, after P3. After Key Stage 1, French remains the language subject perceived as the most diffi cult throughout the study (see Figure 4. below).

We now turn our attention to the attitudes towards the four language skills. In response to oral aspects of the languages, pupils were most positive towards Kreol, followed by English. French was least favoured and this tendency seems to increase over the years (see Figure 5.).

In response to aural aspects of the languages, the pupils were again most positive towards Kreol in all key stages, closely followed by English. French was only marginally less favoured during primary school, but more negative attitudes prevailed among the secondary school pupils (see Figure 6. below).

The results for the attitudes towards written skills were

notably different from the attitudes towards oral and aural aspects of the languages. Here pupils were very favourable towards Kreol in the primary classes, but there was a substantial drop in attitudes amongst secondary school pupils. Pupils remained positive towards English, while writing in French was generally disfavoured (see Figure 7. below). Overall pupils were less positive to writing

Figure 3. Average responses to the question “Do you like learning language X this year?” Note that this question did not fi gure in S1-S3 for Kreol since it is no longer a school subject in Key Stage 4.

Figure 4. Average responses to the question “How diffi cult is language X this year?” 5=very easy. Note that this question did not fi gure in S1-S3 for Kreol since it is no longer a school subject in Key Stage 4.

Figure 5. Average responses to the question “Do you like speaking language X?”

Creole in education

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 41

In some respects the overall results from the national examinations mirror the attitudes towards the subjects that we found in our survey. Kreol, for example, was the subject evaluated most favourably among the P6 pupils and it was also the language subject that the 2013 P6 cohort performed best in (see Figure 9 below). Similarly English was generally favoured over French among the S3 pupils and this is also mirrored in the examinations results, where the S3 cohort performs better in English than French. A rather surprising result is the poor performance in English among the P6 cohort, this in spite of the fact that most pupils seem very positive towards the subject. It is impossible to draw any fi rm conclusions from our data, but the observed discrepancy between attitudes and performance is an area that merits further research. The performance in French among the P6 pupils is also somewhat surprising. In spite of relatively negative attitudes towards the subject, pupils seem to perform relatively well in the French examinations.

We now turn our attention to the performance in the different sub-parts of the P6 examinations (see Figure 10 below). Here the general fi ndings from our attitude survey are at least partly mirrored in the exam results. The P6 pupils were generally more negative towards reading and writing than oral and aural aspects of the language subjects, and this is refl ected in the exam results, where pupils perform much better in the listening skills papers. Note that there are no oral profi ciency tests in P6 since it is they are too expensive to administer at this stage (individual oral test require a lot of resources). Here, Kreol stands out with a national average of 77 per cent. The results for the writing and reading papers are less positive, and the low results in English are particularly worrying given that it is the medium of instruction in school. In spite of reasonably positive attitudes towards reading and writing in English pupils arguably fi nd these aspects of the language more challenging than they would like to admit. The performance in Kreol, especially in the reading paper, is however very encouraging.

than the oral and aural aspects of the languages. The results for reading roughly mirror those for writing (see Figure 8. below).

Exam Results

Here we look at the exam results of the P6 and S3 national examinations in the language subjects. We also make an exploratory comparison of exam performance with the pupils’ attitudes towards the subjects in question. Important to note here, however, is that this comparison is speculative since the data sets we are looking at do not match – the entire national cohort is used for the exam results and only a few selected classes were investigated in the attitude survey.

Figure 6. Average responses to the question “Do you like listening to language X?”

Figure 7. Average responses to the question “Do you like writing in language X?”

Figure 8. Average responses to the question “Do you like reading in language X?

Figure 9. Average exam results P6 and S3 - 2013.

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201542

2.2.2 Gender distributions in attitudes and in the P6

exam results

In this section we look at gender differences in attitudes and compare these to gender differences in the P6 national examinations. The gender issue is of particular interest in this context since according to the SAQMEC report (Hungi & Thuki, 2010:85) Seychelles has the greatest gender differences in reading abilities of all the investigated nations with girls greatly outperforming boys.

The gender differences in attitudes towards Kreol were the smallest of the investigated languages (see Figure 11 below). Boys did fi nd the subject more challenging than girls, but were only marginally less positive to the four key skills. These attitudes were at least partly mirrored in the national exam results (see Figure 12 below) where boys scored an average of 52 per cent and girls 65 per cent, but where the grade distribution was such that relatively few boys failed the exam (78 in all).

There were large differences in attitudes towards English between the genders (see Figure 13 below). Generally boys found the subject more diffi cult and were more negative to different key skills involved in the subject – particularly writing. These gender differences in attitudes are mirrored in the national exam results, where the boys’ average grade in English was a mere 35 per cent compared to the girls’ 46 per cent. Further, a large group of boys (176 in all) failed the subject altogether. The equivalent fi gure for girls was 46 (see Figure 14 below)

The greatest gender differences in attitudes were observed in French (see Figure 15 below). Generally boys found the subject more diffi cult and were more negative to the different key skills – particularly writing but less so with reference to listening skills. These gender differences in attitudes are also mirrored in the national exam results, where the difference in performance between boys and girls was the greatest of the observed subjects (see Figure 16 below): boys averaged 46 per cent and girls 62 per cent. Worth noting, however, is that relatively few boys failed the exam in French (66 in all).

Figure 10. Results in different papers –P6.

Figure 11. Gender differences in attitudes towards Kreol P1-P6.

Figure 12. Gender differences in grade distribution – Kreol P6. Boys overall grade average = 52% and girls = 65%. Note that x-axis indicates the number of pupils in the 2013 cohort who received a particular grade.

Figure 13. Gender differences in attitudes towards English P1-P6.

Figure 14. Gender differences in grade distribution – English P6. Boys overall grade average = 35% and girls = 46%.

Creole in education

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 43

2.2.3 Summary of results

The results clearly show that pupils are very positive towards Kreol on the whole. These attitudes are particularly noticeable in the primary classes where Kreol is favoured over English and French in all four literacy skill domains. These positive attitudes are mirrored in the P6 national examinations where Kreol is the subject pupils perform the best of all the subjects tested including Maths, the Social Sciences etc. In our survey, there is a clear change in attitudes towards writing and reading in Kreol once pupils enter the secondary level, however. They do not seem to be as positive to reading and writing in Kreol as pupils are at primary level. One boy in S3 we spoke to gave the following answer to the question of what language he favoured in formal and informal writing: “I used to like writing in Kreol but now I only use English”. He claimed that all his written communication, including informal communication such as text messages and comments on Facebook etc. were done in English and that the same applied to most of his friends. Given the fact that Kreol ceases to be an academic subject after P6 and that all tasks, examinations etc. have to be communicated in English at secondary level, it is hardly surprising that the pupils’ attitudes towards written Kreol change for the negative once they enter higher levels of the education system. This may simply be a refl ection of the signals that the system indirectly is sending out – “English is the written medium to use in adult contexts”.

It is also interesting to see how the attitudes towards English change from Key Stage One in the education system, when Kreol is

the medium of instruction (P1-P2), to key stages 2-4 (P3-S3) when English is the medium of instruction. In our study, children in the former key stage generally held less favourable attitudes towards English compared to Kreol and French. After Key Stage 1 when English becomes the medium of instruction, pupils generally held positive attitudes towards the subject, although writing seemed to be slightly less favoured. The P6 national exam results, however, show that contrary to what one would expect based on the attitude survey, pupils perform very badly in English. Apart from Mathematics, it is in fact the subject that shows the lowest mean grade (40 per cent) in the national examinations, and the low average grades in the reading and writing parts of the exam were particularly alarming. Somehow pupils seem to fi nd English more challenging than they care to admit, especially the written aspects of the language. This is a cause of great concern, given that English is the medium of instruction in most other subjects in the curriculum from P3 onwards.

What is slightly surprising are the relatively less positive attitudes held towards French in our study. Given the fact that Kreol Seselwa is based on French vocabulary, one could arguably expect pupils to fi nd French easier/more interesting than English, but this is not refl ected in the attitude survey. Such negative attitudes towards French among the Seychellois have been found in other studies (see Fleischmann 2008:117-119, for example), but we have no obvious explanations for the phenomenon and the question merits further research. In examinations, however, pupils do relatively well in French and there seems to be a mismatch between attitudes and performance.

In the fi nal section of our results we examine gender differences in attitudes and exam results in the language subjects. The results show that girls clearly hold more favourable attitudes towards all the key literacy skills in all the languages, and these attitudes are refl ected in the performance in the national examinations; girls outscore boys in all the language subjects and the poor performance of boys, especially in English, is worrying. On the one hand, this is an international trend, where girls are seen to value language competences, whereas boys prefer the “hard sciences”: mathematics, natural sciences, life sciences, etc.. In the case case of the Seychelles, and many other post-colonial contexts the underperformance of boys in English also leads to underperformance in all subjects taught through the medium of English, something that is refl ected in the national exams where girls outscore boys in ALL subjects.

3. Discussion Some fi ndings from our study stand out and may have

implications for future language-in-education policies in the Seychelles and elsewhere. Firstly, it is apparent that Seychellois children in primary school are very positive towards their mother tongue and that this positive attitude is refl ected in exam results. This knowledge resource is arguably not being exploited to its full potential in the current system. There is much evidence that literacy skills in the L1 and in the L2 interplay (Bernhardt & Kamil 1995; Bernhardt, 2005; Koda, 2005, 2007), and further building on the positive attitudes/learning outcomes in Kreol in primary school, by for example developing the subject in secondary school, may well affect literacy in English and French positively too. Further, we suggest that keeping

Figure 15. Gender differences in attitudes towards French P1-P6.

Figure 16. Gender differences in grade distribution – French P6. Boys overall grade average = 46% and girls = 62%.

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201544

Kreol as a subject up into the secondary years would provide an arena for local cultural expressions, in literature, for example. As things stand today, much of the content in subjects such as the sciences, history, geography etc. in the secondary school system is based on curricula and course literature produced for an international audience (often Western). This is hardly surprising since the secondary school education system is geared towards the fi nal IGCSE (International General Certifi cate in Secondary Education) examinations, which are both constructed and marked in Cambridge, England. In this system there is little room for the local context. Keeping Kreol as a subject could at least partly counter-balance this.

Secondly, it is evident from our results that attitudes towards Kreol as a written medium become far more negative once it is abandoned as a school subject. This has serious implications for the status of Kreol in the Seychelles. If the development of more advanced literacy skills in Kreol are not supported in the education system, this may well lead to a recessive cycle effect (cf. Bossong 1980) that gradually erodes the role of Kreol into becoming a mere spoken vernacular. Not only does this impair recruitment of future teachers with adequate skills to teach the language in primary schools, as pointed out by Nadal (2014: 43), it also has implications for written Kreol in media such as newspapers, in literature etc. Keeping Kreol as a subject in secondary school would raise its status and also clear the ground for introducing it at higher levels of education such as university.

Thirdly, there are indications that limited English skills among pupils, particularly in writing and reading as evidenced from the P6 national examinations, may be somewhat obscured by their positive attitudes to the subject. It is of concern that so many pupils appear to have diffi culties in the language that is the medium of instruction from P3 onwards, and although it would be unrealistic to propagate a radical change of the role of English in the current system, more should perhaps be done to identify and support pupils with diffi culties. This could well involve increasing the importance of Kreol as language of support in schools as well as other efforts, such as a greater focus on language issues in the teacher training programs of all teacher categories (see Deutschmann & Zelime, 2014).

Finally, the gender differences in language attitudes and performance are of great concern. Many boys are not faring well in the current system, and especially among this group the use of Kreol as a support language is motivated. Today there are large groups of unqualifi ed, unemployed males in the Seychelles and many speak of a “masculinity crisis”. According to the African Development Bank resort of 2009:

Seychelles is one of the best examples of a country where women have met most of their basic needs and have achieved almost full practical empowerment in the public sphere, with constitutional and equal rights to work, education, health, vote, land ownership and inheritance. In fact, it can be said that Seychelles is a country where women and girls have many advantages over men and boys. […] Gender gaps are perhaps particularly glaring in the education sector. (African Development Bank Report, 2009:4).

In the same report it is claimed that “men interpreted themselves as helpless victims whose power had been eroded by women, government and society.” (African Development Bank

Report, 2009:v). Among the middle classes such sentiments were less frequent, however. There are strong indications that the current system contributes to inequity in other areas too. Although social class was not investigated in this study, SAQMEC reports Seychelles as a nation with one of the largest differences in reading scores between rich and poor pupils of in the region, a direct result of the degree of exposure to English in the home environment (Hungi & Thuki, 2010:81). It is tempting (but at this stage unfounded) to speculate that effects of inequity resulting from current policies may not be entirely unintentional. After all, the policy makers are themselves products of the current system and they have themselves benefi tted from it.

All of the above illustrate a general dilemma in post-colonial contexts: in the bid to quality assure education in accordance to international standards, and to prepare for engagement in an international community, systems such as the IGCSE exams are adopted. While such policies do in fact open up international opportunities for a limited group, they also shut the door for large sections of the population who are not able to negotiate the linguistic hurdles. What is more such policies also come at a cost – the hindrance of indigenous languages and cultures to develop and mature into adulthood. There is a case for questioning the logical arguments presented by educational authorities as to why indigenous languages are not maintained throughout schooling system. Is it really a case of limited resources resulting in the prioritization of opening up to ‘world of opportunities’? Or may it be that old habits/structures die hard, structures where being more “highly educated” still is associated with profi ciency in “non-local” languages?

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 45

RésuméEn raison d’un héritage colonial, de nombreuses nations peinent à défi nir le rôle des langues autochtones au sein d’un cadre offi ciel. Dans de nombreux cas, l’ancienne/les anciennes langue(s) coloniale(s) (souvent l’anglais) représente(nt) toujours la voie de la réussite économique et du prestige, alors que les langues vernaculaires locales ont un statut peu-relevé et leur usage est limité à des domaines moins formels. Ainsi, les langues créoles ont traditionnellement été stigmatisées de façon particulière.Dans cette présente communication, nous examinerons l’attitude linguistique des apprenants (se situant à divers niveaux d’apprentissage, entre la première et la neuvième année de scolarité) envers les trois langues nationales des Seychelles, à savoir la langue maternelle, le Kreol Seselwa, et les langues de deux anciens pouvoirs coloniaux : le français et l’anglais, dans deux écoles. Nous verrons aussi comment établir un lien entre ces attitudes et la performance générale notée au cours des examens nationaux. Les résultats démontrent que les élèves au niveau primaire ont une attitude positive envers le Kreol dans les quatre compétences langagières et que ces attitudes positives se refl ètent au niveau des examens nationaux en P6. En revanche, il y a un net changement d’attitude envers l’écriture et la lecture en Kreol, une fois que les élèves passent au secondaire, où ils ne semblent pas favoriser le Kreol comme un support écrit. Nous sommes également en mesure de démontrer que les attitudes positives des apprenants dans les écoles primaires et secondaires envers l’anglais ne sont pas refl étées dans leurs performances académiques dans cette matière. L’anglais et les mathématiques sont les deux matières où l’on enregistre les moyennes nationales les plus faibles au niveau des examens de P6. Enfi n, nos résultats indiquent que les fi lles ont des attitudes plus favorables à l’égard de toutes les compétences langagières, toutes langues confondues, et que ces attitudes se refl ètent en termes de performance aux examens nationaux. Les fi lles obtiennent, en effet, de meilleurs résultats que les garçons dans toutes les matières se rapportant aux langues, alors que la mauvaise performance des garçons, en particulier pour l’écrit en anglais, est source de préoccupation.Nous soutenons que les attitudes et les résultats positifs par rapport au Kreol à l’école primaire devraient constituer une base pour accroître le niveau général d’alphabétisation dans toutes les langues. De plus, un prolongement du rôle du Kreol en tant que matière académique au niveau secondaire peut aider dans cette quête et augmenter en même temps l’alphabétisation, la performance, ainsi que le statut général de cette langue. En outre, les résultats de nos recherches ont des implications plus larges par rapport aux dispositions régissant la place des langues dans l’éducation, et ce, dans des contextes postcoloniaux. Certains de ces résultats sont discutés ci-dessous.

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tional Journal of Educational Development 31, 223-233.

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mentary, Current Issues in Language Planning, 15(1), 1-3.

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tional language policy problems and solutions in Haiti. Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages 27(2),

255–302.

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systems: which factors matter? International Review of Education 56, 63 -101.

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tic Study on Attitudes towards Seychellois Creole. Bern: Peter Lang.

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languages. Paper presented at a Symposium on Endangered Language, College Park, Maryland. March

25, 2007.

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Cambridge University Press.

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reading development. In K. Koda (Ed.), Reading and language learning (pp. 1-44). (Special issue of)

Language Learning Supplement 57, 1-44.

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14(3).227–39.

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Issues in Language Planning, 9(4), 375-394.

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tions. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

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able at http://www.iias.nl/iiasn/22/regions/22ISA1.html. Accessed 29 April 2015.

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hensive Study of Results. Centre for Curriculum, Assessment & Teacher Support, Mahé, Seychelles.

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Education.

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vernacular use in schools in two northern Ghanaian communities. Comparative Education 41(1).71–85.

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015

Keywords: language, epistemology, knowledge, subjugated knowledge, Kreol, Mauritius

46

Epistemology of languages – The socially constructed disputed knowledge about Mauritian

Kreol: A socio-historical perspective

Creole in education-Guest contribution

Dr Jimmy Harmon (Nelson Mandela Centre for African and Creole Culture, Mauritius)Email: [email protected]

In 2012, Kreol was introduced as an optional language in all primary schools in the Republic of Mauritius at par with the ancestral/oriental /Arabic languages. The offi cial appellation for the new language subject is ‘Kreol Morisien’ (KM). Why did it take more than forty years for the post-colonial State of Mauritius to grant offi cial status to its national vernacular in schools? In this paper, I posit that that the main obstacle for the introduction of KM in school has been a ‘socially constructed disputed knowledge’ on the status of Kreol as language. The purpose of this paper is to examine this particular ‘knowledge’ which I fi nd best portrayed in the fi rst public debates on Kreol in local newspaper articles from the late 1960s onward. I locate my refl ection within an epistemology that can be broadly defi ned as the study of knowledge (Blackburn, 1996; Audi, 1999). The classical defi nition of knowledge is that it is a ‘justifi ed true belief’ (Gettier, 1963). This suggests that for something to be considered as knowledge it has to be true and a person must be able to justify the claim that is being made. However, social constructivism considers that knowledge is socially constructed (Vygotsky, 1986) and that it is shaped by power relations. The outcome of my refl ection leads me to state that the ‘socially constructed disputed knowledge’ was underpinned by class and ethnic cleavages and linguistic loyalties (Rajagopalan, 2001). More so, the dispute represents the early signs of a subjugated knowledge (Foucault, 1972, 1980).

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONIn 2012, Kreol was introduced as an optional subject at

par with other ancestral languages in the primary schools of the Republic of Mauritius. The offi cial appellation for this new subject is Kreol Morisien. Since then, the abbreviation ‘KM’ is used in common parlance by the school community to refer to Kreol as

a teaching subject. In this paper, I use ‘KM’ for the subject Kreol Morisien and I use ‘Kreol’ when I refer to the Kreol language spoken in Mauritius. This policy decision regarding KM was welcomed with pride and relief by all the proponents and promoters of Kreol. However, why did it take more than forty years for the post-colonial State of Mauritius to grant offi cial status to its national vernacular in schools? In this paper, I posit that that the main obstacle to the introduction of Kreol Morisien (KM) in the school curriculum has been a ‘socially constructed disputed knowledge’ of Kreol as a language. The purpose of this paper is to examine this particular ‘knowledge’ which, in my view, is best portrayed by the fi rst public debates on Kreol as language in local newspaper articles, as from the late 1960s onwards. My refl ection is located in the epistemology of Kreol which has been an unexplored area until now. Research literature on Kreol has focused more on the fi eld of linguistics and sociolinguistics. I also draw my refl ection from the sociology of knowledge which views knowledge as a social construct. In the course of my doctoral research on the introduction of KM as an optional subject as from 2012, I was led to research how knowledge was constructed around Kreol. For this, I identifi ed newspapers articles during the period spanning from 1967 to 2012. In this paper, I will refer only to a selection of articles in the late 1960s which are representative of the different socio-historical forces at play when the fi rst debates on Kreol appeared in the press. I consider the late 1960s as a period of early intellectual agitation for recognition of Kreol. So, the selected press articles provide an interesting corpus for research. This paper is organised in three sections. First, I set the scene by describing the main features of the geography, population and political system of the Republic of Mauritius. I will give an insight into the relationship between ethnicity and languages and I will describe the place of KM and the ancestral/oriental and Arabic languages in the education system. Second, I will highlight the central questions in epistemology which can be broadly defi ned as the study of knowledge (Blackburn, 1996; Audi, 1999). Third, I will analyse and discuss my fi ndings. By analysing the ways in which Kreol has been perceived and constructed through academic and popular discourses in the colonial and post-colonial era, I will demonstrate that there has been a ‘socially constructed

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 47

disputed knowledge’ on the status of Kreol as language. I will show that the dispute opposed two types of knowledge, namely the dominant versus the subjugated (Foucault, 1980). The dominant knowledge tried to show that Kreol is not a language while the subjugated one struggled to prove the contrary. It is the outcome of this disputed knowledge which eventually led to the introduction of Kreol as an optional subject.

I. BACKGROUND1.1. Geography, Population and

Political System

The Republic of Mauritius lies in the south-western part of the Indian Ocean. It comprises the main island, Mauritius, and its inhabited dependents, namely Rodrigues, Agalega and St Brandon, as well as a number of outlying smaller islands. Mauritius belongs to a group of islands called the Mascarenes, and it is of volcanic origin, with a total land area of 2,040 square metres. In terms of historical settlement, Mauritius has been populated as a result of three major periods of settlement: Dutch settlement (1638-1658; 1664-1710), French colonisation (1710-1810) and British colonisation (1810-1968). The country gained independence from Britain in 1968 and became a Republic in 1992. However, the country kept the Westminster political system by retaining the parliamentary democracy system (Selvon, 2005). Ethnic politics is a major feature of postcolonial Mauritius and it is intermingled with issues of language and identity.

1.2. Ethnicity & Languages

The resident population of the Republic of Mauritius in the 2011 Population Census numbered 1,233,000. Out of this fi gure, 1,192,300 lived in the island of Mauritius, 40,400 in Rodrigues and 300 in Agalega (Statistics Mauritius, 2011). With regard to the composition of the population, the First Schedule to the Constitution (1968) establishes a four-fold categorization along ethno-religious and ethnic lines, namely: Hindu, Muslim, Sino-Mauritian, and General Population, which is a residual category under which are lumped the Creoles – who may be of African origin or of mixed blood – and the

Whites or Franco-Mauritians. Subsequent to a Constitutional amendment in 1982, there is now no need for Mauritians to reveal their ethnic identities for the purpose of population censuses. Prior to 1982, the census fi gures gave the ethnic make-up of the population (Sithanen, 2008). The last census with ethnic indications dates back to 1972 and these fi gures show that the Republic of Mauritius comprises of 51% of people of Indian origin. The biggest minority is the Creoles (27%), followed by the Muslims (17%), Chinese (3%) and the Whites (2%).

In terms of languages, the Statistics Mauritius Report (2011) shows that out of every 10 Mauritians, 8 reported that they spoke only Kreol at home in 2011, as compared to 7 in 2000. The report also observes that Bhojpuri, which was spoken by 12% of the population in 2000, was spoken by only 5% of inhabitants in 2011. These fi gures confi rm that Kreol has indisputably become the ‘L1 of the Republic’ and concomitantly the home language of Mauritians (Hookoomsing, 2012, p. 12). In the case of English, which is the offi cial medium of instruction in education, it is the home language of only 0.4% of speakers. This shows the linguistic divide between school and the home languages which are mainly Kreol (86.5%) and Bhojpuri (5.3%).

1.3. Languages at school

In both primary and secondary schools, English is studied as a language subject and is also the offi cial medium of instruction for the teaching of all non-language subjects. French is studied as a language subject, while Kreol is used as support language. In primary schools, most pupils choose a third (optional) language. In terms of optional languages, we have two categories: fi rst, Asian or Oriental languages/Arabic; and second, Kreol Morisien and Bhojpuri, which are the two new languages introduced in 2012. The presence of Oriental Languages (namely Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Marathi and Telugu) in the education system is closely associated with the political emergence of the Indo-Mauritian community in the 1950s (Dinan, 1986, 2013) and these languages are promoted as a cultural parapet against loss of Indianity (Eisenlhor, 2004; Miles, 1999; Eriksen, 1988).

Eight national and international educational reports in all (NHRC, 2007; Tirvassen, 2001; Ramdoyal, 1990; Glover, 1978; Richard, 1979; Meade, 1968; Ward, 1941; ADEA, 2006) have signalled the need to review the medium of instruction with some varying degree of emphasis on the need to use Kreol. The ADEA Report (2006) states that ‘a central detrimental aspect of the primary school curriculum is that it is taught in English which is a foreign language for the majority of Mauritians’ (p.159). However, national policy-makers have been unable to address the medium of instruction issue although this has been raised in various reform plans (White Paper on Education, MOE, 1984; Select Committee on CPE, 1986; Master Plan, MOE 1991; Select Committee on Oriental Languages /CPE, 1993; Action Plan, MOE, 1998). In fact, the public debate on Kreol as a medium of instruction since the late 1960s has been at the centre of an epistemological debate. Before I present this epistemological debate on KM, I give an overview of the literature on epistemology in the next section.

II. EPISTEMOLOGY LITERATURE2.1. Central Questions & Rationalists

versus Empiricists

Epistemology is one of the four branches (viz. epistemology, logic, ethics, metaphysics or ontology) of philosophy. Etymologically, philosophy comes from Greek, by way of Latin, philosophia. It combines two words, namely ‘love’ and ‘wisdom’. Blackburn (1996) defi nes philosophy as follows:

The study of the most general and abstract features of the world and categories with which we think: mind, matter, reason, proof, truth,

National

policy-makers have been

unable to address the

medium of instruction

issue although this has

been raised in various

reform plans

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201548

etc. In philosophy, the concepts with which we approach the world themselves become the topic of enquiry. (p.15)This paper examines particularly ‘the

concepts’ with which Kreol was approached in the late 1960s as ‘a topic of enquiry’ by academics and opinion leaders. I look into the ‘categories’ of thinking and knowledge. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (Blackburn, 1996) and the Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy (Audi, 1999), the word ‘epistemology’ comes from two Greek words: episteme (knowledge) and logos (study or explanation). The English word ‘epistemology’ is a translation of the German word ‘wissenschaftslehre’ (theory of science). The continental world (Europe with the exception of Britain and Ireland) uses the generic term ‘epistemology’ to refer to the different disciplines of study of scientifi c knowledge mentioned above. However, Anglo-Saxon academia distinguishes epistemology (with the restricted sense of ‘study or theory of knowledge’) from the ‘philosophy of science’, which is described as the study of the scientifi c methods and results. In this chapter, I use epistemology in the Anglo-Saxon sense of the word, i.e. as something understood as theory or study of knowledge. There are some central questions in epistemology.

For Blackburn (1996), the central questions in epistemology revolve around the origin of knowledge, the place of experience in generating knowledge and the place of reason in doing so. They also centre on the relationship between knowledge and certainty and between knowledge and the impossibility of error and the changing forms of knowledge which arise from new conceptualizations of the world. The classical question in epistemology is: ‘how do we know what we know?’ (Blackburn, 1996; Buekens, 1995; Runes, 1942). For Kreol, this would mean ‘how do those who are expressing some forms of knowledge on this language know what they know?’ It is a question which also revolves around the meaning of knowledge and how a person gets to know something. Two schools of thought have developed amongst philosophers on the source of knowledge, namely the rationalists and the empiricists.

For Buekens (1996) and Blackburn

(1996), continental rationalists (Descartes, Leibniz, and Spinoza) are frequently contrasted with British empiricists (Locke, Berkeley, and Hume), but such oppositions usually over-simplify a more complex picture. Rationalists claim that the source of knowledge is the brain and is solely based on reasoning. Thus the rational and the logical human mind are the sources for new knowledge and not the material world around us. Within a rationalist perspective, research results, for instance, are verifi ed by reasoning. On the other hand, empiricists claim that true knowledge is primarily founded on input from our senses. In this case, experience and observations are important when claims for justifi ed belief are made. In fact, my analysis of the press articles from 1967 to 2012 showed that debates were both of a rationalist and empiricist nature. At fi rst, it was a struggle to show, prove and verify that Kreol is either a language or just a patois. But at a later stage, the source of knowledge for Mauritian policy makers and politicians was the accumulation of some experimental projects like the Prevokbek programme, which is a Kreol literacy and numeracy programme alongside multiligual education in catholic secondary schools, or the adult literacy programme in Kreol developed by Ledikasion Pu Travayer (LPT), the publication of the fi rst unilingual Kreol dictionary and the argumentation deployed by Kreol academics coupled with grassroots pressure which led to the introduction of KM in primary schools (Carpooran, 2013). Basing himself upon the pioneering work of Karl Manheim (1893-1947), one of the founding fathers of classical sociology and of the sociology of knowledge, Dant (1991) describes knowledge as follows:

Knowledge is a key feature of societies. It is part of what binds individuals and groups of humans into that larger group which we call society. It is a link between each of us and everyone else who shares our society and its culture. But it is also a key feature of the fragmentation between social groups. Differences in what people share as knowledge, not only in terms of their beliefs but also in terms of that unspoken

knowledge hidden within the social practices and customs… (p. 2).Dant’s defi nition shows how

knowledge unites people, but at the same time, generates confl icts. Knowledge impacts society and ‘marks the differences between social groups’. The above quote also tells us that the differences are not only in terms of ‘beliefs’ but also of ‘unspoken knowledge hidden within the social practices and customs’. For instance, an analysis of the debates in the newspapers during the 1970s, 1980s and the 2004-2012 periods just before the introduction of KM in schools shows a ‘fragmentation of social groups’ in the Mauritian society. Taking into consideration the socio-economic profi le and social status of those intervening in the debates, my fi ndings led me to argue that those who were against KM were mainly on one side, those from the upper and lower middle class, and on the other side, the working class and lumpen proletariat were just accepting with consent the hegemony of these two classes. This was not just a difference of opinion. It marked the class and ethnic cleavages of a post-colonial society (Harmon, 2014). These contradictions have particular resonance with the political, cultural and social fabric of the Mauritian society. It is the pressure of the knowledge of the Kreol academics and militants which fi nally led to reasoning and acceptance of Kreol. This leads me to consider another epistemological question which is about what constitutes true knowledge.

2.2. Justifi ed true belief

When we look at an issue from a philosophical perspective, it usually leads to the critical examination of the grounds for fundamental beliefs and an analysis of the

Debates in the

newspapers during the

1970s, 1980s and the 2004-

2012 periods just before

the introduction of KM in

schools show a ‘fragmen-

tation of social groups’ in

the Mauritian society.

Creole in education

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 49

basic concepts employed in the expression of such beliefs. In philosophy, belief is defi ned as an affi rmation of, or conviction into the truth of a proposition, whether the latter may be true or false (Blackburn, 1996). Knowledge is defi ned as a ‘justifi ed true belief’ (Audi, 1999). This suggests that for something to be considered as knowledge, it has to be true. But a person must be able to justify the claim that is being made. If the claim itself must be true and if the person must believe in it, the claim must also be based on evidence which is logical and reasonable.

Was it then ‘justifi ed true belief’ which pushed Mauritian policymakers and decision takers to introduce KM as an optional subject? On what evidence did the government base itself to introduce KM in the school curriculum? Was there any evidence anyway? My research led me to state that there was not one ‘justifi ed true belief’ but a plurality of ‘justifi ed true beliefs’. Several arguments were put forward and claimed as true beliefs since the post-independence period till 2012. At the end of the day, there was one justifi ed true belief which triumphed over other truths. In fact, each protagonist deployed his/her knowledge on Kreol, be it favourable or not to Kreol, by showing that it is a ‘justifi ed true belief’. In the next section, I discuss the foundation of the ‘justifi ed true beliefs’ for Kreol.

III. THE SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED DISPUTED

KNOWLEDGE3.1. The foundation of the justifi ed

true beliefs

3.1.1. Exotic Interest in & Black Preju-

dice against Kreol

In Voyage à l’Ile de France (1773), Bernardin de St Pierre makes reference to the ‘mauvais patois’ (rough patois) of one of his native characters. There is also the traveller Freycinet (1827) who visited Mauritius in 1818 and, in his book Voyage autour du monde (as cited in Hookoomsing, 2004, p. 5) wrote that Kreol is a “patois inventé par les noirs” (a patois invented by the Blacks). The fi rst systematic description of Kreol was done by the Mauritian author named Charles Baissac (1831-1892). Baissac published two major works, namely

Etudes sur le Patois mauricien (1880) and Le folklore de l’Ile Maurice (1888). The fi rst work (Etudes sur le Patois mauricien) is a study of Kreol and it makes a description of Kreol’s syntax. The second work (Folkore de l’Ile Maurice) is a collection of tales and riddles (more commonly known in Kreol as ‘sirandann’).

The publications of Charles Baissac are a foundation in the cultural history of Mauritius in the sense that they represent the fi rst works ever undertaken on Kreol language and culture, which date as far back as the 19th century. The detailed description of the phonology, grammar and syntax of Kreol together with a comparative analysis with French is the fi rst local knowledge produced on Kreol. Hookoomsing (2004) qualifi es Baissac’s description as ‘a monumental work’, but remarks as well, that “for all his erudition,

Baissac had a very poor opinion of Mauritian Creole Language and of its potentialities as a language” (p.5). I would say that Charles Baissac had an exotic interest in the Creole patois. In spite of his description of the Kreol language, he did not recognise Kreol as a language, but as “patois” (as implied in the title of his publication), and for him, Kreol has limited capacities in terms of abstract thinking if we base ourselves upon what he wrote: “Creole is not the language of philosophy: immensity, eternity, immortality, time, space, glory, nobility, etc., etc., so many words that Creole language does not possess…” (Baissac, 1880: ix: my translation).

This appreciation of Kreol as not being the ‘language of philosophy’ has been the ‘justifi ed true belief’ that Kreol is not a language. This claim to a false assumption has travelled throughout history as knowledge and has shaped the history of thought on Kreol and their speakers. In 1834, one year before the abolition of slavery, Eugene Bernard, who was a

Franco-Mauritian, wrote an essay with the title ‘Essai sur les nouveaux affranchis à l’Ile Maurice’ (1834), which we translate literally as ‘Essay on the newly liberated in Mauritius’ (1834). This essay, which has been republished by Romaine and Ng Tat Cheung in 2010, depicts the Black population as ‘paresseux’ (lazy), ‘ivrogne’ (drunkard) and their language, ‘Creole’, is referred to as ‘patois’. Like most colonised countries of that time, anything which could be referred to or associated with the former slave population, including their language, was downgrading (Pearce, 1988; Mwiria, 1991; Thong, 2012). Although by the early 18th century Kreol had become the major language of communication between the slave and their masters, the social perception of Kreol as ‘mauvais patois’ (rough patois) by the Franco-Mauritians in particular, persisted and became a dominant knowledge. I consider that the combination of the following factors, namely the exotic interest of Baissac’s type, Black prejudice and rough patois attitude towards Kreol, has bred constant rejection of Kreol. Transmitted down to successive generations, they are factors which have left their indelible imprints on the Mauritian psyche. However, in my opinion, Baissac’s description of the syntax of Mauritian Kreol has helped linguists later to study KM in all seriousness (Harmon, 2012; Sauer & Virahsamy, 2012). In the coming section, I examine the theories of Kreol languages.

3.1.2. Theories of Kreol Languages

According to Mufwene (2001), the study of creole languages has given birth to genetic creolistics, which is concerned with the emergence of creole languages as separate vernaculars. Hancock (1977) identifi es 127 pidgins and creoles, grouping them into lexifi er-based sets, namely as English, French, Portuguese and Spanish varieties. According to Hancock’s (1997) classifi cation of creole varieties, Kreol in Mauritius is a French-based creole. There are three main theories which explain the origins of the different varieties of French-based creole languages. First, the African substratum theory or the monogenesis debate (Holm, 1988) explains that it is an undeniable fact that the vocabulary of creole languages comes from European

Anything which could

be referred to or associ-

ated with the former slave

population, including

their language, was

downgrading

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la reunion

Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201550

languages. Yet, it is the African and Malagasy languages which provide the matrix for grammar and the sentence structure. Second, there is the Romanist or Eurocentrist school which tries to explain the origin of creole languages as per the taxonomy of Indo-European languages or that creole languages were formed by the bad acquisition of European languages.

Third, there is the universalist theory, based upon the universal properties of languages. Basing himself upon the theories of Noam Chomsky, Bickerton (2006) developed the language bioprogram hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, similarities across various creole languages are due to their being formed from a prior pidgin by children who share a universal human innate grammar. Over and above these theoretical explanations on the genesis and nature of creole languages, my research work led me to posit that discussions about the origin of Kreol are mainly located into two divergent views, namely, the ‘Bourbonnais Theory’ and the pidginization explanation.

3.1.3. Bourbonnais Theory versus

Pigdinization

The ‘Bourbonnais Theory’ is propounded by Chaudenson (1979), a French linguist and pioneering researcher in French based Creolistics. In the 1970s, Chaudenson, conducted his research on Creole vernaculars and published Les Creoles Francais (1979) which highlighted the origin, evolution and meaning of the term ‘Creole’. This publication also defi ned key terms like “pidgins”, “sabir”, “endogeneous” and “exogeneous” creoles and it also gave the linguistic and sociolinguistic perspective on the study of Creole languages. Since then, Chaudenson has been known as the creolist of the “Bourbonnais” theory. ‘Bourbonnais’ is the name of the inhabitants of the Reunion Island in the days of early French colonization, when the island was called ‘Ile Bourbon’. Today, the inhabitants are called ‘Réunionnais’ and Reunion Island is a French Department. Reunion Island is 150 miles away from Mauritius. Reunion Island became a French colony almost a century before Ile de France (name of Mauritius

when it was a French colony). French settlement in Ile de France took place in 1710, whereas the fi rst French settlers came to Bourbon Island in 1664, when the Orient Company was replaced by Colbert’s East India Company (Gelabert, 2010). The “Bourbonnais” theory gives three reasons to claim that the language structure of creole used in Reunion was fully developed before Ile de France had its fi rst population of creole speakers.

First, Creole societies experienced a shift from a homestead phase or société d’habitation to a plantation phase (Chaudenson 1992; Mufwene, 2001). The homestead phase is considered as the period of early settlement of the colonisers. This was a period when the colonisers came for prospection of wood, spices and other products. They looked for plots of land to build houses and farmhouses. Then after having decided to settle permanently, colonisers started to

make plans for future development. It was during this period that slaves were imported in great numbers as labour force. Creolists like Mufwene (2001) and Chaudenson (1992) call this period ‘the plantation phase’ with its group of labourers to work in the fi elds and grow and harvest cash crops for the colonisers. According to Chaudenson (1992), it is at the plantation phase that Kreol developed with the contact of slaves speaking different languages and the colonial masters. Reunion Island knew both the homestead and the plantation phases before Ile de France. Second, for Chaudenson (2010), all the French-based creoles in the Indian Ocean are typologically similar and belong to the same linguistic tradition. Third, speakers of “Bourbonnais” provided the major input to the formation of Mauritian Creole in the early stages of its development, given

that some slaves were brought to Ile de France from Bourbon Island, as Mahé de Labourdonnais was the governor of both islands. The premises upon which Chaudenson builds his theory have been highly disputed by Virahsawmy (1990). Dev Virahsawmy is a Mauritian linguist, poet and writer of left leaning ideologies. In 1967, he wrote a fi rst paper on KM which was entitled ‘Language Problems in Mauritius’ in the newspaper L’Express on 12th August, 1967 (to which I come in more detail in section 3.3). Virahsawmy was also a Member of Parliament in the 1970s.

Virahsawmy (1990) refers to the works of researchers in linguistics like John Lyons and Noam Chomsky to argue that Kreol has evolved on its own. With regard to the genesis of Kreol, Virahsawmy (1990) builds his argumentation around the concept of pidgin and creolisation. The pidginization explanation is used as counter-argument by Dev Virahsawmy (1990) against Chaudenson’s theory. We can better understand his argumentation by looking at the works of Todd (1990), Bickerton (1984) and Baron and Caroa (2011). Todd (1990) defi nes a pidgin as “a marginal language which arises to fulfi l certain restricted communication needs among people who have no common language” (p.3). For Bickerton (1999), pidgins have no syntax and those which have developed into vernaculars have an expanded structure and a complex grammatical structure which can then qualify them as creole languages. The linguist (Bickerton, 1984) argues that a creole arises when a pidgin becomes the mother tongue of a speech community. Creole then becomes the new language adopted by the community. Creolisation is thus the process through which a Creole goes through as a pidgin originally to become afterwards the fi rst language of a community. For Baron & Cara (2011), the concept of creolisation was fi rst formulated through the study of languages in colonial situations, especially in America, where people with mutually unintelligible tongues had to develop a linguistic medium to communicate among themselves when they met. They restructured the existing languages of the colonizers and the

Virahsawmy (1990)

refers to the works of

researchers in linguistics

like John Lyons and Noam

Chomsky to argue

that Kreol has evolved

on its own

Creole in education

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 51

colonized, creating new Creole languages with a distinctive phonology, morphology, and syntax. For Siegel (2008), most of the forms in the lexicon of the new language come from one of the languages in the contact situation, called the ‘lexifi er’ (or sometimes the ‘superstrate’). This is why Kreol is referred to as French lexifi ed creole or French-based creole. However, the meanings and functions of the lexical forms, as well as the phonology and grammatical rules of the pidgin or creole are different from those of the lexifi er, and may sometimes resemble those of one or more of the other languages in contact, usually referred to in pidgin and Creole studies as the ‘substrate languages’.

In my view, the Bourbonnais Theory of Chaudenson versus the pidginisation/creolisation standpoint of Virahsawmy shows two types of rapport which the academia develops with a language born out of colonisation. Virahsawmy (1984) argues that Kreol’s origin cannot be associated with the Bourbonnais theory because Kreol in Mauritius has since a long time moved ahead of the phase of creolisation. For him, Kreol has rapidly ‘become a full-fl edged language which fulfi ls all the criteria needed for a language to function in the modern world’ (Virahsawmy, 1984, p 2). He further explains that although most of its lexicons are borrowed from French, it has its own phonology and grammatical rules (Virahsawmy, 2013). For instance, gender in both Kreol and English are determined by sex: zom (man) is masculine; fam (woman) is feminine. But gender in French is grammaticalized: table (table) is feminine; tableau (blackboard) is masculine. Virahsawmy (2013) observes that Kreol should not be analysed in terms of ‘French-based Creole’, but as a language which went through the process of pidginisation. For Virahsawmy (1990), the ‘French based Creole’ perspective keeps Kreol under French ideological domination.

In the 1960s, the University of Edinburgh (from which Virahsawmy graduated) set up a Department of Applied Linguistics which studied Creole languages. During the same period, the University of Aix-en-Provence set up a Department of Francophonie and Etudes Creoles, of which Chaudenson was in charge.

The contrast in the choice of appellation shows two different perspectives on Creole languages. My observation is that while Applied Linguistics looks at Creole as any other language in context, Francophonie and Etudes Creoles show the patronising attitude which the French academia develops towards the language of the former subjects in their ancient colonies. A critical analysis of the cultural policy of France in this region of the world through its former Agence de Cooperation Culturelle et Technique (Agency for Cutural and Technical Cooperation) in the 1970s lends support to this view. Research and publication projects on creole languages in the Indian Ocean were substantially funded as part of the bigger project of francophonie. This gave birth to the emergence of native linguists and researchers which perpetuated a French mindscape. Drawing from heterogenistics (Maruyama, 1980), which studies whether cognitive/cogitative/perceptual patterns in human beings are phenotypically innate or culturally learned, I use the term ‘French mindscape’ to mean a structure of reasoning, cognition, perception and conceptualization which is underpinned by a French outlook on society. Thus, I would say the place and origin of the theory shape the theory itself. Since Virahsawmy was educated in the United Kingdom in the 1960s in an Applied Linguistics Department, and more precisely in a Scottish university, at a time when separatist feelings were burgeoning in Scotland, he developed left-wing ideologies which might have been shaped and reinforced by the fact that Mauritius was in its decolonisation phase. He thus developed a particular approach to the study of Kreol which developed into new power relations (Baron & Cara, 2011). In what follows, I will discuss these power relations with knowledge as a social construct.

3.2. Knowledge as social construct

A social construct can be defi ned as a concept or practice that has been elaborated, developed and legitimized by a particular group. In some sense, it expresses how people participate in their own perceived reality. This can be seen, for instance, with the different defi nitions of the term creole in various countries where

this language is spoken. These different defi nitions of the term ‘creole’ are shaped by unique experiences and contexts. The term ‘creole’ has a dual meaning in Mauritius. It can refer to the language and the creole ethnic group. It can thus be written either as ‘creole’, which is etymologically close to French, or ‘Kreol’, which is the maximal variant. We can make a parallel here with the use of ‘Krio’ in Sierra Leone. According to Knörr (2010), the term “Creole” is preferred by Krio people who like to emphasize the colonial context in which their identity emerged and their perceived closeness to European culture. But those Krio who understand the local context of their ethno-genesis and the resulting indigenization as crucial prefer the term “Krio”. In the struggle for recognition of Kreol , claims were made by Kreol groups (TJC Report, 2011) in Mauritius that Kreol is the ancestral language of the slave descents (meaning the Creoles) while being also the national language of Mauritius. Here also, the term ‘Kreol’ was preferred to ‘Creole’. This is another instance of social construct where people give their own defi nition and practice of the language. It means, therefore, that a concept or practice has no inherent interpretation on its own. It is contingent on our social selves. It is this aspect which distinguishes the social constructivists from the positivists, who consider knowledge to be exact truth (Feenberg, 1981).

In the remaining part of this paper, I wish to focus on a central question which arises from my literature on epistemology earlier at section 2.1. The central question that served as background to the development of this paper is: what was the ‘unspoken knowledge hidden within the social practices and customs’ during the debates on Kreol from the late 1960s to the end of the 1970s?

In the struggle for

recognition of Kreol,

claims were made by

Kreol groups (TJC Report,

2011) in Mauritius that

Kreol is the ancestral

language of the slave

descents

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Culture

Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015

3.3. Language loyalties

The fi rst dispute on Kreol as language can be dated back to some forty fi ve years ago, with the newspaper article of Virahsawmy published in L’Express, as stated earlier. In this article, Virahsawmy explained the importance of eradicating illiteracy, the need for language planning and he made the case for Kreol as medium of instruction in primary education at the initial stage, followed by English as soon as the children have acquired the rudiments of learning. A review of press articles from 1967 to the end of 1970’s (L’Express, 1967-1975; Soley Ruz, 1970-75; Week-End, 1973) shows a vitriolic attack on the part of the local intellectuals, like Camille de Rauville, Dr Jean Georges Prosper, Bhinod Bacha or Régis Fanchette, towards Virahsawmy. The heated debate of those days was about the exact nature of Kreol, raising the central question of whether it is a language or a patois, and whether it should not be more appropriately considered as broken French. Virahsawmy’s press rejoinders or refl ective papers during that period argued that a scientifi c discipline called creolistics had long established that Creole is a language on its own, equipped with grammar and syntax. But the new knowledge was negated by the abovementioned Mauritian intellectual contemporaries of Virahsawmy.

The most expressive and dominant form of this negation came from Camille de Rauville, a reputed Franco-Mauritian author. De Rauville (1967a) published works on the literature of the Indian Ocean and became particularly well known for his publication Lexique des mauricianismes à éviter: Des barbarismes et des solecismes les plus fréquents à l’Ile Maurice (Lexicon of Mauritian expressions to be avoided: A list of the most recurrent barbarisms and

solecisms in Mauritius – my translation). This publication of De Rauville is about common mistakes in written and spoken French in Mauritius and it gives advice on how to speak and write French correctly. In reaction to Virahsawmy’s position, De Rauville (1967b) wrote several newspaper articles against Kreol in 1967 and signed each time as an author of his well-known publication. A second reaction came from the Creole middle class, with Dr Jean Georges Prosper, a Creole poet and writer of international repute in Francophone literature. He also wrote the lyrics of the national anthem, which is in English, of the newly independent Mauritius. Prosper wrote the following vitriolic comment against KM in the Le Mauricien newspaper:

Pour ma part je m’insurge contre cette consécration du patois-créole. Je n’y vois qu’une tentative de nivellement par le bas. Par le vulgaire ! Car les patois ne sont d’aucune utilité sociale. […] Enfi n il faut admettre que le patois créole cède le plus volontiers à la grossièreté et même à l’indécence. (Prosper, Le Mauricien, 27 November 1967).

The ‘vulgaire’ and ‘d’aucune utilité sociale’ arguments echo what I said earlier in the section on exotic interest in and Black prejudice against Kreol. Prosper’s position refl ects the French bias of the ‘gens de couleur’ (coloured people) in the 1970s, a term used to qualify the Creole elite of those days (TJC Report, 2011, p. 474) who emulated “the Franco-Mauritians in language, customs and life-styles […] lived apart as a segregated class’ (Varma, 2008, p. 66). However, Jean Georges Prosper (1996) changed his negative stand on Kreol in the 1990s when he became Chairperson of the Nelson Mandela Centre. In 1996, he edited an anthology of ‘Créolie Indian-océaniste’ writers. In the same publication, he wrote a paper fully in Kreol entitled ‘Creole: Langaz Mama’ and subtitled ‘Langue de revendication et d’identité’.

A third reaction from the English defenders was represented by Bhinod Bacha, former Head of the Civil Service and long-time collaborator to the fi rst Prime Minister, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, after independence. The fi gure of Bacha represents the emerging class of state bourgeoisie mainly composed of the Indo-

Mauritian community. In an article ‘The Implications of a future Mauritian language’, published on 13 October 1967, Bacha put several points forward to demonstrate that attempts by Virahsawmy to show that a Mauritian language could be built out of KM is an artifi cial enterprise and has no sense. For Virahsawmy (1969), the root cause of the opposition to his argumentation fi nds itself in the linguistic loyalties of the different ethnic groups in the country.

Analysing the politics of language and the concept of linguistic identity, Rajagopalan (2001) argues that the instrumental view of language is fundamentally fl awed. For this researcher, languages are fl ags of identity and refl ect language loyalties. This is the case for languages in Mauritius. Drawing from Tirvassen (2002), I would argue that Franco-Mauritians and the creole middle class in the early post-independent period are generally of French loyalty, whilst the Indian group is strongly attached to the ancestral languages which are offered in schools, and prefer English to French. Virahsawmy’s plea for Kreol led to a strategic alliance of the Franco-Mauritians, the creole middle class and the Indian new state bourgeoisie to oppose Kreol. However, from the 1970s onwards, cultural militants developed praxis for Kreol whereby the language became the highest form of art, culture and creative expressions in Kreol. For me this is what Dant (1991) defi nes as the ‘unspoken knowledge’ which I mentioned earlier (Section 2.1).

3.4. Subjugated Knowledge

In Mauritius, the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s saw a sudden profusion of literary genre, especially poetry and drama, theatre of protest and protest songs known as sega angaze. This artistic creativity in Kreol with its militant accent was contextually bound in a period of active militancy. Trade union movements adopted Kreol for written communications. The main opposition party, the Movement Militant Mauritian (MMM) – of which Dev Virahsawmy was a front line member – represented a new generation of left wing militants who wanted to build a new Mauritian nation after independence and it promoted Kreol. In the 1970s, the party

In Mauritius, the

1970s, 1980s and early

1990s saw a sudden

profusion of literary genre,

especially poetry and

drama, theatre of protest

and protest songs known

as sega angaze

Creole in education

52

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015

experienced a fi rst split with the departure of Virahsawmy, who created a new party called Movement Militant Mauritian Socialist Progressist (MMMSP). Virahsawmy argued that its creation was to continue the work that the MMM had abandoned, i.e. to give a type of education to workers which would help them to take their own destiny in hand and become proletarian leaders. For Virahsawmy, Kreol was the key element in the pedagogy for the oppressed (Freire, 1967). The new party also launched the movement Soley Ruz (Red Sun), which was its cultural arm, through the publication of a newspaper (title: Soley Ruz) totally in Kreol. Soley Ruz provided a space for nationalist refl ections and international consciousness. In addition, the translation of Shakespeare, Moliere, and other classics in Kreol by Virahsawmy provided a solid base for the development of Kreol from an oral status to a written form. Mooneeram (2009) observes:

Virahsawmy’s endeavour to create a Mauritian Shakespearean dramatic canon in the local vernacular is thus not only a conscious strategy in building a national literature but also aims to defeat the argument that MC is too poor a language to express abstract ideas or to transcend a local reality. (Mooneeram, 2009, p. 52).Indeed, the above quote argues

that Kreol is a language which can ‘express abstract ideas’. This stands in stark contrast with Baissac’s description of Kreol as ‘not a language of philosophy’ as mentioned earlier (Section 3.1.1.).

CONCLUSIONIn fact, the fi rst debates around Kreol

demonstrate the early signs of an attempt by Virahsawmy as its fi rst promoter to bring to the surface what the French philosopher Michel Foucault qualifi ed as ‘subjugated knowledge’, that is, knowledge which has been hidden behind dominant knowledge. Foucault (1972) defi nes subjugated knowledge as:

… a whole set of knowledges that are either hidden behind more dominant knowledges but can be revealed by critique or have been explicitly disqualifi ed as inadequate to their task or insuffi ciently elaborated: [In other words, I am referring

Résumé2012 vit l’entrée du Kreol en tant que matière langagière dans toutes les écoles primaires de la République de Maurice, au même titre que les langues ancestrales/orientales et l’Arabe. L’appellation offi cielle pour cette nouvelle matière est le « Kreol Morisien ». Pourquoi a t-il fallu plus de quarante ans pour que l’Etat mauricien postcolonial prenne la décision de donner un statut offi ciel à la langue vernaculaire dans les établissements scolaires ? Je postule dans la présente communication que l’obstacle majeur à l’introduction du Kreol a été une « contestation des connaissances » construite socialement sur le statut du Kreol comme langue. Le but de cet article de réfl exion est d’examiner cette « connaissance » particulière, qui – à mon avis – se trouve bien représentée à travers les premiers débats publics sur le Kreol parus dans les articles de presse locaux à partir de la fi n des années 60. Je place ma réfl exion dans le domaine de l’épistémologie qui pourrait être défi nie sommairement comme l’étude de la connaissance (Blackburn, 1996 ; Audi, 1999). Dans la défi nition classique de la connaissance, celle-ci est « une croyance vraie et justifi ée » (Gettier, 1963). Cela signifi e que pour que quelque chose soit reconnue comme constituant un élément de connaissance, elle doit être véridique et justifi ée. Cependant, le constructivisme considère que la connaissance est une construction sociale (Vygotsky, 1986) et qu’elle est façonnée par les relations de pouvoir. Au bout de ma réfl exion, je suis amené à dire que des confl its de classes/ethniques et les allégeances linguistiques (Rajagopalan, 2001) essentiellement sous-tendent cette « contestation des connaissances » construite socialement sur le Kreol. De plus, elle représente les premiers signes des savoirs assujettis (Foucault, 1972, 1980).

53

to] blocks of historical knowledges that were present in the functional and systematic ensembles, but which were masked, and the critique was able to reveal their existence by using, obviously enough, the tools of scholarship. (p. 26).

This defi nition of subjugated versus dominant knowledge captures the whole discussion which I have conducted in this paper. In the debates on Kreol, I have identifi ed two major forms of ‘dominant knowledge’. First, the ‘dominant knowledge’ has been the dominant opinion that Kreol is only worth an exotic interest and should not be mistakenly viewed as a language of philosophy or abstract thinking.

Second, Kreol languages are outgrowths of or appendices to dominant languages. This ‘dominant knowledge’ has been presented as a ‘justifi ed true belief’ through the Bourbonnais Theory on the genesis of KM. It has been further consolidated with the different appellations which have been coined as scientifi c terms. These appellations are ‘French-based creole’ and ‘Portuguese-based Creole’, for instance. We can see in each hyphenated appellation that there is a language hierarchy with the dominant language coming fi rst. Drawing from philosophical epistemology and sociology of knowledge, I have argued that the presence of this dominant knowledge in the early debates on Kreol is a socially constructed disputed knowledge. By this I mean that the knowledge on Kreol can be disputed as it is constructed socially. What was presented as knowledge or scientifi c veracity on Kreol by its opponents could be considered as ‘false knowledge’, but it would be more appropriate to say that it was knowledge based on false assumptions. Faced with this dominant knowledge, the task of successive Kreol promoters after Virahsawmy has been to use the ‘tools of scholarship’ to reveal by ‘critique’ that Kreol is a language on its own and is capable of performing all tasks indistinctly. Hence, the introduction of KM in primary schools in 2012 is the result of an intellectual feat.

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201556

Mots clés : Kreol Morisien, éducation primaire, acquisition, apprentissage, sociolinguistique

Représentations et impact réel de l’introduction du Créole mauricien dans le cursus primaire sur

l’apprentissage des autres languesDr Guilhem Florigny (Université de Maurice)Courriel: g.fl [email protected]

Résumé

C’est en janvier 2012 que le Kreol Morisien a été introduit dans le cursus primaire mauricien au titre de matière optionnelle, concluant ainsi trois décennies de débats sur le rôle et la place que devaient tenir cette langue et les langues orientales dans l’attribution des places dans les meilleurs collèges de l’île. Avec la création de l’Akademi Kreol Morisien en 2010, le ministère de l’éducation avait déjà préparé le terrain grâce à la production de documents essentiels (concernant la standardisation de la graphie du Kreol Morisien ainsi qu’une première grammaire de cette langue), la préparation du curriculum de cette langue et la formation des enseignants. Néanmoins, nous constatons toujours une forte résistance à l’introduction de cette langue de la part d’une grande partie des parents, des enseignants et de la population dans son ensemble. Dans cet article, nous nous proposons d’analyser deux aspects de cette situation : nous analyserons dans un premier temps les discours tenus pour et contre l’introduction du kreol dans le cursus scolaire. Nous présenterons ensuite quelques études récentes et qui montreront que l’introduction du créole n’a pas (eu) un impact négatif sur l’apprentissage du français, une des deux langues obligatoires dans le système éducatif mauricien, une des raisons principales expliquant la résistance à l’introduction de cette langue.

IntroductionLe kreol morisien (désormais KM) a été introduit dans

le cursus primaire mauricien en janvier 2012 au titre de matière optionnelle. Ceci fut la conclusion de longs débats sur trois décennies sur le rôle et la place que devaient tenir cette langue et les langues orientales dans l’attribution des places dans les meilleurs collèges de l’île (voir pour cela Florigny, 2010, Rughoonundun-Chellapermal,

2004, Virahsawmy, 2001 & 2003). Avec la création de l’Akademi Kreol Morisien (AKM désormais) en 2010, le ministère de l’éducation avait déjà préparé le terrain, d’une part grâce à la production d’un rapport sur l’orthographe et d’une grammaire, à la préparation du curriculum de cette langue et à la formation des enseignants.

Néanmoins, nous constatons toujours une forte résistance à l’introduction de cette langue de la part d’une grande partie des parents, des enseignants et de la population dans son ensemble. Nous nous proposons, dans cet article, d’analyser deux aspects de cette situation :

• premièrement, nous analyserons les discours tenus pour et contre l’introduction du créole dans le cursus scolaire.

• deuxièmement, nous présenterons quelques études qui ont été réalisées récemment et qui montreront que, contrairement aux discours majoritaires, l’introduction du créole n’a pas (eu) un impact négatif sur l’apprentissage du français, une des deux langues obligatoires dans le système éducatif mauricien1 .

Brève présentation du contexte social

et sociolinguistique mauricien

Avant de nous intéresser directement au système éducatif mauricien, il nous semble important de présenter le contexte social et sociolinguistique mauricien. Il est en effet impossible d’analyser les décisions prises concernant l’enseignement des langues ainsi que les débats concernant ces langues sans prendre en compte le contexte particulier de tension sociale qui prévaut à l’île Maurice. Depuis l’indépendance du pays en 1968, la Constitution mauricienne reconnaît quatre communautés à l’île Maurice, en se basant sur différents critères : tandis que la religion est le critère qui permet d’identifi er les communautés hindoues et musulmanes, le critère ethnique sert à défi nir la communauté sino-mauricienne. Enfi n, la quatrième composante de la population mauricienne, appelée « population générale », regroupe les descendants de colons (ou Blancs mauriciens), la population créole mulâtre urbaine et francophone (les Euro-créoles), la population créole noire, créolophone et vivant en zones rurales ou périurbaines (les Afro-créoles), ainsi que tous les « mixed-bloods », issus d’unions intercommunautaires et ne pouvant donc entrer dans les trois premières catégories. Il est aussi à noter

Le créole, l’enseignement et l’apprentissage

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 57

que, contrairement aux autres pays créoles, les Créoles de l’île Maurice sont présentés non pas comme des habitants du pays ou des métisses, mais plus spécifi quement comme étant des descendants d’esclaves ou ceux ayant, d’une façon ou d’une autre, une ascendance africaine ou malgache.

Cette classifi cation de la population ne correspond ainsi pas à une réalité tangible et ne permet pas non plus de prendre en compte les spécifi cités des différents groupes socio-ethniques (par exemple, les Tamouls mauriciens se dissocient souvent du groupe hindou, revendiquant des particularités culturelles, religieuses et linguistiques). Elle a également provoqué à ce jour de nombreuses tensions dans le pays (dont les plus violentes et les plus visibles ont été les émeutes post-indépendance en 1968-1970 et celles de 1999 après la mort du chanteur créole Kaya) et n’a pas permis de créer un sentiment d’unité nationale. Parler de ces divisions sociales est encore tabou à l’île Maurice et demeure très clairement un sujet sensible, tous types d’événements pouvant revêtir une connotation ethno-communale.

Ces tensions sociales rejaillissent à tous les niveaux de la vie mauricienne, dont nous donnerons quelques exemples ci-dessous :

• la politique : l’idée est généralement admise par une grande partie de la population que le Premier Ministre du pays doit être issu de la communauté hindoue, perçue et présentée comme majoritaire, bien qu’aucune statistique ne puisse prouver ce fait, le dernier recensement incluant le facteur ethnique datant de 1972. Ainsi, tous les Premiers Ministres du pays depuis l’accession à l’indépendance en 1968 sont issus de la communauté hindoue, à une exception près, puisque Paul Bérenger (un Blanc mauricien) l’a également été pour une durée d’environ deux ans.

• le travail : le recrutement se fait très souvent sans grande transparence, le secteur public étant perçu comme « appartenant » aux Hindous et aux Musulmans et le secteur privé aux Blancs mauriciens et aux Créoles. Ainsi, tandis que le dernier recensement faisant état du facteur ethnique datant de 1972 indique que les Créoles représentent environ un tiers de la population mauricienne, force est de constater que ces derniers

sont sous-représentés dans le secteur public (moins de 5% des fonctionnaires). A l’inverse, nous constaterons que les Indo-mauriciens sont quant à eux moins présents dans le secteur privé, principalement dans les compagnies appartenant à des Blancs mauriciens.

• le sport : les différentes disciplines sportives sont souvent liées à une communauté. Tandis que le cyclisme ou le rugby sont pratiqués quasi-exclusivement par les Blancs mauriciens, les athlètes, boxeurs ou autres lutteurs mauriciens sont généralement des Créoles. Un fait qui a défrayé la chronique et choqué une bonne partie de la population mauricienne dans les années 1990 a été le soutien des Musulmans mauriciens à l’équipe de football égyptienne Zamalek alors qu’elle jouait contre une équipe mauricienne lors d’une compétition continentale.

• l’utilisation des langues. Nous rappellerons ici une anecdote qui s’est produite en 1995, où le nouveau gouvernement avait choisi d’émettre de nouveaux billets de banque. Or, trois langues sont présentes sur les billets pour indiquer leur valeur dans l’ordre suivant : l’anglais, le tamil et le hindi. L’ordre dans lequel apparaissaient le tamil et le hindi avait été inversé sur les nouveaux billets émis, ce qui provoqua le mécontentement de la communauté tamoule mauricienne. Par l’intermédiaire du Tamil Speaking Union, elle fi t part de son mécontentement concernant cette inversion des langues qui portait selon elle atteinte à son rôle dans la construction de l’Etat mauricien, arguant que le tamil apparaît traditionnellement avant le hindi sur les billets parce que les Tamouls sont arrivés à Maurice dès la colonisation française, tandis que l’immigration des Hindous comme travailleurs engagés n’avait commencé qu’à partir de 1834. Cette « erreur » fut corrigée par la Banque de Maurice la même année et les billets incriminés furent tous retirés de la circulation.

Ces tensions sociales profondes et non-dites ont ainsi un impact dans le domaine linguistique, puisqu’il existe dans le pays une véritable surenchère identitaire qui provoque une forme de « guerre des langues », pour reprendre le terme de Calvet (1987).

Ainsi, chaque langue joue un rôle spécifi que dans la (les) construction(s)

identitaire(s) mauricienne(s). Tandis qu’il n’existe pas de langue offi cielle de jure dans la Constitution mauricienne, la langue offi cielle de facto est l’anglais, utilisé au Parlement, à la Cour Suprême, dans l’éducation, par l’administration et dans les textes de loi. Il n’est par contre pas parlé au quotidien par les Mauriciens (5 573 locuteurs, selon le Central Statistics Offi ce - CSO, 2011), mais conserve une place importante dans les communications écrites.

Le français (51 214 locuteurs, CSO 2011), quant à lui, bénéfi cie d’un statut particulier depuis la prise de possession britannique puisque, selon l’article 8 de l’acte de capitulation de 1810, les Britanniques permirent aux colons français de garder leurs lois, leur religion et leur langue. La langue française est ainsi prédominante dans la presse écrite et audiovisuelle et demeure également largement utilisée par l’Eglise catholique romaine locale. Il faudrait aussi faire remarquer que le français est, d’après la Constitution mauricienne, « toléré » à l’Assemblée nationale et possède le statut de langue prestigieuse à l’île Maurice. Par contre, la maîtrise du français est souvent utilisée pour « mesurer » la culture d’un individu. Ainsi, faire une faute de français fera plus l’objet de remarques et de railleries que si une faute similaire était commise dans une autre langue. Ce fut par exemple le cas pour une ancienne Miss Mauritius qui eut le malheur de dire qu’elle avait été « émuse » d’avoir gagné ce concours ou encore pour l’ancien ministre de la santé dont un des discours de 2014 fut commenté et parodié pendant de longs mois, notamment lorsqu’il dit qu’il fallait « penser en dehors du boîte » (voir par exemple la video de Ewan R. 2014, Save French, disponible sur YouTube).

Le KM est quant à lui une langue supracommunautaire née pendant la colonisation française et qui est de très loin la langue la plus utilisée dans les ménages mauriciens (1 069 874 locuteurs, soit plus de 86,5% de la population, CSO 2011). Tandis qu’il a été dévalorisé et considéré comme un « patois » ou un « dialecte » pendant des décennies, nous constatons depuis une quinzaine d’années une valorisation de cette langue, provoqué d’une part par certains changements au sein de la communauté créole et, d’autre part, par les travaux de linguistes mauriciens, soutenus depuis

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quelques années par les politiques. En effet, lors de son homélie de la

Pâques en 1993, le père Roger Cerveau sera le premier à parler du « malaise créole », exprimant ouvertement et pour la première fois le sentiment de frustration et de rejet jusque-là tu de la communauté créole concernant le fait qu’elle est marginalisée dans la société mauricienne. A partir de là, le nombre de groupes et de rassemblements créoles croîtra exponentiellement et demandera la reconnaissance et la valorisation de cette communauté. Ceci se traduira par différentes actions, parmi lesquelles les plus importantes sont listées ci-dessous :

• des recours en justice pour des changements dans le système éducatif à partir de 1995, que ce soit par des Créoles à titre individuel ou en tant qu’associations ;

• la mise en place d’un synode par l’Eglise catholique à partir de 1999 qui débouchera sur la décision de mettre les pauvres et les démunis au cœur de l’action de l’Eglise catholique mauricienne. Les Créoles, qui composaient et composent encore la grande majorité des fi dèles, se sentaient exclus et marginalisés de l’Eglise, traditionnellement liée à la plantocratie sucrière franco-mauricienne puisque le clergé était composé en majorité de Blancs mauriciens. Se développera également à partir de là une liturgie en KM.

• la demande de création d’une commission vérité et justice (Truth and Justice Commission) en 2008 par le parti politique Les Verts Fraternels, à l’instar de celle qui avait été réalisée en Afrique du Sud suite à la fi n de l’apartheid. Cette commission avait pour objectif d’étudier les discriminations vécues par la communauté créole à partir de la colonisation française et les séquelles de l’esclavage toujours visibles au sein de cette communauté. Les rapports de cette commission seront publiés en 2011 (Truth and Justice Commission 2011), faisant plus de 150 propositions concrètes en faveur des créoles et dont deux seulement ont, à ce jour, été appliquées par le gouvernement mauricien.

Ainsi que stipulé plus tôt, divers linguistes mauriciens vont également travailler à la valorisation du kreol morisien, une des grandes questions demeurée en suspense depuis le début des années 1980

concernant la standardisation de cette langue. En effet, tandis que Dev Virahsawmy avait mis en place une graphie phonétique (grafi aksâ sirkôfl eks) vers la fi n des années 1970, Ledikasyon Pu Travayer (LPT) avait, quant à elle, également développé une graphie pour le créole au début des années 1980, utilisée dans les cours d’alphabétisation des ouvriers (LPT, 1981 & 2002) et dans le premier dictionnaire bilingue KM/anglais (LPT, 1985). En 2004 sera publié Grafi Larmoni (Hookoomsing, 2004), alors que l’Eglise catholique, avec le soutien de Virahsawmy (2004), traduisait la même année l’Evangile de Marc en KM, rédigé dans une nouvelle graphie, connue comme Grafi Legliz.

Plus récemment, Carpooran (2009) publiera son premier dictionnaire monolingue en KM. Ca ne sera qu’en 2011, suite à la décision du gouvernement d’introduire le KM dans les écoles, que AKM publiera son rapport Lortograf Kreol Morisien (Carpooran, 2011), qui est désormais l’orthographe offi cielle du KM, puisqu’elle a été avalisée par le conseil des ministres, de même qu’une première grammaire monolingue du KM la même année (Police-Michel, D., Carpooran, A. & Florigny, G., 2011). Enfi n, il faudra attendre septembre 2013 pour que le gouvernement crée le Creole Speaking Union, organisme placé sous l’égide du Ministère des Arts et de la Culture, qui a pour objectif de promouvoir le KM.

La deuxième langue la plus parlée à Maurice est le bhojpuri, langue d’origine indienne parlée par la majorité des Indo-mauriciens (Hindous et Musulmans), originaires du Bihar en Inde. A la différence du KM, le bhojpuri est une langue communautaire, que la communauté hindoue mauricienne s’est réappropriée (en même temps que le hindi), alors que les Musulmans mauriciens, eux, se reconnaissent plutôt à travers l’utilisation de l’ourdou et de l’arabe. Le bhojpuri est, comme le KM par rapport au français, dans un rapport diglossique avec le hindi, perçu comme une langue prestigieuse (Eisenlohr, 2007). Les recensements de ces trente dernières années montrent également que cette langue, principalement rurale et cantonnée au registre familier, perd énormément de terrain (206,492 locuteurs recensés par CSO 2003 à 65 289 locuteurs par CSO 2011) puisqu’elle est progressivement remplacée

par le KM par les jeunes générations pour les communications quotidiennes tandis que le hindi lui a graduellement ravi son rôle de langue communautaire.

Outre ces quatre langues (l’anglais, le français, le KM et le bhojpuri), les autres langues présentes sur le territoire mauricien ne sont pratiquées au quotidien que par peu d’individus (de 8 690 locuteurs pour le hindi à 31 pour le cantonais, CSO 2011). Elles servent principalement d’outil permettant à chaque sous-groupe ethno-linguistique des communautés offi cielles mauriciennes d’affi rmer son identité de façon visible, puisqu’il existe des Speaking Unions pour chacune de ces langues, à l’exception du hakka et du cantonais, incorporés au Chinese Speaking Union.

Historique de l’introduction du Kreol

Morisien dans le système éducatif

mauricien

La première chose que nous constatons en ce qui concerne le système éducatif mauricien est une inadéquation entre les langues qui y sont jusqu’à présent enseignées et celles parlées par la population mauricienne. Les différentes périodes coloniales ont légué deux langues qui sont toujours enseignées dans les écoles primaires et qui sont obligatoires jusqu’à la cinquième année du secondaire : l’anglais et le français. Comme indiqué précédemment, les deux langues “maternelles” de la plupart des Mauriciens sont le KM et le bhojpuri. Ces deux idiomes ont une place offi cielle dans le processus d’acquisition de connaissances des enfants mauriciens depuis janvier 2012, bien qu’il soit avéré que le KM est utilisé comme medium d’enseignement non-offi ciel depuis des décennies. Les enquêtes que nous avons menées entre 2003 et 2008 dans différentes écoles primaires lors de notre thèse de doctorat (Florigny, 2010) ont montré qu’une proportion non négligeable des enfants ne comprenait pas le français et l’anglais, voire ne faisait même pas la différence entre ces deux langues. Ainsi, certains enfants utilisaient des termes anglais lorsque nous leur demandions de nous raconter une histoire en français. Ceci est dû au fait que la plupart des enfants mauriciens sont créolophones et n’ont qu’une compétence basique et passive de ces langues, tandis qu’elles sont enseignées

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comme des langues maternelles. Par ailleurs, la confusion entre ces deux langues est encore accentuée dans le système éducatif par le fait qu’un seul enseignant a la charge d’inculquer les cinq matières obligatoires, parmi lesquelles l’anglais et le français, la barrière entre les deux langues étrangères devenant alors fl oue pour les élèves créolophones.

Il nous faut à ce stade rappeler brièvement les différents changements qui ont affecté la politique linguistique en ce qui concerne les langues à enseigner durant ces vingt dernières années. Il est à noter, avant tout, que le cycle primaire est sanctionné par un examen à l’échelle national, le Certifi cate of Primary Education (CPE), qui donne accès aux différents collèges du pays. Cet examen a été mis en place à la fi n des années 1970, en remplacement d’autres épreuves déjà existantes, suite à la décision du gouvernement de rendre l’éducation gratuite. Ainsi, la demande pour l’éducation secondaire a explosé durant cette période et ne pouvait être satisfaite étant donné le faible nombre de collèges publics existant à ce moment. C’est ainsi que s’est progressivement mis en place un système éducatif élitiste, qui permettait aux meilleurs étudiants d’avoir accès aux (meilleurs) collèges de l’île, grâce à un système national de ranking.

Durant les années 1980 et 1990, quatre matières étaient prises en compte pour le classement national pour tous les élèves, à savoir, l’anglais, le français, les mathématiques et l’Environmental Studies (matière qui a depuis été divisée en deux nouvelles matières, l’histoire et la géographie). Certains enfants se préparaient de plus à une matière supplémentaire : la langue orientale. En effet, certaines familles d’origine asiatique, soucieuses de préserver leurs racines culturelles, poussaient leurs enfants à apprendre la langue de prestige du pays d’origine de leur communauté (généralement le hindi, l’urdu, l’arabe2 ou le mandarin) ou la langue associée à leur groupe socioculturel et linguistique (comme le tamil, le télougou ou le marathi). De plus, cette matière était prise en compte dans le “classement” national du CPE donnant accès aux (meilleurs) collèges : si la note obtenue pour la langue orientale s’avérait supérieure à la plus mauvaise note obtenue

dans une des quatre matières obligatoires, elle la remplaçait afi n de ne pas pénaliser ces enfants qui préparaient une matière supplémentaire.

Un sentiment d’injustice grandit alors dans la communauté créole qui, n’ayant pas de langue ancestrale à laquelle se rattacher du fait des racines multiples de cette communauté et de l’esclavage qui a effacé les liens ancestraux avec les pays et cultures d’origine, avait l’impression d’être piégée de ne pas avoir l’alternative qu’avaient les familles d’origine asiatique et d’être défavorisée par le système éducatif. En effet, la plupart des familles créoles, ne se reconnaissant pas dans les cultures asiatiques, refusaient que leurs enfants apprennent une langue orientale et auraient préféré pouvoir choisir une langue européenne. Différentes actions en justice furent entreprises à partir de 1995 (Florigny, 2010, pp. 80-93 pour l’historique de ces actions), mais aucune des décisions prises par la Cour suprême ne sera appliquée puisque le gouvernement avait dans l’intervalle aboli le “ranking”, rendant ainsi tout jugement caduc.

Dans le même mouvement, certains groupes militants créoles, ainsi que des parents d’élèves, ont souhaité introduire cette langue dans l’enseignement afi n d’avoir une langue optionnelle qui pourrait favoriser les enfants venant de familles non-asiatiques. D’autres individus ou groupes de promotion de la langue kreol (comme Dev Virahsawmy ou LPT) ont également milité pour son introduction, en prenant pour ancrage les rapports de l’UNESCO, affi rmant qu’une partie de l’enseignement devrait être assurée dans cette langue, le KM étant la langue maternelle de la majorité de la population. Le Bureau de l’Education Catholique fut le premier à créer des classes bilingues pour son programme PREVOKBEK, destiné à des enfants ayant échoué deux fois aux examens du CPE (Harmon, 2006). C’est cependant afi n de pallier ce vide linguistique qu’est l’absence de langue ancestrale pour la communauté créole que le Premier ministre mauricien annonça, lors d’un discours tenu au Morne Brabant le 1er février 2010, jour de la commémoration de l’abolition de l’esclavage, que le KM serait intégré au cursus scolaire et créa dans la foulée l’AKM afi n de mener à bien ce projet.

Il est à noter que le Premier ministre

décida fi nalement d’introduire le KM comme matière au titre de “langue maternelle” et il en fi t de même pour le bhojpuri. Ceci constitue un événement historique puisque ces deux idiomes n’avaient jusque-là aucune reconnaissance de l’Etat mauricien et étaient considérés par la population comme des dialectes, ce qui a, depuis, tendance à changer. Le fait de les introduire en tant que matières indique clairement que le gouvernement mauricien prend position en faveur de ces deux idiomes, non plus dévalorisés par l’Etat mais pleinement assumés puisque reconnus en tant que langues à part entière et admis dans le cercle très restreint des langues “enseignables”.

Nous remarquerons un net engouement en ce qui concerne le KM (plus de 3,000 enfants inscrits pour ces cours en 2012), tandis que le bhojpuri n’a reçu qu’un accueil mitigé. Il semble important d’indiquer à ce stade que la majorité des enfants inscrits pour les cours de KM venaient de la communauté créole, ce qui peut en partie expliquer le nombre d’enfants suivant ces cours. Les enfants inscrits pour les cours de bhojpuri provenaient, quant à eux, de la communauté hindoue qui préfère apprendre le hindi, raison pour laquelle aussi peu d’élèves avaient été inscrits pour ces cours. Contrairement à l’introduction du KM dans le système éducatif mauricien qui répondait à une véritable revendication d’une partie de la population, celle du bhojpuri n’a pas été demandée par les communautés indo-mauriciennes. Elle a été imposée par le gouvernement, d’une part, pour donner plus de crédibilité à l’introduction des « langues maternelles » dans le cursus primaire et, d’autre part, afi n de procéder à un rééquilibrage de la situation linguistico-éducative puisque perdure l’idée qu’on ne peut pas donner quelque chose à une partie de la population sans faire la même chose pour une autre. Ainsi, seuls 300 élèves sur 15,000 ont été inscrits pour suivre les cours de bhojpuri, qui ont d’ailleurs été intégrés aux classes de hindi et ne font pas l’objet de cours séparés.

L’introduction du KM et du bhojpuri dans le cursus primaire a ainsi mis fi n à de longues querelles et stagnations intellectuelles qui duraient depuis le début des années 1980, nourries par la perception que l’expérience seychelloise (en ce qui

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concerne l’introduction du kreol seselwa dans l’enseignement et ses possibles répercussions sur les performances des étudiants) était un échec, sans que n’ait été pris en compte le contexte particulier, social et politique de l’archipel voisin dans une quelconque analyse.

Cette introduction du bhojpuri apparaît néanmoins pour une partie de la communauté hindoue mauricienne comme un ultime moyen de tenter de sauver cette langue, qui est perçue par ce groupe comme sujette à une glottophagie perpétrée par le KM. Pour certaines associations socioculturelles hindoues, il fallait essayer de revitaliser le bhojpuri, mais surtout un bhojpuri « purifi é » de l’infl uence du KM. Ceci est clairement exprimé dans le discours de l’ancien ministre de l’éducation mauricien, qui appelle à la création du Bhojpuri Speaking Union à l’assemblée nationale en 2011 :

• We must put ourselves the question: which bhojpuri? Parce que je les entends parler, on est en train de parler le bhojpuri populaire. Mais ce bhojpuri est une variante du créole, peut-être. Donc, il faut faire attention. C’est ce que je ne cesse de répéter à ce comité qu’on a mis sur pied pour la promotion de la langue bhojpuri à Maurice. On connaît la fameuse phrase, M. le président : « Montagnewa ké bordwa par l’herbe plantalba ». Il y a beaucoup de mots créoles dedans. « Montagne », on ajoute le suffi xe « wa » cela devient bhojpuri. « Ké bordwa », « bord » est un mot français. On ajoute « wa », « ké bordwa ». « Par », c’est une préposition. « L’herbe plantalba », « l’herbe », c’est un mot créole. « Plantalba », c’est le verbe planter qu’on a conjugué en bhojpuri pour dire « plantal ». C’est incroyable ! Donc, il faut faire attention. Ce n’est pas cela qu’on veut et on va commencer le bhojpuri l’année prochaine effectivement dans les écoles. Donc, on va faire attention que se soit le bhojpuri qu’il faut. (Ministry of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientifi c Research, 2011)

Il y a ainsi eu de grands débats au sein du Bhojpuri Speaking Union quant à l’alphabet à utiliser pour écrire cette langue et l’intégrer ensuite au cursus primaire (Auckle, 2015). Le choix fi nal d’utiliser l’alphabet devanagari avait pour objectif de dissimuler l’apport du lexique du KM en bhojpuri (près de 40% du lexique), qui est perçu comme une menace à

la survie de cette langue. Par contre, il exclut d’emblée un grand nombre de locuteurs de cette langue (Musulmans, Tamouls et Télougous principalement), qui refuseront d’utiliser l’alphabet employé pour écrire en hindi pour des raisons socioculturelles et identitaires : ainsi qu’indiqué dans notre première partie, toucher aux langues est immédiatement perçu dans le contexte local comme portant atteinte à l’intégrité d’une ou plusieurs communautés et à la cohésion sociale.

Ceci n’est qu’un des fronts sur lesquels les défenseurs du bhojpuri ont dû se battre puisque cette langue a graduellement été remplacée par le hindi sur le plan symbolique depuis un demi-siècle, ceci notamment suite à l’arrivée à Maurice du mouvement Arya Samaj, qui présente cette langue comme issue de la langue sacrée de l’hindouisme, le sanskrit. Cette valorisation du hindi a par conséquent relégué le bhojpuri au rang de langue impure, réservée à l’usage familier et rural. Il semblerait donc que la lutte identitaire de la communauté indo-mauricienne majoritairement originaire du Bihar passe aujourd’hui par une volonté de se rattacher au hindi, perçu comme prestigieux et langue offi cielle de l’Inde, et non au bhojpuri.

C’est dans ce contexte particulier, où les réelles motivations restent fl oues, qu’ont été introduits le KM et le bhojpuri dans le primaire. Plusieurs perspectives pourraient être avancées pour expliquer les motivations des politiques en faveur du KM :

• Ont-ils voulu suivre les recommandations de l’UNESCO, favorable à un enseignement en langue(s) maternelle(s) et ainsi, améliorer l’image du pays à l’international ?

• Est-ce un impératif pédagogique qui a mené à cela, dans la perspective du bien-être de tous les enfants mauriciens, indistinctement de leur appartenance socioculturelle, du fait qu’ils soient majoritairement créolophones ?

• Est-ce dans la perspective d’un rééquilibrage des langues apprises entre les communautés (le kreol pour les Créoles, comme il y avait déjà dans les écoles les langues indiennes pour les Mauriciens d’ascendance indienne) ?

• Est-ce, pour le Parti travailliste qui dirigeait alors le pays, un moyen de tenter de

reconquérir le vote de la population créole, qui le fuit depuis les années 1950 ?

Les discours sur le Kreol Morisien

à l’école

• « Quelque 2 500 élèves se sont inscrits au cours optionnel du kreol en standard 1. Plusieurs acteurs du secteur éducatif estiment que ce faible taux d’inscription est le résultat d’une campagne d’information défi ciente de la part du ministère de l’Education » (L’Express, 23 mai 2011).

C’est en ces termes qu’une journaliste d’un des journaux mauriciens à plus fort tirage évoqua l’annonce offi cielle du nombre d’inscriptions prévues pour les cours de KM pour l’année 2012, année de son introduction. Nous tenons ici à faire ressortir, puisqu’il s’agit ici de discours, donc d’opinion ou de point de vue, l’image négative qui est véhiculée par cette journaliste, ce qui se transcrit pour l’utilisation des mots « faible taux d’inscription ». En effet, il ne nous semble pas que ce chiffre de 2,500 inscriptions puisse être « faible » puisqu’il correspond à 16,7% des inscriptions en 2012, 15,000 étudiants étant inscrits en première année de primaire cette année-là. De plus, plus de 3,000 enfants suivront réellement les cours de KM à partir de la rentrée 2012, soit plus de 20%.

Nous avons choisi cet exemple puisqu’il illustre assez clairement le type de préjugés auxquels le KM a à faire face. Nous nous proposons de présenter ci-dessous, sous forme de tableaux, diverses réactions par rapport à l’introduction du KM au primaire, que nous avons tirées des commentaires faits par les lecteurs dans la version online du journal l’Express (également reprises par Nadal 2014). Nous parlerons dans un premier temps des discours négatifs, puisqu’ils représentent deux tiers des réactions, puis des représentations positives liées à l’introduction du KM au primaire. Nous tenons enfi n à préciser que tous les exemples cités ici datent d’avant l’introduction du KM à l’école, soit de 2010 et 2011, les débats publics sur ce sujet s’étant éteints dès la rentrée 2012 pour diverses raisons : d’une part, l’introduction concrète du KM avait rendu caducs ces débats et, d’autre part, la presse n’en parlait plus, se concentrant sur des scandales plus croustillants de l’actualité

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 61

mauricienne. Nous reparlerons de ces représentations dans les parties suivantes de notre article, puisque Purseramen (2014) et Sujiwon (2014) incluront ces dernières dans leurs analyses.

Ainsi que nous pouvons le constater, les avis défavorables au KM portent principalement sur ses supposés liens directs avec l’échec scolaire et professionnel, ce qui est censé expliqué l’inutilité, voire l’aberration qu’est son apprentissage. Couplé à cela, le fait qu’il doit forcément avoir un impact négatif sur l’apprentissage des autres langues, et surtout celui du français, suffi t pour convaincre ceux qui sont contre son introduction du bienfondé de leur interprétation. Il nous semble important d’indiquer que ces représentations négatives impliquant une probable infl uence néfaste sur l’apprentissage des langues prestigieuses (l’anglais et le français) ne portent que sur le KM et jamais sur les langues orientales qui, comme nous l’avons montré précédemment, ne sont pas parlées par une partie suffi samment

importante de la population mauricienne pour pouvoir avoir un quelconque impact et demeurent des langues communautaires.

Par contre, nous pouvons également constater que d’autres personnes ont un avis différent sur l’introduction du KM au primaire. Nous montrons ci-dessous que ces derniers ont un type de discours qui se veut beaucoup plus académique ou scientifi que, avec une visée pédagogique dirigée vers le grand public. Nous présentons certains exemples ci-dessous :

Etudes sur l’introduction de la langue maternelle à l’école

Un certain nombre d’études ont été faites à travers le monde sur l’introduction de langues premières (désormais L1) dans des programmes éducatifs fonctionnant jusque là exclusivement dans des langues étrangères (LE), notamment européennes.

Somé (2004) présente, par exemple, le cas de l’OSEO au Burkina Faso et effectue des comparaisons entre des écoles participant à un projet-pilote utilisant la L1 des enfants en partenariat avec le français, langue offi cielle du pays et langue d’enseignement, et d’autres ne l’utilisant pas. Les résultats de son analyse montrent qu’il y a 70% de réussite scolaire quand on utilise la L1 contre 40% sans présence des langues africaines. Ceci rejoint les résultats du

Figure 1: Préjugés contre l’introduction du KM dans le cycle primaire

Préjugés contre le

Kreol MorisienExemples

Inutilité pour l’avenir professionnel

« Creole has survived without being taught in schools. Even the so called

illeterate can master it. So, do not waste children’s time with it in

schools; teach them Mandarin that is more likely to put bread on their table later in their life3 (L’Express,

23/05/11)

Lien direct avec l’échec

« Ayo, assez avec sa do !!! Ki pour alle faire r Creole dans la vie. Laisse

sa pour banne cancres. Lavenir certainement pas trouve endans. En tous cas pas pour alle loin r sa !!! »4

(L’Express, 23/05/11)

Impact négatif sur l’apprentissage des

autres langues

« Moi je suis tout fait contre le “kreol” dans l’enseignement. D’une part je pense que cela ne ferait que diminuer le niveau des deux langues

actuelles (Anglais / Français) et d’autre part je suis pas convaincu que cela va aider les enfants en

diffi culté. » (L’Express 08/09/2010)

Perte de temps

« What a waste of time and energy. Use those resources to teach the

kids practical scientifi c experiments which may arouse their interest

in stuff that may make them earn the respect of the world one day. Cry my country cry. »5 (L’Express

08/09/2010)

Arguments en faveur du

kreol morisienExemples

Problèmes cognitifs dus à la non-utilisation de la langue

première de l’enfant

« Eski ou fi ne seye apprane dans ene langaze etranze

couma par example mandarin, langaze ki pli boucou dimoune coz ek compran dan lemonde.

Alor ki fer ou impoze sa lor nou banne zanfan. Piti la cone li ena labousse, me couma li rante lekol dire li li ena nose, head, mouth... »6 (L’Express

08/09/2010.)

Utilisation exclusive et approximative des langues étrangères mène à l’échec

scolaire

« Francais je konne, Anglais je debrouye samem ki nou

apel nou metriz langaz la! Nou refl esi, Nou reve, Nou lager, Nou kontan dan nou langaz

maternel - apre nou oblize pass par enn prosesis tradiksyon

avan ki li sorti. Samem ki nou appel maitriser les langues

sori .. ..an atandan 30% zanfan ankor pe fel 6yem... Revoltan. Pa bizin enn zeni pou fer enn

kalkil sinp… »7 (L’Express 08/09/2010)

Figure 2: Arguments pour l’introduction du KM dans le cycle primaire

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201562

Projet PREVOKBEK de l’île Maurice, qui indiquent que l’utilisation de la L1 permet à des enfants en situation d’échec scolaire de s’en sortir (60-70% de réussite après 2/3 ans d’utilisation du KM dans l’enseignement).

Tréfault (2006), lui, analyse l’entrée dans l’écriture en bambara (L1) au Mali dans les cinq écoles bilingues du pays. Les résultats de tests proposés à des élèves de 3e année montrent qu’au moment où les élèves abordent l’apprentissage de la lecture en français, les compétences acquises en bambara, l’une des langues nationales, sont loin d’être suffi santes pour assurer le passage à la langue seconde (L2). Il fonde son analyse sur une grille de niveaux de compétence à l’écrit, dont le premier niveau est un écrit très archaïque, composé de signes avoisinant les lettres (ou pseudo-lettres) et dont le douzième et dernier niveau est composé d’une écriture orthographique comportant moins de cinq erreurs.

Il montre ainsi que la compréhension du principe alphabétique, des liens entre l’oral et l’écrit et de l’utilité sociale de la lecture ne sont pas maîtrisés par ces enfants, qui n’ont été scolarisés jusque là qu’en bambara. Ainsi, pour lui, si certaines « compétences académiques » ne sont pas suffi samment développées en L1, le passage à la L2/LE devient problématique, les élèves les plus faibles risquant de ne pas accéder à la lecture en L2 mais également de perdre leur aptitude à lire la L1.

Ces résultats viennent donc indiquer qu’il faudrait, en contexte plurilingue, obligatoirement utiliser la L1 des enfants, parfois de façon quasi-exclusive afi n que les compétences de base soient maîtrisées avant d’introduire de nouvelles langues dans le répertoire de ces enfants, le risque étant qu’un passage trop rapide à d’autres langues mène à l’illettrisme. Il faudrait ainsi suivre les recommandations de l’UNESCO (2003), qui précisent que l’instruction en langue maternelle est « un moyen d’améliorer la qualité de l’éducation en construisant sur les savoirs et expériences des apprenants et des enseignants » (p.5).

Travaux inédits sur l’impact du Kreol

Morisien sur le français Les travaux en acquisition des

langues ou en sociolinguistique que nous présentons ci-après ont été réalisés ces

deux dernières années par des étudiants de l’Université de Maurice. Les deux premiers que nous présentons n’ont pas été réalisés dans le cadre de l’introduction du KM dans le cycle primaire mais montrent tous deux que le KM a un impact sur le français chez les enfants mauriciens.

Appadoo (2013) s’est ainsi intéressée à l’insécurité linguistique chez les enfants de 6-10 ans lors d’une étude sur les productions orales de six enfants n’apprenant pas le KM à l’école : il s’agit de trois enfants parlant le KM et le télougou chez eux et de trois autres le français à la maison. De ce deuxième groupe, deux d’entre eux n’ont qu’une compétence passive et limitée du KM et n’arrivent à s’exprimer dans cette langue qu’avec grande diffi culté, tandis que le troisième a tout simplement refusé de s’exprimer dans cette langue. Voici deux exemples de phrases qui sont, selon les deux premiers enfants francophones, en KM:

• « Français est trop facile pour *mo gagn* un A ». Un créolophone aurait dit : « franse (li) tro fasil pou mo gagn enn A »

• « Maman qui me dire de parler français avec tout ». Un créolophone aurait plutôt dit : « (se ) Mama (ki) dir mwa koz franse ar tou dimounn ».

Sans avoir nécessairement besoin de faire appel à la notion d’interlecte, telle que développée par Prudent (1981) et qui demeure encore problématique à ce jour, nous pouvons très certainement parler de « lectes d’apprenant » (Noyau, 1998 & Watorek, 2004) dans le cas de ces enfants, c’est-à-dire, de structures intermédiaires situées entre la L1 et la L2 en apprentissage. Il est aussi à noter que les parents de ces enfants francophones sont tous également locuteurs du KM, mais qu’ils ont imposé le français à la maison afi n de s’assurer, pour certains, que l’enfant aille dans une bonne école ou pour une question de prestige, comme le précise une mère : « un enfant qui parle le français est mieux reconnu dans la société (rires) du moins c’est le cas à Quatre-Bornes » (Appadoo, 2013, p. 32).

L’enquête d’Appadoo consiste en deux séries de récits oraux d’enfants en français : la première a été réalisée à partir de la planche « Les Oisillons », développée par Maya Hickmann (1995) et utilisée depuis dans divers travaux sur l’acquisition infantile du langage, la seconde est constituée de

récits du Petit Chaperon Rouge. Appadoo (2013) a également interviewé les parents sur l’utilisation des langues chez eux et à l’école, ainsi que sur les langues auxquelles les enfants sont exposés au quotidien. Après une analyse minutieuse des récits, elle arrive à la conclusion que les enfants sont tous en situation d’insécurité linguistique, ce qui se manifeste par de longues pauses entre les énoncés, le mélange de codes, ainsi qu’un nombre élevé d’hypercorrections, d’hésitations et de répétitions. Par ailleurs, son analyse montre également que les enfants créolophones ne maîtrisent pas les règles de la grammaire française, notamment en ce qui concerne les temps verbaux, et qu’il y a une infl uence majeure du KM au niveau de la prononciation, de la syntaxe et du lexique. Les mêmes phénomènes sont observables dans l’autre sens pour les enfants francophones lorsqu’ils doivent s’exprimer en KM.

Purseramen (2014) a, quant à elle, présenté un travail sur l’acquisition du français oral par des enfants mauriciens, dans lequel elle a analysé trois récits d’enfants « francophones » de 5 ans, obtenus à partir de dessins animés sans paroles (Tom & Jerry, Pingu). Elle affi rme en conclusion que ces enfants maîtrisent les règles du français standard : utilisation correcte de différents temps verbaux, pas de problèmes d’accord en genre, nombre ou personne, ni de problèmes au niveau de la pronominalisation ou de la liaison. Les seules traces avérées de KM dans leurs récits sont des emprunts : le connecteur « be » (« et bien ») à une reprise dans le récit d’un des enfants et la préposition « ek » (« avec ») à deux reprises dans le même énoncé d’un autre enfant (Après je me souviens qu’il est / qu’il avait joué ek sa trottinette dehors ek ses amis).

Elle indique également que le rôle des parents est déterminant dans l’utilisation et les représentations des langues, puisque ce sont eux qui infl uencent leurs enfants, à travers leur choix d’école, leur soutien scolaire à la maison et l’interdiction formelle pour les enfants d’utiliser le KM. Selon elle, les parents ne s’expriment qu’en français lorsqu’ils discutent avec leurs enfants et répètent un schéma, puisque eux-mêmes avaient vécu le même interdit étant enfants. Lorsqu’elle a demandé aux enfants s’ils pouvaient parler en KM à la maison, les

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réponses ont été négatives, les parents leur ayant dit, à l’une « Auranne, arrête, parle bien » (donc, en français), et à un autre « Kenzo, c’est pas bien, ça », cet enfant précisant ensuite qu’il ne s’exprimerait jamais en KM. La mère d’un des enfants a également indiqué qu’elle trouvait que « parler créole à sa fi lle est “vilain” et trouve cela grossier » (Purseramen, 2014, p.17). Malgré ces discours très négatifs vis-à-vis du KM, il existe quand même une forme d’ambivalence chez les parents, puisque Purseramen indique qu’il leur arrive de se parler en KM. Par contre, elle précise également que les parents de ces enfants n’ont pas choisi le KM comme matière optionnelle mais ont tous opté pour le mandarin car ils considèrent qu’étudier le créole n’aidera pas leur enfant à acquérir de nouvelles connaissances. Elle cite ainsi la mère d’une des fi llettes qui explique que : “Apprendre le créole ne sert à rien, plus tard elle ne fera pas d’interview en créole pour trouver du travail. Je préfère qu’elle étudie le mandarin car elle ne connaît pas. Le créole, elle connaît et elle le parle” (p.16).

Les résultats de ces deux travaux viennent ainsi confi rmer une partie de ceux que nous avions présentés dans notre thèse de doctorat (Florigny, 2010). Nous y avions analysé deux cents récits d’enfants de 6 à 9 ans d’écoles primaires situées dans quatre zones géographiques différentes (zones urbaines, périurbaines, rurales agricoles et rurales côtières). Notre corpus était constitué de récits (100 en français et 100 en KM) obtenus à partir de la planche « Les Oisillons » et également de quelques récits spontanés de contes. Une des conclusions de ce travail avait été que 92,9% des récits de notre échantillon en KM étaient produits sans interférence du français, alors que seuls 50,6% de ceux en français l’étaient sans interférence du KM. Nous pouvons donc affi rmer qu’indéniablement le KM a une infl uence sur les productions en français des enfants mauriciens, en prenant également en considération la présence d’une variante locale du français, déjà fortement infl uencée par la phonétique et la syntaxe du KM.

Travaux inédits sur l’apprentissage

du KM écrit Les travaux que nous présentons ci-

dessous ont été réalisés plus spécifi quement dans des écoles primaires mauriciennes

w à travers l’île et s’intéressent aux liens probables entre l’apprentissage du KM et du français.

Bhikea-Narayen (2013) s’intéresse à la façon dont l’enseignement du kreol peut infl uencer le français chez des élèves de deuxième année de primaire à Mon-Trésor-Mon-Désert, étant elle-même l’enseignante de KM dans cette école. Nous rappelons que cette langue n’a été introduite qu’à partir de 2012, que tous les enseignants de cette langue ont suivi une formation spécifi que au KM au Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE), sur une durée allant de six mois à un an et qu’ils utilisent tous le même manuel créé par cet institut. Elle procède donc à une analyse comparative de productions orales et écrites en français de 7 enfants apprenant le KM et de 7 autres ne l’apprenant pas, sa méthodologie consistant à poser un certain nombre de questions orales (nom, prénom, lieu de résidence, etc.) et de questions écrites (jours de la semaine, chiffres 1-10, mot associé à une image).

Ses conclusions montrent clairement qu’il y a de nombreuses confusions entre le KM, le français et l’anglais, dus certainement à la proximité phonétique entre les deux premières langues et au fait que le même enseignant soit chargé des cours de français et d’anglais. Ceci est facilement vérifi able dans les données qu’elle a récoltées, comme le montre l’exemple ci-dessous :

Bhikea-Narayen (2013) montre également qu’il n’y a pas de différences notables entre les productions écrites en français des élèves apprenant le KM et celles des élèves ne l’apprenant pas. Elle invite plutôt à analyser son corpus sous un autre angle : selon elle, les élèves perfomants font moins de fautes que les autres et, ce, dans les deux langues.

Teeroovengadum (2013) présente les résultats d’une étude effectuée dans une classe de seconde année de l’école primaire James Toolsy de Curepipe, son objectif étant de montrer si l’apprentissage du KM a un impact sur celui du français. Il s’attèle ainsi à comparer et analyser minutieusement les productions écrites de 16 enfants apprenant le KM et de 16 autres ne l’apprenant pas, tous ces enfants étant créolophones. Le corpus récolté comprend des devoirs de français et de KM correspondant au test du 1er trimestre, ainsi que de questionnaires de

5 questions de vocabulaire, d’orthographe et de syntaxe.

Ses conclusions sont similaires à celles de Bhikea-Narayen (2013) puisqu’elles

montrent que les productions en français des deux groupes d’élèves sont similaires. De surcroît, tandis que certains élèves ne savent écrire ni en français ni en KM et que d’autres confondent le français et l’anglais, il apparaît que les meilleurs de chaque groupe ne font pas de confusion entre l’orthographe du français et celle du KM. Ainsi, selon lui, apprendre le KM n’infl uence pas l’apprentissage du français, les résultats aux tests dépendant plus du niveau général de performance de l’enfant, de son environnement sociolinguistique et de son exposition à cette langue.

C’est sous un angle différent que Chaumière (2014) s’intéresse à l’apprentissage des langues au primaire puisque son sujet de recherche porte sur l’interférence de la phonétique du KM sur l’apprentissage de l’orthographe du français. Cette étude, menée dans une classe de seconde année de l’école primaire (ZEP) Louis Serge Coutet GS de Baie du Tombeau avait deux objectifs: voir si la phonétique du KM a un impact sur la façon d’écrire le français et surtout comparer les données d’élèves apprenant le KM à celles d’autres ne l’apprenant pas. Elle a alors comparé et analysé les productions écrites de seize enfants créolophones, sept d’entre eux apprenant le KM et neuf ne l’apprenant pas, obtenues à partir de questionnaires

Figure 3: Confusions entre le français, l’anglais et le KM

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201564

offrant différents choix de graphèmes pour représenter un phonème, comme sur le dessin suivant :

Les résultats de l’analyse de Chaumière la poussent à conclure que la phonétique du KM infl uence l’apprentissage de l’orthographe du français, certes, mais pour tous les élèves. Elle affi rme également qu’il n’y a pas de différences signifi catives entre les résultats des 2 groupes d’élèves. S’il est vrai que la phonétique du KM interfère sur l’apprentissage de l’orthographe du français, elle indique par ailleurs que d’autres facteurs sont à explorer.

Tandis que la plupart des mots des deux langues se ressemblent, l’orthographe du KM se fonde sur des règles phonétiques (un son/un graphème), à l’exception des phonèmes /u/, /ʃ/, /tʃ/, /ɲ/ et /ŋ/, alors que celle du français est étymologique. Selon Chaumière (2014), il n’y a pas assez d’accent mis sur les différentes réalisations graphiques possibles des sons en français (comme par exemple le phonème /o/ qui possède au moins les trois réalisations écrites « o », « au » et « eau ») ou l’utilisation de symboles diacritiques (comme « é », « è » ou « ê ») en français, alors qu’ils n’existent pas en KM. Elle signale également l’absence

de démarcation de zones linguistiques dans l’espace physique de la classe. Enfi n, Chaumière précise que son enquête dans cette école lui a permis d’assister à certaines cours et que cette observation a clairement mis en exergue le fait que les pratiques orales des enseignants de français sont à

divers degrés infl uencées par la phonétique du KM et que cela peut également expliquer les problèmes rencontrés par les élèves.

La dernière enquête que nous souhaiterions présenter ici est celle de Sujiwon (2014), effectuée dans le village côtier de Bambous-Virieux. Cette étudiante s’est intéressée à l’infl uence possible de l’apprentissage du KM sur celui du français dans les classes de première, seconde et troisième années de primaire de l’école Sainte Cécile RCA, mais elle a également intégré à sa recherche une partie assez conséquente portant sur les représentations liées à l’introduction du KM au primaire dans ce village. Elle a tenté de démontrer s’il y avait des différences dans les méthodes d’enseignement des deux langues, tout en gardant à l’esprit de comparer les données obtenues des élèves apprenant le KM et de ceux ne le faisant pas. Elle a donc fait de l’observation dans ces trois différentes classes, a également fait passer des QCM auprès de ces élèves et a interviewé les différents actants de l’éducation dans l’école. Le corpus ainsi obtenu est composé des entretiens avec les enseignants de KM, les enseignants de français, le maître d’école et son assistant, certains parents et d’autres

habitants du village, mais également des QCM qu’elle a fait passer en français avec les élèves de seconde et de troisième année et aussi en KM avec cette dernière classe.

De ce qu’elle a observé dans les classes de langues, Sujiwon (2014) conclut qu’il y a une participation accrue des élèves

dans les classes de KM. Ceci est d’autant plus accentué par l’utilisation de référents connus des enfants, comme des chants ou des sirandanes. Par contre, les élèves participent beaucoup moins dans le cours de français. En plus des problèmes d’insécurité linguistique liés à l’utilisation du français dans la classe, les élèves ne sont pas aidés par la méthode d’apprentissage, qui repose en grande partie sur les répétitions mécaniques. Sujiwon signale également de nombreuses occurrences d’alternance codique entre le français et le KM dans le discours de l’enseignant de français, ce qui a tendance à brouiller la frontière entre ces deux langues et montre son incapacité à pouvoir tout expliquer en français, d’où le recours systématique au KM comme langue support. En ce qui concerne les résultats obtenus des QCM, Sujiwon précise qu’ils n’indiquent pas de différence majeure entre le groupe d’élèves apprenant le KM et l’autre.

Par contre, la partie de son travail portant sur les représentations est riche en enseignements et montre que les différents actants de l’éducation peuvent avoir une attitude très positive par rapport à l’introduction du KM. Ses entretiens avec les parents mettent en exergue le fait que, dans ce village, tous les parents, y compris ceux dont les enfants n’apprennent pas le KM, sont avis que l’introduction du KM est une bonne initiative, amenant à des résultats académiques positifs. Ceci est néanmoins plus lié à l’utilisation du KM comme médium d’enseignement ou comme langue-soutien pour les explications qu’en tant que matière apprise et corrigée lors d’examens, ainsi que le disent deux parents :

• « wi, parski ena devwar ki li pli konpran kan explik li an kreol » (oui, parce qu’il y a des devoirs qu’il comprend mieux quand on lui explique en KM)

• « on peut utiliser le kreol comme un substitut pour expliquer l’enfant vraiment ce qu’on veut dire »

Certains autres sont néanmoins sceptiques, comme ces deux parents qui expriment quelque doute quant au bienfondé d’avoir introduit le KM comme matière :

• « Kot zot pou servi sa? » (où vont-ils utiliser ça ?)

• « Eski sa pou fer bann-la gagn travay ? » (est-ce que ça va leur permettre de trouver un boulot ?)

Figure 4: Choix de graphèmes pour représenter un phonème

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Le personnel enseignant de cette école a également une attitude positive par rapport à l’introduction du KM. Tandis que certains pensent que cela favorise l’épanouissement de l’enfant, le développement intégral de la personne, d’autres expriment le constat que l’utilisation de cette langue en classe permet aux élèves de s’exprimer plus librement, ainsi que le disent ces deux enseignants :

• « dan klas kreol morisien, zot ena plis lavantaz pou zot koze. Se pa ki li pa konn koze, me li pa per. Li kapav exprim li. Si ti enn lot klas, franse ou angle, kot ena bann mo ki li pa kone, zanfan-la pa kapav donn repons parfwa »8.

• « Oui, donc ça a amélioré, hein amélioré. Il y a plus de compréhension de la part des élèves. S’il y a plus de compréhension, il y a plus de participation au niveau des enfants ».

Cette deuxième remarque ne fait pas uniquement référence au fait que le KM soit utilisé comme médium d’enseignement parallèlement au français dans les classes de français mais surtout au fait que les concepts linguistiques enseignés (par exemple, ce qu’est un verbe ou un nom) portent sur une langue qu’ils maîtrisent et comprennent déjà. Dans les autres classes de langues, les élèves font face à des concepts inconnus à appliquer sur/dans une langue également inconnue ou très peu utilisée par ces derniers. Ainsi, ces cours d’apprentissage du KM donnent l’occasion à ces enfants de travailler dans et sur leur L1, ce qui permet une (meilleure) compréhension de ces concepts, provoquant subséquemment leur participation accrue aux cours de KM.

Enfi n, une autre enseignante, citée par Sujiwon, indique que certains de ses collègues sont conscients de l’infl uence du KM sur le français, mais aussi du fait que ceci ne puisse en aucun cas être attribué à l’enseignement écrit du KM. En effet, les jeunes dans leur ensemble, incluant ceux qui n’ont jamais pu apprendre le KM écrit puisque cette matière n’existait pas, s’expriment en français, à l’écrit comme à l’oral, avec une infl uence certaine du KM. Ainsi que l’indique cette enseignante :

• « Peut-être que ce batch-la… là, il y a quelques infl uences, les mots tout ça, mais même les jeunes d’aujourd’hui écrivent en kreol dans leurs papiers de SC et de la HSC9.

Ils écrivent ça carrément comme dans la langue SMS ! »

Conclusions Dans cet article, nous nous sommes

intéressé à cette situation inédite à l’île Maurice, qui concerne l’introduction du KM en tant que matière optionnelle. Nous avons présenté dans un premier temps le contexte social et sociolinguistique, ainsi que l’historique ayant mené à l’inclusion de cette langue au primaire. Suite à cela, nous nous sommes intéressé aux représentations qui sont faites par rapport à l’introduction du KM à l’école primaire, qui montrent de manière très nette une forte défi ance vis-à-vis de cette langue et ce, principalement en raison de préjugés portant sur son inutilité et de son probable impact négatif sur l’apprentissage du français. En effet, la plupart des Mauriciens continuent à dévaloriser le KM, avec tous les préjugés associés à une langue minorée. Par contre, le travail de Sujiwon (2014) indique que le regard des différents actants de l’éducation (parents et enseignants) peut être totalement différent si, d’une part, les moyens sont mis en œuvre pour assurer un enseignement optimal de cette langue et, d’autre part, on s’intéresse aux productions concrètes des élèves.

Les deux parties suivantes ont présenté des enquêtes récentes qui révèlent des tendances similaires, quelle que soient les méthodes d’enquête et les supports utilisés (entretiens, QCM, questionnaires ou observation in vivo, travail sur l’oral ou l’écrit, sur les liens entre phonétique et orthographe, récits oraux spontanés ou sans support, à partir d’images ou de dessins animés). Nous tenons à préciser qu’une des raisons principales qui a motivé la rédaction de cet article est le fait que ces travaux sont les tous premiers à s’intéresser à l’appropriation du français et du KM depuis l’introduction de ce dernier dans le cycle primaire.

Ainsi, ces travaux montrent avant tout que les productions en français de tous les enfants interrogés sont infl uencées à divers degrés par le KM, indistinctement du fait qu’ils apprennent cette langue à l’école, puisque les travaux de Purseramen (2014) et Appadoo (2013) ont été réalisés en dehors du cadre scolaire et avec des enfants n’apprenant pas cette langue et présentent des résultats comparables aux autres enquêtes faites dans

les écoles. En effet, nous y avons découvert que les productions en français des enfants sont infl uencées par le KM, principalement au niveau de la phonétique, du lexique et de la syntaxe. Ceci confi rme les résultats que nous avions obtenus lors de notre thèse de doctorat (Florigny 2010), qui est, à ce jour, le seul travail portant sur l’acquisition du KM et du français à l’île Maurice, exception faite des travaux de Adone (1994, 2012) qui, eux, ont pour objet d’étude l’acquisition du KM comme L1 uniquement.

La deuxième conclusion principale à laquelle nous aboutissons concerne le fait que l’apprentissage du KM (oral et écrit) dans le cadre scolaire n’a pas d’infl uence négative sur l’apprentissage du français, contrairement aux représentations populaires. En effet, les productions en français des enfants apprenant le KM sont similaires à celles de ceux qui ne l’apprennent pas, les mêmes phénomènes d’interférences du KM pouvant être notés et, ce, dans les mêmes proportions.

Ces études nous poussent également à considérer d’autres facteurs comme ayant une infl uence possible sur la qualité des productions des enfants en français. Il semblerait, en effet, que le niveau de compétence des élèves ait un impact direct sur leurs productions en français. Ainsi, ces enquêtes montrent que les élèves performants n’ont aucune diffi culté à différencier entre l’orthographe du KM et du français et font peu d’erreurs, les élèves moyens ont beaucoup plus de problèmes à faire la différence entre ces deux langues lexicalement proches et les élèves les plus faibles semblent ne pas même faire la distinction entre le français et l’anglais, qui sont pour eux deux langues étranges et étrangères. Ceci est certainement aggravé par le fait que ce soit le même enseignant qui soit en charge de ces deux matières, augmentant alors la confusion cognitive dans l’apprentissage de ces deux langues, tandis qu’il existe des enseignants spécifi ques pour les langues optionnelles, que ce soit pour l’enseignement du KM ou des langues orientales.

Un autre élément à prendre en compte parmi les facteurs affectant les productions des élèves est l’attitude des parents et des enseignants vis-à-vis du KM et du français et des valeurs qu’ils souhaitent

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201566

leur transmettre. Nous avons ainsi pu constater dans le travail de Purseramen (2014) que certains parents issus de milieux francophones ont une image très dévalorisante du KM et qu’ils inculquent cela à leurs enfants dès leur plus jeune âge, allant même jusqu’à proscrire complètement cette langue de l’espace familial, ce que nous avions également noté lors de nos enquêtes de terrain de thèse de doctorat. Il est vrai que certains parents créolophones pourraient aussi valoriser le français au détriment du KM ou l’inclure dans la palette des compétences à posséder, mais plus dans l’idée que le français permet la mobilité sociale et est lié indéniablement au prestige qu’à une volonté consciente de déprécier le KM, qu’ils continueront à utiliser.

Par ailleurs, la façon dont parents et enseignants s’expriment à l’oral a également un impact direct sur les productions des enfants en français et l’utilisation de la variété locale de français par les enseignants pose problème. Ainsi que nous l’avions émis dans notre thèse (Florigny, 2010), il existe un problème qui concerne les objectifs de l’acquisition/apprentissage du français à Maurice, puisque, alors que les programmes scolaires ont pour objectif l’enseignement du français standard, beaucoup de Mauriciens, y compris certains enseignants, ne paraissent pas conscients des différences lexicales et syntaxiques entre le français standard et le français mauricien, voire ne sont même pas conscients que le français qu’ils emploient est une variété locale. Quelle est alors la véritable langue cible dans ce processus acquisitionnel ?

Enfi n, ces enquêtes prouvent également que les méthodes d’apprentissage des langues étrangères ne sont pas forcément adaptées aux enfants mauriciens et reposent sur des principes pédagogiques dépassés (répétitions mécaniques, apprentissage par cœur, etc.). Par contre, l’utilisation de la langue première des enfants et de matériels linguistiques (contes, sirandanes, rébus en KM, etc.) proches de la réalité de ces derniers est favorable à leur développement cognitif et permet une plus grande participation en classe et

une meilleure compréhension des concepts. Il nous faut encore signaler que, bien que ces travaux montrent tous que l’apprentissage du KM n’infl uence pas négativement celui du français, rien ne nous permet pour l’instant d’affi rmer qu’il puisse en aucune façon le favoriser non plus.

Ces travaux effectués ces trois

dernières années à l’île Maurice (les croix bleues sur la carte ci-dessus) offrent une nouvelle vision de la situation éducative et sociolinguistique mauricienne puisqu’elle met à mal un certain nombre de préjugés contre l’introduction du KM dans le cycle primaire. Ils viennent confi rmer les résultats de nos enquêtes précédentes (les croix noires sur la carte) et nous permettent de penser que les résultats obtenus ne sont pas localisés mais sont représentatifs de ce qui se passe dans l’île dans son ensemble. Nous pensons malgré tout qu’il faudrait faire de plus amples recherches, utilisant davantage de techniques d’enquête différentes, sur les représentations du KM et de son impact sur l’apprentissage d’autres langues pour changer les conceptions erronées entourant cette langue, encore trop souvent stigmatisée, suite à ces travaux qui ont ouvert la voie dans ce domaine.

5

qu’ils emploient elle est alors la

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ues étrangères daptées aux

ent sur des épassésques,tc.).

la nts es entéàf

Figure 5: Carte indiquant les différents lieux d’enquête

Notes de fi n1Même s’il est vrai que notre objectif de départ

concernait également l’impact de l’apprentissage du

KM sur celui de l’anglais, nous avons dû renoncer à

cette partie de notre travail, les données sur l’anglais

étant trop peu nombreuses et trop diffi ciles à obtenir

d’enfants de cet âge (5-8 ans), qui n’arrivent, pour la

plupart, même pas à prononcer une phrase dans cette

langue.2L’arabe n’est pas une langue d’un des pays d’origine

d’une des communautés mauriciennes, mais

demeure la langue de prestige pour une partie de la

communauté musulmane, en tant que langue dans

laquelle fut écrit le Coran.3Traduction : « le KM a survécu sans être appris dans

les écoles. Même ceux qu’on appelle les illettrés

parviennent à le maîtriser. Donc, ne gaspillez pas

le temps de nos enfants avec ça dans les écoles :

apprenez-leur plutôt le mandarin qui a plus de chance

de leur permettre de se nourrir dans le futur. »4Traduction : « Ah ! Ca suffi t avec ça ! Qu’est-ce qu’on

va faire avec le KM dans la vie ? Laissez ça pour les

cancres. L’avenir n’est certainement pas dedans. En

tout cas, on n’ira pas loin avec ça !5Traduction : « Quelle perte de temps et d’énergie.

Utilisez ces ressources pour apprendre aux enfants

des expériences scientifi ques pratiques qui pourraient

éveiller leur intérêt dans des choses qui pourraient leur

faire gagner l’estime du monde un jour. Pleure, mon

pays, pleure »6Traduction : « Est-ce que vous avez tenté d’apprendre

dans une langue étrangère comme le mandarin, la

langue la plus parlée et comprise au monde ? Alors,

pourquoi vous l’imposez à nos enfants ? L’enfant sait

qu’il a labous (une bouche), mais quand il arrive à

l’école, on lui dit qu’il a nose, head, mouth »7Traduction : « Français, je conne, anglais je débrouille,

c’est ça qu’on appelle la maîtrise de la langue ! Nous

réfl échissons, nous rêvons, nous nous battons, nous

aimons dans notre langue maternelle, ensuite nous

sommes obligés de passer par un processus de

traduction avant que ça ne sorte. C’est ce que nous

appelons maîtriser les langues, désolé ! En attendant,

30% des enfants échouent encore en fi n de primaire.

C’est révoltant. Inutile d’être un génie pour faire un

calcul simple… »8Traduction : « dans la classe de KM, ils ont plus

d’avantages pour parler. Ce n’est pas qu’il ne sait pas

parler, mais il n’a pas peur. Il peut s’exprimer. Si c’était

une autre classe, de français ou d’anglais, où il y a des

mots qu’il ne connaît pas, l’enfant ne peut pas donner

la réponse parfois ».9La School Certifi cate (ou SC) correspond à la Seconde

française, tandis que la Higher School Certifi cate (ou

HSC) est l’équivalant de Cambridge à la classe de

Terminale.

Le créole, l’enseignement et l’apprentissage

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 67

Abstract

After three decades of debate about the role and place of Kreol Morisien (KM) and Asian languages for admission purposes to the best colleges of the island, KM was introduced as an optional subject in the Mauritian primary curriculum in January 2012. Through the setting up of the Akademi Kreol Morisien in 2010, the Ministry of Education had already prepared the ground for this to happen. Essential documents (e.g. concerning the standardization of the orthography of Kreol Morisien and the fi rst attempt at codifying the grammar of that language) had been prepared, as well as the curriculum for the teaching of the language and a teacher education programme for KM. Nevertheless, we can still witness a strong resistance to the introduction of this language from a large proportion of parents, teachers and the population in general.In this article, we will focus on two dimensions of such a situation. We will fi rst analyze the discourse in favour and against the introduction of Kreol in the school curriculum, and then, we will present some recent studies which show that the introduction of Kreol does not have/has not had a negative impact on the learning of French. French is one of the two compulsory languages in the Mauritian education system and one of the main reasons behind the resistance expressed towards the introduction of Kreol as a language is precisely the fear of its adverse effect on the learning of other languages.

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/ didactique du créole », Festival International Créole, Mahé, Seychelles, Université des Seychelles, 1-2 Octobre 2014.• Noyau, C. dir (1998). L’acquisition de la temporalité en situation bilingue, LINX n°38.• Noyau, C. (1997). Processus de grammaticalisation dans l’acquisition de langues étrangères : la morphologie temporelle, in C. Martinot, éd. (1997), L’acquisition de la syntaxe en langue maternelle et en langue étrangère, Besançon, Annales Littéraires de l’Université de Franche-Comté n°631, p.223-252.• Police-Michel, D., Carpooran, A. & Florigny, G. (2011). Gramer Kreol Morisien, Dokiman Referans Volim I. Rapport publié sous l’égide de Akademi Kreol Morisien et commandé par le Ministère de l’Education mauricien.• Porquier, R. (1994). Communications exolingues et contextes d’appropriation : le continuum acquisition/apprentissage, in Bulletin de linguistique appliquée n°59, Py, B. (éd.), L’acquisition d’une langue seconde. Quelques développements théoriques récents, p.159-169.• Prudent, L.F. (1981). Diglossie et interlecte, in Langages n°61, p.13-38.• Purseramen, J. (2014). L’acquisition du français oral par des enfants mauriciens (mémoire de licence de français). Université de Maurice.• Richer, Jean-Jacques (1996). Enseigner en créole : le cas des Seychelles, in Etudes de Linguistique Appliquée n°103.• Rughoonundun-Chellapermal, N. (2004, mars). Contribution au débat sur la langue d’enseignement. Le Mauricien, Ile Maurice.• Somé, M. (2004). Éducation bilingue, une alternative au système éducatif de base en Afrique pour assurer un développement durable, in Penser la francophonie – Concepts, actions et outils linguistiques, Actes des Premières Journées scientifi ques communes des Réseaux de chercheurs concernant la langue, AUF, Editions des Archives Contemporaines, Université de Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, p. 413-424.• Sujiwon, W. (2014). L’apprentissage du kreol morisien a-t-il une infl uence sur celui du français ? (projet de recherche pour le cours de « Sociolinguistique » de la licence d’humanités). Université de Maurice.• Teeroovengadum, S. (2013). Est-ce que le fait qu’un enfant apprenne le KM lui pose un problème pour apprendre le français ? (projet de recherche en sociolinguistique pour le cours de « Langue et Société » de la licence de français). Université de Maurice.• Tréfault, Th. (2006). L’enfant scolarisé en milieu bambarophone (Mali). L’entrée dans l’écriture en langue nationale bamanan et les conséquences pour le français. in Actes du colloque international “Appropriation du Français et Construction de Connaissances via la Scolarisation en Situation Diglossique”, Université Paris Ouest-Nanterre-La Défense, 24-26 février 2005.• Truth and Justice Commission (2011). Report of the Truth and Justice Commission, Vol.1. Maurice, Government Press.• UNESCO, 2003. Education in a Multilingual World.• Virahsawmy, D. (2001). Literesi an Morisien. Repéré à http://www.dev-virahsawmy.org/ polanknouvo08LITERESIMORISIEN.html• Virahsawmy D. (2003). Lang dan lekol. Repéré à http://pages.intnet.mu/develog/index.htm• Virahsawmy, D. (2004). Aprann Lir ek Ekrir Morisien, Moris, Cygnature Ebook Publications.• Watorek, M. (2004). Postface : la structure des lectes des apprenants. in Watorek, M. (éd.), Analyse comparative des processus d’acquisition en L1 et L2, AILE n°20, 219-244.

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201568

Le créole, l’enseignement et l’apprentissageLa didactique du créole: d’une didactique

cloisonnée de la discipline à une didactique globale du répertoire de l’apprenant

Dr Fabrice Georger (Rectorat de la Réunion)Courriel : [email protected]

Mots-clés : glottopolitique – complexité – répertoire – créolistique

Résumé

A La Réunion, le créole est reconnu comme langue régionale de France et « bénéfi cie » des outils institutionnels et didactiques de cette discipline. Pourtant, cette langue, qui partage de façon complexe l’espace énonciatif avec le français, se trouve à l’étroit dans ce cadre qui ne lui permet pas de jouer pleinement un rôle moteur. L’école, à La Réunion et ailleurs, doit dépasser une vision cloisonnée des « langues » et doit s’ouvrir aux problématiques concernant le répertoire plurilingue qui est le « déjà là » de la majorité des apprenants. Le défi à relever est davantage celui d’une éducation plurilingue souple, affi rmée et cohérente. Ne doivent pas être exclues pourtant, par moment, les approches contrastives au service d’une réfl exion métalinguistique sur les langues posées, à un moment donné, en tant que système. L’élaboration d’une éducation plurilingue devient donc une question sociétale de fond qui peut avoir un impact important sur les performances sociales et économiques de nos îles créoles. L’article présenté tente donc de présenter le passage d’une didactique cloisonnée de la discipline à une didactique globale du répertoire de l’apprenant.

Etant impliqué depuis plus d’une dizaine d’année sur la question du « créole à l’école » à La Réunion, c’est avec beaucoup d’intérêt que j’ai répondu à l’appel à communication concernant les créoles et leurs didactiques dans l’Océan Indien. Bien que mes réfl exions prétendent alimenter les débats communs à tous ceux qui s’intéressent à ce sujet, mon terrain d’étude est principalement celui de mon péi, dont une des spécifi cités par rapport à ses îles sœurs créolophones de l’Océan Indien (Maurice, Rodrigues et Les Seychelles) est son statut politique. La Réunion fait partie des Départements français d’Outre-Mer (DOM) comme la Guadeloupe, La Martinique et La Guyane. Le statut offi ciel du créole pour ces DOM est le même que celui du basque, du corse ou du breton, c’est-à-dire une langue offi ciellement « régionale » dans le territoire français. Pour les locuteurs en revanche, cette langue est soit maternelle, soit co-maternelle avec le français, voire même langue seconde pour les enfants issus de milieux non créolophones ou même pour

« Si la compétence plurilingue est chose éminem-ment globale, n’est-on pas en droit d’estimer qu’il n’y a pas de véritable didactique des langues sans didactique du plurilinguisme et que, de ce fait, la didactique du plurilin-guisme est la didactique des

langues véritables.» (Michel Candelier et Véro-

nique Castellotti, 2013: 212).

une génération issue de milieu créolophone mais dont les parents ne transmettent plus le créole à la nouvelle génération, lui préférant souvent le français perçu comme langue de la réussite scolaire ou de l’ouverture au monde. Par contre, de façon assez générale, le créole revient en force lors de la phase d’opposition au collège et de ce fait il est pour de nombreux locuteurs aussi une langue fortement identitaire.

Dans l’académie de La Réunion, les professeurs qui désirent enseigner cette langue dans le premier degré doivent recevoir une habilitation suite à une évaluation de leurs compétences linguistiques et connaissances culturelles, suivie d’une formation didactique et pédagogique et enfi n validée par une visite de classe. Dans le second degré, les enseignants de créole sont lauréats du Certifi cat d’Aptitude à l’Enseignement du Secondaire (CAPES) créole et d’une autre valence des disciplines des sciences humaines. La première promotion des habilités du premier degré date de 2003. Jusqu’en 2006 un peu moins de trente enseignants semblent intéressés par cette habilitation, soit une moyenne de dix enseignants par an. A partir de 2007 un nouveau cycle s’ouvre et chaque année plus d’une trentaine d’enseignants se lance dans l’aventure. A la fi n de l’année 2015, environ 270 enseignants du premier degré devraient être habilités, ce qui correspondrait à une multiplication par dix en huit ans. La progression est importante mais le chemin est encore long quand on songe qu’ils ne représentent que 4% du nombre total des effectifs du premier degré de l’île.

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 69

A côté de ces avancées quantitatives, une évidence relevant du bon sens gagne progressivement du terrain : la prise en compte du contexte linguistique, que ce soit pour l’enseignement de la langue créole ou française, ne se limite pas à une langue vivante facultative. Le locuteur possédant avant tout un répertoire langagier qui n’est pas composé de deux « langues » étanches, la question didactique et pédagogique de fond en terre créole est comment tenir compte de la complexité et de la richesse de la parole de l’apprenant pour lui permettre d’atteindre les attendus scolaires, de s’épanouir dans son contexte et de s’ouvrir au monde. Ayant déjà abordé ces thèmes très récemment (Georger, 2014 a et b), j’ai tenté ici d’éviter les éventuelles redites en organisant mon propos autour du passage d’une description centrée sur la langue à celle orientée vers le répertoire du locuteur et autour du passage d’une didactique de la langue à une didactique globale de ce même répertoire.

1. D’une description centrée sur

la langue à celle orientée vers

le répertoire du locuteur.

De nombreux travaux ont été menés sur la description de la phonologie, du lexique et de la syntaxe du créole réunionnais par des chercheurs connus et reconnus tels que (par ordre alphabétique) Armand, Baggioni, Carayol, Célier, Chaudenson, Ramassamy, Staudacher-Valliamée. Ces travaux fondateurs d’une créolistique réunionnaise contemporaine s’inscrivent principalement dans une linguistique des langues françaises ou créoles et de leur cohabitation. Les thèses récemment soutenues à La Réunion telles que Rapanoël (2007), Souprayen-Cavery (2007), Lebon-Eyquem (2007), Adelin (2008) et Georger (2011) privilégient l’approche interlectale défi nie par Prudent (1981, 1993), qui déplore la binarisation de la présentation de la parole réunionnaise là où les « langues » créoles et françaises semblent souvent fusionner. Au quotidien le locuteur utilise un mode de discours (une « macro-langue » selon Prudent) qui est souvent jugé défavorablement par grand nombre de locuteurs.

Cette macro-langue […] se compose : d’une part d’un ensemble de

variétés populaires, que le sens commun et ce que l’on peut appeler l’intuition de grammaticalité regroupent sous le terme générique de créole ; d’autre part d’un ensemble d’énoncés que l’usage étiquette français ; et troisièmement, de formes alternées, hybrides ou intermédiaires qu’on a parfois traitées de créolismes ou de français-banane et que la littérature moderne étudie au chapitre variétés mésolectales dues à la décréolisation ou au français régional. Chacun des deux premiers sociolectes peut être déclaré langue différenciée, et décrit selon des procédures immanentistes propres à la linguistique structurale saussurienne. C’est d’ailleurs ainsi qu’ont procédé la plupart des linguistes qui se sont penchés sur la question (Prudent, 1993 : 27).

Mes observations et échanges concernant différents terrains de l’Océan Indien, aussi bien au niveau des pratiques langagières que des représentations, me confortent dans l’idée que l’approche interlectale est largement mobilisable pour décrire les contextes mauriciens, rodriguais et seychellois. Dans tous ces territoires je rencontre des locuteurs qui ne retiennent que les formes les plus « caricaturales » du mode de discours quotidien pour les dénigrer et les stigmatiser par comparaison à une certaine norme. A l’école, là où une norme prescriptive et standard est visée, ce parler quotidien est souvent qualifi é de créolisme et est souvent interdit d’entrée dans la salle de classe. Les humoristes à succès ont pendant longtemps fait de ce « parler-makot » leur fond de commerce, comme si une spécifi cité de l’humour créole était de se centrer sur le moukataz (la raillerie) du parler quotidien. Les paroles interlectales peuvent également être stigmatisées par des attitudes puristes de militants culturels (parfois modérés, parfois maximalistes) engagés aussi bien envers « la langue créole » que « la langue française ».

Bien que non conforme strictement aux descriptions centrées uniquement sur la langue, la parole quotidienne créole n’est pas pour autant désordonnée et une certaine organisation s’élabore d’elle-même, un certain équilibre mouvant et

en mouvement. On peut observer des changements au niveau lexical, sémantique, stylistique voire même au niveau de certaines structures syntaxiques que l’on pourrait qualifi er d’émergentes. Néanmoins, le diasystème réunionnais se compose de deux noyaux tendanciels, l’un créole, l’autre français, observables principalement à travers des éléments morphosyntaxiques dans le discours quotidien. C’est grâce à la prédictibilité de l’organisation syntaxique de ces noyaux dans des énoncés adultes notamment que je propose (Georger, 2005 et 2011) de distinguer des énoncés qui relèveraient de l’interlecte (énoncés interlectaux probables, qui respectent une certaine syntaxe tendancielle, relevés dans le discours quotidien chez des adultes) de ceux qui relèveraient de l’interlangue (énoncés particuliers non conformes aux énoncés quotidiens adultes et observables en situation d’apprentissage).

De nombreuses recherches sur le bilinguisme et les parlers bilingues semblent se rapprocher de la démarche interlectale, à condition d’apporter une nuance sur les défi nitions données aux langues. A titre d’exemple, à la lecture de l’article de Lüdi (1996), qui propose une représentation de l’organisation des langues chez l’enfant bilingue, je propose une présentation (très/trop succincte) de quelques éléments de son article en essayant de faire un rapprochement avec ma problématique principale. Les deux premiers schémas qui suivent sont directement tirés de l’article de Lüdi. Le troisième est une réadaptation que je propose. Le recours à cette schématisation peut être perçu comme simpliste et non respectueux des travaux récents cognitivistes sur le cerveau du sujet bilingue/multilingue/plurilingue. Ce modèle concurrentiel trop binaire mériterait d’être nuancé et complété dans le cadre d’une approche plus complexe (Georger, 2011).

De nombreuses recherches

sur le bilinguisme et

les parlers bilingues

semblent se rapprocher

de la démarche

interlectale

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201570

Les représentations courantes séparent les compétences langagières et linguistiques chez un bilingue à travers deux systèmes étanches l’un à l’autre, et le « bilinguisme idéal » perçu et parfois prôné par certains serait un impossible équilinguisme proche de la somme de deux monolinguismes sans contact.

Cette seconde présentation légitime les énoncés mixtes et introduit le concept de parlers bilingues, concept qui fait peur en général à l’opinion publique. Pour Lüdi (1996) :

Ces énoncés sont authentiques. Ils ont été prononcés par des personnes on ne peut plus respectables. Pourtant, ils font peur. Tout le monde admettra que parler, à un moment donné, une variété spécifi que de son répertoire signifi e, pour le bilingue, une possibilité d’exploiter ses ressources communicatives en fonction des systèmes de valeurs en vigueur dans la société; il peut tirer profi t du capital symbolique associé à ces ressources, voire l’augmenter.

A La Réunion, comme la grande majorité du lexique du créole réunionnais provient du français, il est (souvent ou parfois, en fonction de la subjectivité de l’observateur) diffi cile dans un énoncé de dire où se trouve la frontière entre le français et le créole, car « créole et français gomment leur frontière, ils s’enchaînent, alternent, se mélangent, s’interpénètrent » (Prudent, 2002 :200). Nous pourrions donc schématiser le concept de macro-langue de

Prudent en adaptant les schémas de Lüdi de la façon suivante :La construction de certaines frontières linguistiques à

l’intérieur de cette macro-langue réunionnaise est un acte individuel (en fonction des discours épilinguistiques et métalinguistiques du locuteur) ou social (voire politique).

En analysant des énoncés recueillis dans des situations de communication orale, auprès d’élèves réunionnais de la maternelle au lycée, âgés de cinq à dix-huit ans, Wharton (2003) a montré que l’interlecte fait partie du paysage sociolinguistique réunionnais tout en déplorant la mauvaise utilisation faite du concept par la communauté éducative. Pour Wharton (2005 : 150) :

Qu’est-ce que ces travaux ont laissé comme empreinte dans la communauté éducative ? […] Globalement, on assiste à une atténuation des tensions sociolinguistiques. On « accepte » mieux la parole en créole au sein de l’école, on dit vouloir tenir compte du bagage langagier de l’enfant. Et c’est déjà beaucoup. Mais il ressort aussi que les concepts et/ou notions sociolinguistiques ne sont guère maîtrisés, bien qu’utilisés. On confond interlecte et interlangue, on étiquette des formes linguistiques d’ « interférence » là où en réalité on atteste des formes interlinguales (c’est-à-dire des formes utilisées par des enfants en train d’acquérir des compétences linguistiques, formes que l’on trouve chez tout enfant francophone), on conserve le cadre diglossique comme outil pour rendre compte des phénomènes langagiers, car les approches globalisantes en terme de macrosystème ¬[…] ne sont pas encore connues par les enseignants. Les implications didactiques sont lourdes.

C’est dans ce contexte (répertoire complexe) que de très nombreux élèves des DOM français développent leurs compétences en langage, en bénéfi ciant d’évaluations, de séances d’apprentissages, pour le pôle français, et très peu de choses pour le pôle créole. Pourtant de nombreuses solutions souples au niveau de l’aménagement sont possibles, et un enseignement plurilingue adapté à la situation réunionnaise peut être le projet à défendre.

Sans intervention des chercheurs pour vulgariser une approche plurilingue pour permettre aux décideurs de mettre en place une action publique prenant en compte réellement le contexte sociolinguistique, l’intervention des politiques publiques se cantonne à une action en direction des langues et prend très mal en compte le mode de discours du locuteur réunionnais. En complément des

Figure 1. Représentation courante du bilinguisme en termes de compétences séparées. (Source : Lüdi, L’enfant bilingue, chance ou surcharge cognitive).

Figure 2. Modèle concurrentiel intégré du bilinguisme. (Source : Lüdi, L’enfant bilingue, chance ou surcharge cognitive).

Figure 3. Proposition de représentation de la macro-langue à partir des sché-mas de Lüdi.

Macro langue Pôle francophone Pôle créolophone

Le créole, l’enseignement et l’apprentissage

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 71

actions centrées sur la langue créole de La Réunion (par une certaine normalisation et promotion principalement), tout un pan de l’action publique est à mettre en place concernant le plurilinguisme en terre créole.

2. Le passage d’une didactique de la

langue à une didactique globale du

répertoire.

Je n’ai pas ici la prétention d’apporter un éclairage nouveau concernant la didactique du plurilinguisme. Ce champ bénéfi cie de nombreux travaux menés par d’illustres chercheurs internationaux dont les publications sont connues et facilement accessibles et il suffi t de consulter, pour un simple exemple, Troncy, De Pietro, Goletto et Kervran (2014) pour en avoir une idée. Mon propos vise simplement à promouvoir ces approches dans les aires créoles où pour le moment les approches plurilingues peinent à faire une entrée à l’école. Un débat récurrent sur la question du « créole à l’école » concerne le choix qu’il y aurait à faire en utilisant le créole pour une meilleure maîtrise du français (qui a enclenché l’image et la contestation du créole « marchepied » chez de nombreux militants) ou l’enseignement du créole pour lui-même. La proposition d’élaboration d’une didactique globale du répertoire de l’apprenant vise à dépasser ce débat. L’objectif est d’élaborer une didactique complexe capable de concilier didactique des langues et didactique du répertoire.

Une des premières étapes est de construire un parcours plurilingue, raisonné, progressif et cohérent. Pour cela, le développement des compétences métalinguistiques des élèves à partir de leurs répertoires est la stratégie à défendre. Le point de départ n’est pas la présentation de deux langues normées, mais les énoncés réels des locuteurs, sans rejeter pour autant les approches centrées uniquement sur les langues. Néanmoins, en focalisant les approches sur les langues, les débats ont rarement pris en compte la parole. L’approche dans laquelle nous nous inscrivons pose dès le départ la complexité de ces diverses questions.

L’avantage de présenter une question simple est de suggérer que l’on a

immédiatement les solutions, en renvoyant les problèmes à une phase plus tardive, et peut-être à d’autres qui s’occuperont de cette phase. L’avantage de poser les questions de manière complexe est de faire face dès le début aux diffi cultés, sans se faire d’illusions, sans se poser des objectifs déraisonnables. L’approche alterlinguistique essaie de ne pas simplifi er les questions. Une fois que l’on s’est habitué à cela, comme on a su s’habituer aux différentes moutures des théories génératives sophistiquées, à grands efforts successifs, on apprivoise facilement ce qui est dit ici. Il faut simplement admettre que les questions aussi peuvent être complexes. (De Robillard, 2007 : 130)

Concernant la didactique et la pédagogie, je présente souvent en animation pédagogique des documents élaborés dans le cadre des approches plurielles, tels que les démarches « Evlang » ou « Ouverture aux langues » ainsi que les exemples d’activités qui les accompagnent. Par exemple, le document Ouverture aux langues à l’école, Vers des compétences plurilingues et pluriculturelles, élaboré par le Ministère de l’Education nationale et de la Formation professionnelle du Grand-Duché du Luxembourg, en plus d’une présentation théorique accessible au plus grand nombre, présente des exemples d’activités directement applicables en classe comme les « activités brise-glace », les « (auto)biographies et identités langagières », les « langues en contact », « les mots voyageurs », les « lectures et écritures plurilingues », les « langues et expressions culturelles ». En plus des ouvertures sur les « grandes » langues internationales, pourquoi ne pas proposer aussi ces activités d’ouvertures aux langues pour les créoles de l’Océan Indien, voire pour l’ensemble des créoles à base française ?

L’éducation plurilingue (au niveau général) et l’enseignement plurilingue (les formes concrètes dans les institutions scolaires) devraient donner une place centrale au répertoire plurilingue, sans pour autant fermer celui-ci à l’introduction des autres langues. L’enseignement simultané des langues n’est pas à exclure mais n’est

qu’un outil au service du plurilinguisme. Ne sont pas exclues de la démarche souhaitée les approches contrastives qui sont des outils au service d’une réfl exion métalinguistique sur les langues posées, à un moment donné, en tant que système. Sur ce point j’ai particulièrement apprécié lors du colloque la présentation « Lansennyman lalang maternel (Kreol Seselwa) dan en konteks trileng » faite par Marie Flora Ben David du ministère de l’éducation des Seychelles.

ConclusionTout en revendiquant que, pour

moi, le créole n’est pas un simple objet d’étude et en m’inscrivant dans une sociolinguistique impliquée (Boyer, 2004), la cible fi nale visée ne concerne pas une action directe sur le langage en lui-même. Comme l’affi rment Guespin et Marcellesi (1986 : 9) « la profonde justifi cation de la glottopolitique, ce n’est pas l’alignement de pratiques langagières ou sociales sur un idéal abstrait de langue ou de société ; c’est le développement de la personnalité sociale ». L’action publique souhaitée se veut volontariste et si elle n’élude pas la question des organismes qui doivent la commander, elle se refuse à être prescriptive. Depuis plusieurs années, des propositions sont faites dans ce sens mais celles-ci ne se concrétisent que très timidement. La question des langues est souvent évitée dans les débats publics. Les revendications concernant la place de la langue créole sont trop souvent le fait uniquement de militants culturels ou d’intellectuels engagés. On peut même constater une certaine gêne chez les responsables politiques à répondre aux journalistes sur le thème d’une meilleure reconnaissance de cette langue. La réponse souvent donnée tente de se rapprocher d’une attitude jugée politiquement correcte.

Les débats concernant l’identité et les langues étant très souvent passionnés voire violents, les confl its sont inévitables. Grâce à certains militants modérés de la cause créole qui ont pris le parti de sensibiliser l’opinion publique sur les enjeux pédagogiques de la question du créole et du français, et grâce aussi aux formations et informations délivrées à

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201572

Abstract

Given its status as a French regional language, the Creole used in Reunion “benefi ts” from didactic and institutional tools inherent to this fi eld. However, this language – which shares in a complex way the oral interaction space with French – is curtailed within this frame which negates the possibility of playing a leading role. The school in Reunion and elsewhere must surpass this compartmentalized view of languages and must come to grips with issues relative to the multilingual repertoire of learners, the already acquired linguistic asset for a majority of learners. The challenge ahead is one that pertains to the creation of a fl exible multilingual education that is altogether assertive and coherent. Nonetheless, contrastive approaches informing a metalinguistic refl ection on languages that are construed as a system should not always be dismissed. The development of a multilingual education, thus, becomes a substantive societal issue that can have a signifi cant impact on the economic and social situation prevailing in our creole islands. The present article therefore attempts to present a transition from the compartmentalized discipline of the subject to more general teaching methods of the learner’s repertoire.

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themes-pedagogiques/enseignement-langues/langues-ecole/

fr.pdf, 90 p.

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genèse et fonctionnement d’un système créole, Thèse de Doctorat

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Université de Rouen Haute-Normandie, 681p.

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créoles 2, Paris, Anthropos, 191-211.

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des représentations diglossiques aux pratiques interlectales,

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L. F., Université Stendhal Grenoble 3.

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doctorat sous la direction de L.F. Prudent, Université de La Réunion.

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(2014). Didactique du plurilinguisme, Approches plurielles des

langues et des cultures. Autours de Michel Candelier, Presses

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? Selon quels critères ?», in Tupin F. (dir.), Ecole et éducation, Paris :

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l’université et ailleurs (dans la formation initiale et continue des enseignants par exemple), l’opinion réunionnaise est plus sensible et moins crispée sur les questions linguistiques.

L’implication du politique pourrait aussi s’opérer à divers degrés de décision dans un dispositif cohérent, structuré et surtout partagé. Jusqu’à présent à La Réunion, le comportement adopté a été d’agir (timidement pour certains, de manière plus volontariste pour d’autres) uniquement dans son domaine de compétence et de ne pas empiéter sur celui attribué à d’autres institutions. Pourtant il est important d’inscrire les actions dans le cadre d’un projet politique volontariste et éclairé, pour ne pas les réduire uniquement à la gestion quotidienne des affaires courantes, ou à des revendications épisodiques de tel ou tel groupe. La simple application des décisions réglementaires prises au niveau national, ou régional, pour répondre à la demande sociale ou pou répondre à une question technique isolée ne suffi t pas. Une approche globale, structurée, impliquant tous les acteurs est souhaitable. Pour susciter l’intérêt du politique et de l’ensemble de la société à la question linguistique, il est important de la lier aux questions économiques, sociales, éducatives, culturelles et de citoyenneté. Une politique économique et sociale effi cace ne devrait pas faire fi d’une politique linguistique car les langues ont des répercussions sociales et économiques (effi cacité dans la communication, égalité des chances, réduction des inégalités et les marginalisations). L’élaboration d’une éducation plurilingue est donc une question sociétale de fond qui peut avoir un impact important sur les « performances » sociales et économiques de l’île.

Bibliographie

Le créole, l’enseignement et l’apprentissage

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201574

Le créole, l’enseignement et l’apprentissageUne pratique enseignante fréquemment observée

dans les classes réunionnaises, la traduction interlinguale : effi cacité et impact sur les élèves

Dr Mylène Lebon-Eyquem (Université de La Réunion)Courriel : [email protected]

Mots-clés : traduction interlinguale, interlecte, discrimination codique, acquisition langagière

Résumé

La Réunion abrite une situation sociolinguistique qui voit se côtoyer deux langues structurellement et génétiquement proches, le créole, idiome majoritairement usité par les locuteurs natifs et le français, encore en position de prestige. L’analyse de conversations quotidiennes montre que les échanges endolingues des Réunionnais sont marqués par des mélanges à géométrie variable : des confi gurations linguistiques « bilingues » complexes, originales et diffi cilement codifi ables sont ainsi attestées dans des situations de communication diversifi ées et chez les locuteurs de toutes les générations (Lebon-Eyquem, 2004). Toutefois, les chercheurs procèdent à certaines analyses en se référant à deux cadres épistémologiques diffi cilement conciliables. Alors que le cadre théorique du macro-système (Prudent, 1993) considère que les énoncés ne doivent pas être codifi és et nécessitent d’être considérés dans toute leur complexité, les chercheurs qui se sont intéressés à l’acquisition du français (Prudent, 2007; Lebon-Eyquem, 2007, 2010a et b), s’appuient sur des références théoriques du développement langagier qui adoptent une approche structuraliste. Aussi, ils préconisent le repérage des traits prototypiques du français dans les énoncés à dominante français afi n d’en faciliter son acquisition. Mais ils sont suivis par d’autres linguistes qui appliquent cette démarche aux formes mélangées fréquemment mobilisées par les locuteurs dans la vie quotidienne. Comme les segments de la langue parlée sont identifi és et attribués à un code polaire, les activités de distinction et de discrimination français/créole sont alors valorisées. L’école, pourvoyeuse d’une norme unique, le français, et dont le principal objectif consiste à faire identifi er et mobiliser les structures prototypiques françaises, va adhérer totalement aux recommandations des chercheurs locaux. Ce sont les tâches de traduction pédagogique interlinguale qui seront alors privilégiées.

Cet article vise à mettre en lumière cette pratique pédagogique qui est légion dans l’espace de la classe réunionnaise. Pour ce faire, nous nous proposons de confronter le point de vue des enseignants à celui des élèves afi n de déterminer comment les intentions et les actions pédagogiques sont perçues. Nous montrerons que les jugements stigmatisants, l’absence de réelles situations d’apprentissage et d’étayage approprié font que la traduction se transforme en activité souvent rébarbative, peu enrichissante, voire contre-productive et qu’elle met à mal l’estime de soi de l’élève et plus largement du locuteur. En revanche, lorsqu’elle s’inscrit dans un cadre théorique qui considère la pluralité, elle permet aux apprenants de développer leurs compétences langagières de façon effi cace.

IntroductionA la Réunion, le français, la langue

offi cielle, et le créole, la langue régionale parlée par la majorité de la population, se mêlent fréquemment dans les discours et donnent lieu à des productions hétérogènes et originales dépassant les classiques alternances codiques. Pour rendre compte au mieux de ces pratiques, les linguistes ont mobilisé différents concepts. C’est celui de diglossie (Ferguson, 1959) qui a tout d’abord été appliqué mais remis en question très rapidement dans les années 1970, par Michel Carayol et Robert Chaudenson qui lui préfèrent le concept de continuum. L’absence de complémentarité fonctionnelle stricte du français et du créole dans l’espace énonciatif (Lebon-Eyquem, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010b) est alors mise en évidence tout comme l’existence d’une zone mésolectale comprenant des formes intermédiaires structurées en scalogramme avec aux deux pôles, français et créole prototypiques. Au même moment, sur le terrain martiniquais, un linguiste natif, Lambert Félix Prudent, constate également des entremêlements créole / français extrêmement fréquents mais souligne qu’ils violent parfois les règles de grammaire des deux langues en présence et qu’ils sont loin d’être organisés selon une échelle implicationnelle. Si le système langagier, le « macro-système », comprend à ses extrémités, les lectes polaires, français et créole, la zone intermédiaire, « interlectale » recèlerait une grande diversité de formes issues de « négociations » entre ces deux codes (sans hiérarchie, sans implication), rendant les moules syntaxiques et morpho-

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 75

syntaxiques de ces derniers diffi cilement identifi ables. La codifi cation des énoncés mélangés s’avérant ainsi particulièrement complexe, diffi culté majorée par la proximité structurelle des langues mères qui rendent les frontières très labiles, Lambert Félix Prudent délaisse les outils de la linguistique structurale comme l’alternance codique et l’emprunt qui binarisent et polarisent le matériau langagier. Selon lui, les formes interlectales à géométrie variable en fonction des idiolectes et le contexte, appartiennent à un dispositif dynamique et possèdent un fonctionnement propre.

A son arrivée en 2000, à l’Université de La Réunion, Lambert Félix Prudent va présenter ce cadre théorique qui sera dès lors, transféré au niveau local. S’affranchissant défi nitivement d’une vision binaire sous-tendant des langues bien séparées et segmentables, le système de communication réunionnais est alors étudié comme un système polylectal offrant une grande richesse expressive et permettant au locuteur de communiquer à l’aide d’une grande diversité de formes et ce, parfois en se jouant des normes.

Dans ce contexte, les modèles théoriques faisant habituellement référence dans le domaine du développement langagier devraient être alors questionnés puisqu’ils reposent sur une conception structuraliste qui considère la langue comme produit immanent et autonome. L’un des plus récents et des plus utilisés sur le terrain réunionnais (Lebon-Eyquem, 2010, 2014) est l’approche dite « basée sur l’usage » de Michael Tomasello (2003) qui s’appuie sur des principes énoncés par le Modèle Unifi é de Compétition de MacWhinney (2004). Selon elle, chaque langue comprend des contours fermes, un noyau dur avec des structures linguistiques constituées par quatre types d’éléments (les mots, les marques morphologiques associées aux mots, l’ordre des mots (et celui des marques morphologiques) ainsi que l’intonation) qui se combinent entre eux pour véhiculer une signifi cation. Pour apprendre à parler, l’enfant devra alors repérer les patrons de régularités de chaque langue et appréhender ces structures abstraites signifi antes à partir de séquences concrètes qui sont récupérées dans le discours de son entourage, associées

à des conditions d’usage et ensuite généralisées (Tomasello, 1995 et 1998). Ainsi, à partir de la mise en relation des séquences mémorisées « c’est ici, c’est à moi, c’est papa », etc., un enfant élabore la construction présentative du type « C’EST + X » (X représentant un emplacement libre où peut s’insérer un élément nouveau). Le langage se développe également grâce à la répétition de l’expérience, aussi, ce sont les séquences sonores les plus fréquentes qui seront davantage susceptibles de se transformer en règles abstraites et d’être utilisées par l’enfant.

A La Réunion, on peut concéder que ce modèle théorique fonctionne lorsque l’enfant a affaire à des énoncés en français seul (ou à dominante français). Toutefois, il semble peu opérant pour une grande partie des situations de communications où les mélanges à géométrie variable foisonnent et qu’ils s’avèrent imprévisibles et diffi cilement codifi ables. Délicat donc voire impossible (et surtout peu pertinent) de retrouver des fragments de langues « pures » dans ces formes interlectales (De Robillard, 2013) comme le préconise cette approche techniciste. Mais, comme la plupart des études sur le développement langagier de l’enfant réunionnais (Lebon-Eyquem, 2007, 2010a et b), se centrent sur l’acquisition du français, cette référence théorique n’est non seulement pas remise en cause mais validée et sera la seule reconnue et utilisée même lorsque l’on s’intéressera aux formes mélangées. Par conséquent, pour appliquer un protocole ne reconnaissant que l’unicité et l’homogénéité, à des productions plurielles et hétérogènes et ayant pour objectif le découpage des discours en tranches de langues reconnues, les activités de distinction du créole et du français et de discrimination seront préconisées par les chercheurs (Georger, 2004, Adelin 2008, Noël 2012). Ainsi, pour l’instant, si certains linguistes ont été séduits par le modèle interlectal, ils n’ont pas (encore) échappé au paradoxe qui consiste à recourir à l’épistémologie positive pour l’appréhender. Prisonniers de l’idéologie mixophobe, ils ont conservé les règles structuralistes pour considérer et traiter les formes mixtes et mener une réfl exion sur leur acquisition.

L’école, véhiculant l’idéologie monolingue et pourvoyeuse de la norme

unique du français va adhérer totalement aux recommandations des chercheurs locaux surtout qu’elles sont également considérées sur d’autres terrains bilingues, comme une base essentielle dans le processus d’enseignement/apprentissage, dès les débuts de la scolarisation (Tabouret-Keller (1969, 1997), Hagège (1996), Desprez (1997)). Il convient de rappeler que l’école se fi xe comme principal objectif de faire identifi er et mobiliser les structures prototypiques françaises qui, en raison de l’idéologie linguistique hégémonique à propos du français, sont considérées en elles-mêmes et dans l’absolu, meilleures que les autres formes linguistiques (…) et qui ne sont pas perçues comme des formes parmi d’autres, arbitrairement sélectionnées et adaptées seulement à certains contextes (Blanchet, Clerc et Rispail, 2014). Pour atteindre le but fi xé, les enseignants se proposent de faire distinguer les traits linguistiques caractéristiques des différents lectes des formes mixtes et pour ce faire, vont privilégier la tâche de traduction pédagogique interlinguale1 . Ils invitent alors l’élève à réaliser « une opération linguistique qui consiste en le maintien d’un invariant sémantique de l’énoncé source dans un nouvel énoncé » (Pégaz-Paquet, 2009 : 3) sans réellement évaluer la diffi culté qu’elle représente.

Cet article vise à mettre en lumière cette pratique pédagogique qui est légion dans l’espace de la classe réunionnaise. Pour ce faire, nous nous proposons de confronter le point de vue des enseignants à celui des élèves afi n de déterminer comment les intentions et les actions pédagogiques sont perçues par les uns et les autres. Nous aurons ainsi la possibilité d’évaluer leur impact et leur effi cacité.

1 – La traduction pédagogique interlinguale : une activité particulièrement complexe

Selon l’approche structuraliste, la traduction pédagogique interlinguale est considérée comme facilitant l’appropriation/l’acquisition langagière (Capelle, 1987 ; Martinot, 2000 ; Ceccarelli, 2009). Elle permettrait la comparaison des deux langues en présence qui conduit au repérage des similitudes et des différences de leurs indices syntaxiques, morphosyntaxiques,

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201576

Le créole, l’enseignement et l’apprentissagelexicaux et phonologiques prototypiques. Cette polarisation des deux codes favoriserait la discrimination et l’identifi cation de chacun d’eux ainsi que la découverte et le mode d’emploi pragmatique de leur contexte d’utilisation. Sur le terrain réunionnais, nous avions adopté cette approche lors de nos travaux sur l’acquisition du français et considéré que l’enfant aurait alors la possibilité d’effectuer des hypothèses sur le fonctionnement de l’acrolecte. Il élabore différentes stratégies pour restituer le sens d’un énoncé dans ce code et lorsqu’il réalise cette tâche en groupe, lors des échanges, les confl its socio-cognitifs qui sont créés permettent de modifi er ou de réévaluer les hypothèses. Enfi n, l’enseignant, quant à lui, peut identifi er les procédures utilisées par l’élève et évaluer les besoins afi n d’apporter les médiations et remédiations nécessaires.

Cependant, si toutes les langues se valent, elles ne disposent pas des mêmes capacités à dire le monde. Selon Lambert Félix Prudent :

Les langues ne sont pas des nomenclatures prenant en charge chaque élément du réel. Ce sont plutôt des fi ltres élaborés de la pensée, des appareillages analytiques de la signifi ance, des machineries symboliques extrêmement complexes destinées à rendre compte, fort imparfaitement de l’activité des humains qui occupent l’espace géographique et social qui les porte […]. Toutes les langues de la planète Terre n’assument pas les mêmes missions communicatives, ne remplissent pas les mêmes fonctionnalités, et par conséquent ne se décalquent pas l’une par rapport à l’autre. (Prudent, 2003 : 11).Ainsi, le français : ne sait pas dire les cinquante qualités de la neige des pays arctiques alors que l’Inuit le sait car une langue en pays froid doit savoir dire tous les états de la neige [...] En revanche, les langues inuit, arabe et guyanaise seront bien engourdies et maladroites (certains diront « pauvres ») pour dire « Je pense donc je suis » (Prudent, 2003 : 10). C’est pourquoi, lors de la traduction créole/français dans un

département français d’outre-mer, il est essentiel de tenir compte non seulement des particularités linguistiques des deux langues (y compris dans le duo français régional/français métropolitain, dans les couples de faux-amis), mais également des spécifi cités culturelles, parfois non partagées par tous les protagonistes de la classe qui peuvent être originaires de deux territoires distants de 10000 km (enseignants métropolitains/apprenants réunionnais ou apprenants réunionnais/ apprenants récemment arrivés de métropole).

Traduire s’avère donc particulièrement complexe : il ne s’agit pas de transposer des mots d’une langue à une autre et appliquer des règles syntaxiques et morphologiques. La traduction ne doit pas s’enfermer dans le « transcodage qui équivaut à établir des concordances de mots, traduire à rechercher des équivalences de messages » (Delisle, 1993 : 72). Selon les théories interprétatives qui font la part belle au constructivisme en impliquant tous les acteurs de la communication,

dans la défi nition de l’opération de traduction, on en était venu à faire abstraction de l’homme qui traduit et des mécanismes cérébraux mis en jeu, pour n’examiner que les langues et ne voir dans l’opération de traduction qu’une réaction de

substitution d’une langue à l’autre (Seleskovitch et Lederer, 1984 : 294).Gauvin (2003 : 34 et suiv.) relève ainsi deux grands types de

procédés de traduction : • Les procédés de traduction directe, comprenant : o La traduction littérale : où le passage d’un énoncé à un

autre se fait mot à mot. « li viv sou in galé » >> « il vit sous une pierre »o L’emprunt : à l’oral, le terme est emprunté tel quel à l’autre

langue (en subissant éventuellement un changement phonologique).« bishik » >> « bichique »o Le calque : on procède à une « traduction telle quelle des

termes d’un syntagme tout en gardant les relations qui existent entre les termes de ce syntagme »

- Les procédés de traduction oblique, comprenant :o La Modulation : on introduit dans le message une variation

dans le point de vue (traduction globale de la phrase).« in liv lékol » >> « Un livre de classe »o La Transposition : on remplace une classe ou une catégorie

linguistique par une autre en ayant soin de ne pas en changer le sens.« la pli i grinn » >> « il pleut à verse »

Différentes opérations cognitives entrent en jeu dans l’acte de traduire et leur maîtrise dépend de l’âge de l’élève et de ses capacités d’abstraction :

Les différentes phases et les

procédures associéesObstacles

1ère phase : compréhension de

l’énoncé à traduire.

Il s’agit de s’approprier le sens de l’énoncé et pour ce faire, convertir les unités lexicales en sens afi n de se constituer une représentation

mentale du contenu. C’est ce que Séleskovitch et Lederer (1984) nomment la déverbalisation.

Pour construire des hypothèses

de sens, il faudra analyser

l’énoncé (processus inférentiel faisant appel au raisonnement

logique) en se servant des connaissances linguistiques

associées à des connaissances

extralinguistiques (connaissance du sujet traité et des

facteurs circonstanciels de la communication, ainsi que les

composantes para-linguistiques du texte).

ConnaissancesLinguistiques + extralinguistiques

- une maîtrise insuffi sante de la langue

de départ,

- des connaissances thématiques et contextuelles insuffi santes,

- des diffi cultés de traitement de

l’information implicite,

- des diffi cultés à utiliser de façon concomitante

plusieurs critères,

- des diffi cultés à déduire et à abstraire.

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 77

Les différentes opérations cognitives mobilisées lors de la

traduction sont les suivantes :

perception

appréciation

émotionattention sélective

traitement de l’information

décision

Observons à présent si la complexité cognitive et les connaissances nécessaires à l’activité de traduction sont appréhendées par les enseignants et s’ils font l’objet d’un étayage effi cace.

2 – La traduction dans les classes réunionnaises.

2.1 – La méthodologie adoptée

Nos enquêtes sont de deux types et concernent l’aspect linguistique et épilinguistique :

Des enregistrements (à l’aide d’une caméra et/d’un micro unidirectionnel) ont été réalisés auprès de 120 enfants de 6 à 11 ans, dans l’espace scolaire, lors de situations formelles d’apprentissage langagières prises en charge par l’enseignant et lors de situations informelles au cours desquelles les enfants échangent avec leur maître, comme lors de « l’accueil » du matin, par exemple.

Ces enquêtes ont été effectuées à intervalles réguliers durant 24 mois.

Des entretiens semi-directifs ont été menés auprès de chaque enseignant et des parents de chaque enfant témoin afi n de recueillir leurs opinions sur les langues en contact. Pour les maîtres, nous avons ajouté une série de questions qui avait pour but d’identifi er leur parcours professionnel ainsi que les formations dont ils avaient bénéfi cié depuis leur titularisation. D’autres interrogations étaient destinées à mieux cerner leurs pratiques langagières au sein de la classe avec les élèves, en dehors de la classe et plus généralement dans la vie quotidienne.

Afi n de recueillir les opinions des enfants sur les activités de traduction proposées, nous avons procédé en deux temps. Immédiatement après la tâche, chaque apprenant

LA DEVERBALISATION

Analyse de l’énoncé

Construction d’hypothèses de sens

2ème phase : la réexpression

(mise en mots des informations

comprises). Elle se déroule en plusieurs étapes :

1 - Repérage des segments à traduire- Identifi cation et comparaison des segments différents en créole et en français.- Hiérarchisation et sélection des segments importants en fonction de la rationalité, des valeurs et des croyances du traducteur : « Décider, c’est établir un équilibre délicat entre la puissance de l’émotion et la force de la cognition » (Berthoz, 2003 : 307).

- la proximité structurelle des deux langues- une connaissance insuffi sante des normes de fonctionnement des deux langues. - des diffi cultés à sélectionner des informations.- des diffi cultés à utiliser de façon concomitante plusieurs critères.

2 - Identifi cation de(s) procédé(s) de traduction adéquat(s) : traduction directe ou oblique

- une connaissance insuffi sante des normes de fonctionnement des deux langues- une non maîtrise des différents procédés de traduction.

3 – Réalisation des correspondances les plus pertinentes pour rendre compte de l’énoncé en français.

- une connaissance insuffi sante des normes de fonctionnement des deux langues. - des connaissances culturelles insuffi santes. - des diffi cultés à utiliser de façon concomitante plusieurs critères.

Tableau 2 : les procédures des différentes phases de la traduction

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201578

commentait ce qui venait d’être réalisé et nous livrait ses impressions à « chaud ». Puis, afi n d’obtenir des points de vue plus distanciés, moins tributaires de la réussite immédiate de l’exercice, plus axés sur une réfl exion structurée des diffi cultés rencontrées, quelques jours plus tard, nous proposions à un groupe de quatre2 élèves de visionner la séquence les mettant en scène lors de l’activité de traduction et nous leur demandions de nous indiquer ce qu’ils pensaient de la traduction. Afi n de faire progresser l’échange, il nous arrivait de reprendre certains propos proférés individuellement et d’inviter le témoin à les préciser.

2.2 – Les résultats des enquêtes

Nos enquêtes ont permis d’établir plusieurs constats qui mettent en évidence :

a) Une grande fréquence des

demandes de traduction de la part des

enseignants.

La traduction s’avère très fréquente et constitue pratiquement la seule tâche proposée aux élèves pour favoriser la discrimination codique. Ainsi, en primaire, elle est pratiquée par 75 % des enseignants et elle atteint les 80 % lors des séances de français (lecture, étude de la langue, production). Au niveau du secondaire, elle est liée à la matière enseignée : elle est davantage mobilisée chez les professeurs d’histoire et de géographie, de mathématiques ou de sciences (60 à 80 %) que chez les enseignants d’autres matières (30 à 40).

b) Une conception « innéiste »

de la traduction.

Il est intéressant de noter que la plupart des enseignants mesurent

peu les enjeux et la complexité de la traduction : ils considèrent qu’il s’agit d’une capacité presque innée, que l’on réalise quotidiennement dans les interactions ordinaires. Aussi si elle est proposée fréquemment, elle fait peu l’objet d’apprentissages et les apprenants peinent pour réaliser cette activité. Cette posture de l’enseignant a pour autres conséquences les trois constats suivants (c, d et e).

c) Des consignes peu claires.

Les enseignants précisent peu la consigne car ils estiment qu’elle ne présente aucune diffi culté et qu’il est inutile de l’expliciter ou de la faire formuler par les apprenants afi n de déterminer ce que ces derniers ont compris. Aussi,

• la consigne la plus fréquente dans 95 % des cas est « redis ta phrase en français » ou sa variante « dis ta phrase ».

• On constate également une confusion entre reformulation (traduction intralinguale) et traduction (interlinguale) : les consignes sont ainsi identiques pour un énoncé à traduire en français (« mi lans la boul » (je lance la balle)) et un énoncé en français à corriger (« Les enfants sontaient malades »).

• Enfi n, la consigne est la même pour un énoncé créole ou mélangé à traduire en français alors que la diffi culté de la tâche est différente.

En outre, les critères de réussite de la tâche et les normes attendues ne sont pas précisés. De plus, lors de la correction de l’exercice, les enseignants ne proposent ou ne valident que l’énoncé qu’ils estiment acceptables et imposent souvent leur norme sans tenir compte des propositions des élèves et plus généralement des variations possibles.

Quant aux élèves, près de la moitié d’entre eux (45 %) (chez les cycle 2 (CP et CE1), ce chiffre s’élève à 60 %) ne comprend pas toujours la consigne et se construisent de fausses représentations de la tâche à réaliser. Ils ne parviennent pas souvent à évaluer de façon précise et rigoureuse leurs productions :

• certains apprenants ne saisissent pas pourquoi ils doivent modifi er leur énoncé alors qu’ils estiment que son contenu est correct et ne voient pas qu’il

faut se focaliser sur la forme : « J’ai dit pareil Sophie et lété pas bon » (j’ai dit la même chose que Sophie mais ce n’était pas bon).

• Pour d’autres, au contraire, pour que leur traduction soit validée, le contenu et la forme de l’énoncé doivent être systématiquement changés même si leur réponse s’avère satisfaisante au niveau sémantique : « je dois changer les mots parce que c’est pas bon, je n’ai pas bien répondu » (élève de CM1).

La plupart des apprenants ignorent les normes linguistiques à respecter et se demandent quel français est requis, s’il s’agit du français oral ou écrit ou encore celui parlé par l’enseignant ou par certains élèves.

d) Des objectifs peu explicites

Une grande majorité d’enseignants (dans 95 % des cas) ne consacre pas du temps à expliciter les buts et les enjeux de la tâche de traduction puisque selon eux, l’objectif visé est évident : il s’agit d’éviter les « confusions » entre les deux codes, d’isoler les traits spécifi ques du français afi n de favoriser le repérage des régularités de cette langue et favoriser son acquisition. Cet implicite ne favorise pas la clarté cognitive pourtant indispensable à la réalisation de la tâche : 60 % d’entre des apprenants (70 % chez les CP et CE1) véhiculent des idées fausses et fantasmes sur les enjeux de la traduction. Le plus souvent, il est mentionné que l’on traduirait en français pour faire plaisir à l’enseignant.

e) Des démarches et des

procédures non étayées.Les maîtres négligent l’explication

de la démarche et des procédures pouvant être adoptées lors de la tâche de traduction, ce qui contribue à l’absence de clarté cognitive : les apprenants (80 % chez les CP/CE1, 70 % chez lesCE2/CM1 ET CM2) se demandent comment faire pour traduire, quelles stratégies cognitives mobiliser et que traduire, comme l’indique cet élève de CM1 :

« Mi koné pa koman fo di an fransé / mi koné i fo mèt bann mo an fransé mé mi koné pa koman i fo fé » (Je ne sais comment il faut dire en français, je sais

La plupart des apprenants

ignorent les normes

linguistiques à respecter

et se demandent quel

français est requis

Le créole, l’enseignement et l’apprentissage

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 79

qu’il faut mettre des mots en français mais je ne sais pas comment il faut faire).

Comme, la plupart du temps, la réponse à leurs interrogations leur fait défaut, ils se découragent face à la diffi culté de la tâche, surtout qu’ils disposent de peu d’outils méthodologiques ou d’autres moyens susceptibles de les aider :

« lé difi sil mèt an fransé mwin mi gagn pa » (c’est diffi cile de mettre en français, moi, je n’y arrive pas) (élève de CE2).

« Koman i mèt le mo an fransé ? Mi koné pa // I fo rod dan out tèt mé dan ma tèt mi koné pa le fransé » (comment on met le mot en français ? Je ne sais pas. Il faut chercher dans ta tête mais dans ma tête je ne connais pas le français (élève de 6ème).

f) Un discours épilinguistique

refl et de l’idéologisation d’un confl it

linguistique.

Beaucoup de remarques stigmatisantes sont produites par les enseignants qui n’évaluent pas toujours l’impact de leurs propos même si leurs intentions semblent bienveillantes puisqu’ils indiquent souhaiter la réussite de leurs élèves : « parle bien »,

« il ne faut pas utiliser un français « makot3 », « si tu ne parles pas correctement, tu ne réussiras pas », « laisse le créole pour la cour, pour ce qui n’est pas important », « il faut apprendre la belle langue », « le créole ne t’apportera rien ». La référence à des idéologies fortement ancrées dans la société réunionnaise, telles que « l’expression en créole nuit à l’acquisition du français » ou encore que « seule la maîtrise du français garantit la réalisation personnelle » ou que « le créole n’a aucune valeur », s’avère récurrente.

Or, le lexique fortement péjoratif utilisé conduit les élèves à ne plus oser prendre la parole. Certains se sentent dévalorisés en tant qu’apprenant et locuteur réunionnais, ce qui peut entrainer chez eux des inhibitions :

« Je me sens pas à ma place », « mwin lé pa bon pou rien / mi konpran pa sak i fo fé / mi gagn pa é donk mwin lé mové » (je suis bon à rien, je ne comprends pas ce qu’il faut faire, je n’y arrive pas et

donc je suis mauvais ». (élève de CM1). « Dé foi mi di bin kosa mi fé la mi

gagn pa kozé » (parfois, je me demande ce que je fais là puisque je ne sais pas parler » (élève de CM2).

« Kan la fi ne di amwin sa mi koz pu mwin » (une fois qu’on m’a dit ça, je ne parle plus, moi » (élève de 6ème).

« Mwin la peur fé ont amwin », « mi veu pa i ri amwin » « vo mieu mi fé silans » (j’ai peur de me faire honte, je ne veux pas que l’on se moque de moi, il vaut mieux que je fasse silence » (élève de 6ème).

g) Quelques pratiques effi cientes

et des prises de risque judicieuses et

effi caces

Toutefois, tous les professeurs ne transforment pas la traduction en activité mécanique, revêtant peu d’intérêt pour les élèves. Certains parviennent à la rendre attractive et effi cace pour l’identifi cation de segments prototypiques français. Pour cela, ils formulent des consignes claires, précisent l’enjeu de la tâche, engagent collectivement des analyses et des évaluations des réponses proposées, après avoir formulé des critères de réussite ainsi qu’une réfl exion sur les procédures pouvant être mobilisées. Ils favorisent la construction d’outils (dictionnaire, lexique, référent) et l’absence de jugement de valeur sur les performances des élèves encourage ces derniers à s’engager dans l’activité et à atteindre l’objectif fi xé.

D’autres enseignants (malheureusement encore peu nombreux) s’inscrivent dans une démarche plus « globalisante » qui tient compte des spécifi cités de la parole réunionnaise et par conséquent de la pluralité sociolinguistique. Il s’agit donc d’abandonner l’approche « mononormative » (Blanchet, Clerc,

Rispail, 2014) et de ne plus viser, comme en métropole, l’acquisition d’un noyau dur arbitraire du français. L’objectif est de considérer la parole des élèves, de ce que ces derniers souhaitent signifi er et des moyens linguistiques qu’ils utilisent pour le faire. C’est le programme de « la pédagogie de la variation » proposé par Lambert Félix Prudent (1993). Selon les principes de cette dernière, lors de l’activité de traduction, les apprenants sont invités à réaliser un répertoire des différentes formes possibles. Toutes les productions dans toute leur diversité et leurs nuances sont alors susceptibles d’être appréhendées, considérées et instituées en objet d’étude et leur légitimité communicative posée par le maître. A cette occasion, on observe comment « des sons, des moules intonatifs, des mots, des formes grammaticales et bien sûr des ponts sémantiques peuvent être fondus dans les énoncés interlectaux » (Prudent, 2013). Les énoncés seront alors analysés, comparés et l’élève sera amené à opter pour la forme traduite la plus adaptée et à dégager une norme de communication, issue d’une conscience de la valeur de ses productions dans un marché interlectal complexe. Ainsi l’activité de traduction vise-t-elle à permettre à l’élève de communiquer en toute confi ance, sans être repris systématiquement et de commencer à mener une réfl exion sur l’organisation de son répertoire langagier. Bien peu de maîtres sont formés à enseigner de la sorte alors que ceux qui s’y risquent parviennent à développer considérablement les compétences de leurs élèves (Lebon-Eyquem, 2010a).

Conclusion Parmi les activités pédagogiques

mises en œuvre sur le terrain réunionnais, la traduction interlinguale est l’une des plus fréquemment observée dans les classes. Envisagée selon une approche structuraliste qui binarise le matériau langagier, elle est utilisée pour isoler des segments prototypiques français des mélanges et sert l’objectif unique (et très discutable) d’acquisition des formes standards de l’acrolecte. Toutefois, les jugements stigmatisants qui accompagnent sa pratique, l’absence

Parmi les activités

pédagogiques mises en

œuvre sur le terrain

réunionnais, la traduction

interlinguale est l’une des

plus fréquemment

observée dans les

classes

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 201580

de réelles situations d’apprentissage et d’étayage approprié font qu’elle se transforme en activité souvent rébarbative, peu enrichissante, voire contre-productive puisqu’elle met à mal l’estime de soi de l’élève et plus largement du locuteur.

En revanche, lorsqu’elle s’inscrit dans un cadre théorique qui considère la pluralité sociolinguistique et qu’elle conduit non plus à l’exclusion du créole et de l’interlecte mais à un traitement concomitant des deux langues, français et créole, et au respect des particularités du macro-système tout entier, elle permet de développer des compétences langagières. La langue standard apparaît alors comme une variation parmi d’autres et les formes interlectales, plurielles et socialement établies, habituellement considérées comme moins « académiques » par l’école, sont réhabilitées et valorisées. L’élève a alors la possibilité d’éprouver les différents lectes de son répertoire verbal. L’école, quant à elle, peut accomplir sa mission d’éducation et cesse de créer de l’incompréhension mutuelle réelle (ou feinte, de la part des enseignante-s) entre apprenant-e-s et enseignant-e-s, mais aussi de l’insécurité linguistique chez les élèves dont les productions langagières sont stigmatisées, avec son corollaire connu d’humiliation (Merle, 2005), de perte d’estime de soi, de mutisme électif, de désinvestissement voire de sentiment d’injustice, d’indignation et de révolte (dont cette fameuse « violence verbale » des élèves ou perçue comme telle par les enseignant-e-s, dont a pu montrer qu’elle est souvent une réponse à la violence symbolique, culturelle et verbale, que l’institution scolaire et ses représentants exercent contre les élèves notamment ceux qui sont hors des normes standards dominantes de l’école (Blanchet, Clerc, Rispail, 2014 : 293).

Il s’agit là d’un défi qu’il faut continuer à relever.

Abstract

The sociolinguistic situation in Reunion is one that witnesses the intermingling of two languages that are structurally and genetically close to each other: Creole, the predominantly used idiom by native speakers, and French, which still enjoys a position of prestige. The analysis of daily conversations shows that endolingual interactions are marked by linguistic mixtures of varying levels, depending on situations: original bilingual linguistic confi gurations that prove diffi cult to codify given their complexity are observed in diverse communicative situations and among speakers of all generations (Lebon-Eyquem, 2004). However, researches are conducted with reference to two epistemological frameworks that are diffi cult to reconcile. On the one hand, the theoretical framework of the macro-system (Prudent, 1993) postulates that statements should not be codifi ed and need to be considered in all their complexity, while on the other hand, researchers who have focused on the acquisition of French (Prudent, 2007; Lebon-Eyquem, 2007, 2010a and b) have based themselves on theoretical references of language development that are in line with a structuralist approach. These researchers also advocate the identifi cation of prototypical features of French in utterances that are predominantly French, so as to ease the acquisition process. This move is also adopted by other linguists who apply this approach to mixed forms that are frequently used by speakers in everyday life. As segments of spoken language are identifi ed and assigned to a particular language, activities aiming at demarcating and discriminating between French and Creole are thus given added value. As provider of French as the sole norm and as an agent whose main objective is to identify and mobilize prototypical French structures, the school will follow recommendations put forward by local researchers and interlingual translation as a pedagogical task will thus be favoured. This article aims at highlighting this very common educational practice within the classroom in Reunion. To that end, we suggest a juxtaposition between the views of teachers and those of students to determine how the pedagogical objectives and activities are perceived. We will show that stigmatizing judgments, together with the lack of real and insightful situations of learning and support often turn translation into a boring and hardly rewarding – if not counter-productive – activity. Moreover, it impacts on the leaner’s self-esteem and more broadly on that of the speaker. However, when this is done within a theoretical framework that is respectful of plurality, it enables learners to develop their language skills in an effective manner.

Le créole, l’enseignement et l’apprentissageNotes de fi n

1Elle doit être différenciée de la traduction intralinguale qui consiste en une reformulation (Ceccarelli, 2009).2L’organisation en groupe favorise les interactions et permet davantage à l’enquêteur de se mettre en retrait et

d’observer les échanges que s’il était en relation duelle avec le témoin.3Terme créole connoté péjorativement et signifi ant « sale », « mauvais ».

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Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015 81

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82 Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015

Prezantasyon

Alain Ah-Vee (Ledikasyon Pu Travayer)Imel: [email protected]

Mo-kle: Ledikasyon, pedagozi, organizasyon, liberasyon

Rezime

Ledikasyon pu Travayer (LPT) se enn lorganizasyon ki fi nn, pandan plis ki 38 an, kree bann pre-kondisyon ideolozik pu ki Kreol Morisyin kapav kumans devlope azordi. Anmemtan, LPT fi nn travay dan enn fason kolektif pu kree bann kondisyon materyel pu rann sa devlopman-la posib. Sa papye-la pu demontre kuma – atraver bann lalit politik ek pre-politik, par bann forom, bann kolok, bann petisyon ek demonstrasyon, e mem par enn ‘hearing’ internasyonal lor ditor ki sipresyon langaz maternel dan lekol koze a bann zanfan – Ledikasyon pu Travayer, avek led so de u trwa lorganizasyon partner, fi nn fors Leta pu kumans rekonet lekritir an kreol. Anmentan, nu fi nn kree lespas neseser pu ki bann mizisyen, artis, ekrivin ek aktivis politik kapav itiliz langaz kreol dan zot bann aktivite respektif. Nu pu osi demontre dan sa papye-la kuma LPT fi nn al de-lavan pu kree ek nuri lekritir an kreol atraver piblikasyon bann travay an kreol. Sa bann travay-la fi nn osi promuvwar atraver bann salon liv, sink pri literer (ek enn siziem organize konzwintman avek Lenstiti Kreol Sesel), bann kur lor lekritir literer ek bann latelye lor lektir ek kritik literer. Sa lapros-la ek usi prodiksyon bann materyel ti relye ar lorganizasyon bann kur lor kreol, ki fer parti misyon santral LPT. Dan sa prezantasyon ki nu pe fer la, nu pu rapidman pas lor pedagozi ki nu fi nn devlope pu sis diferan tip kur, notaman: kur alfabetizasyon pu adilt, kur pos-alfabetizasyon pu adilt, kur formasyon pu bann formater, kur lor kuma ekrir an kreol, kreol kuma enn lang etranzer, e lekritir literer.

IntrodiksyonZordi dan Moris ena buku avanse pu langaz maternel ki pli

servi parmi popilasyon, setadir pu lang Kreol ek Bhojpuri. Depi 2012, lang Kreol fi nn introdir dan lekol kuma size opsyonel apar-antyer, ansam ek Bhojpuri, ki fer parti klas Hindi. Sa li reprezant enn form rekonesans ofi syel par Leta pu langaz Kreol, sirtu dan so form ekrit.

38 an desela, kan Ledikasyon pu Travayer (LPT) ti ne, li ti enn lepok kan nu tu ti krwar ki sa kalite sanzman ti pu arive byin vit. Me, depi bann lane ‘80, lareaksyon fi nn instal li, e li fi nn vinn deplizanpli difi sil imazinn enn tel evolisyon, sirtu dan sekter ledikasyon ki kontrole par enn establishmennt byin konservater. Alor, sa rekonesans ofi syel depi 2012, li vini dan enn moman ase etonan.

Li etonan, parski parmi lamas dimunn, e sirtu parmi buku profesyonel dan domenn ledikasyon, ti ena e anfet tuzur ena, tu kalite fos lide, tu kalite konfi zyon, lor ki ete langaz limem, antan ki kapasite imin, e osi lor ki vedir literesi. Sa bann fos lide ek konfi zyon normalman reprezant enn andikap pu progre langaz maternel.

Pu buku dimunn, zot tuzur konsevwar langaz imin kuma enn sinp “mwayin kominikasyon”, alor ki li anfet buku plis ki sa. Dan LPT, nu met lanfaz lor lefet ki langaz imin li nu kapasite natirel pu konpran lemond andeor de nu, e pu reprezant osi seki pase andan nu, kuma nu lemosyon ek nu panse. Alor, li enn kapasite byin profon dan nu natir. Tu imin ena sa kapasite la depi nesans, mem si li anfet aparet vizibleman ant laz enn an ek trwa an. Seki inportan se lefet ki langaz enn zanfan, li devlope san okenn instriksyon formel amezir li grandi an interaksyon avek lanvironnman kot li viv. Li natirel. Par kont, literesi, lir ekrir, li pa ditu natirel, li. Li dimann aprantisaz formel. Li enn kod ki u bizin aprann pu konn li, mem si defi nisyon ki UNESO done pu literesi li inplik lezot zafer.

• Citation : “Literesi li vedir plis ki lir ek ekrir. Literesi viz kominikasion dan lasosiete. Li lie avek pratik sosial, relasion, konesans, langaz ek kiltir. Literesi manifeste lor diferan sipor kominikasion: lor papie, lor lekran computer, lor televizion, lor lafi s, lor pano. Dimounn ki konpetan dan literesi konsider li kouma enn aki tandi ki ena lezot ki exklir an gran parti depi kominikasion kolektif. An efe, se bann

Enn apersi lor travay ek aksyon Ledikasyon pu Travayer anfaver itlizasyon,

devlopman ek rekonesans ofi syel langaz Kreol

Sa dokiman la fi nn ekrir dan enn grafi Kreol Morisyin ki spesifi k a Ledikasyon Pu TravayerThis text has been written in an orthography of Mauritian Kreol that is specifi c to Ledikasyon Pu Travayer

Ce texte a été rédigé dans une graphie du Créole Mauricien qui est propre à Ledikasyon Pu Travayer.

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83Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015

exkli ki plis kapav apresie nosion literesi kouma enn sours liberte.” (Adapted from UNESCO, United Nations decade for literacy, 2003 – 2012)

Alepok, 38 an desela, kontex ekonomik pa ti favorab pu travay literesi ki Ledikasyon pu Travayer ti met dibut pu organize. Seki ti anvi aprann ek seki ti kapav montre, ti inifye ansam pu kree lasosyasyon la. Lekonomi Moris ti pe stagne. Li ti ankor domine par kann ek disik, avek nuvo sekter Zonn Frans sirtu textil. Tulede sekter pa ti pe bizin enn “mindev” ki konn lir ekrir ot nivo. Sistem ledikasyon ti akomod li ar enn to esek byin elve lafi n lekol primer. Kumsa, lekol ti prodir mindev “apropriye” pu lekonomi anplas.

Dan LPT nu ti propaz lide ki ledikasyon so bi li plito pu liberasyon, e pa zis pu rant dan enn ti-plas dan sistem ekonomik existan. Alepok pa ti ena liv an Kreol preske ditu. Pa ti ena ni profeser forme pu anseyn Kreol, ubyin an Kreol. Pa ti ena ankadreman pedagozik pu lanseynman Kreol. Pa ti mem ena enn lortograf ki ti fer lakorite. Me, seki karakteriz LPT, se so manb pa ti krwar bizin aksepte sa sityasyon la kuma enn fatalite. Nu ti viz sanz tu seki bizin sanze.

Zordi ankor ena rezistans dan establishment linstitisyon edikatif ki pe monitor evolisyon lang Kreol. Establishmennt ule ki Kreol, li res size opsyonel. Establishmennt opoz introdiksyon Kreol kuma medyom. E zot servi samem vye koze ki sanse, “Pena ase profeser, mank liv, pankor tradir term teknik matematik, syans an Kreol,” etc. ki nu ti sibir an 1976.

Me par kont, seki ti ena sa moman dan listwar la, kan LPT ti met dibut, se lelan gran lagrev etidyan anfaver ledikasyon gratwi, revizyon program letid ek drwa-de-vot a 18 an, etc. ki ti kilminn an Me 1975. Ladan etidyan ti revandik ki dekoloniz sistem ledikasyon Moris, ki servi plis langaz maternel dan lekol. Muvman Me ‘75 ti amenn enn seri dinamik pozitif, e so lefe ti tuzur lamem, kan LPT fonde. Setadir ti ena volonte, konviksyon, determinasyon, lamur pu vre sanzman dan sosyete, dan ledikasyon. Li ti dan sa muvans la ki LPT ti pran nesans. Se sa mobilizasyon la, sa seri lagrev etidyan ki kilminn dan mwa Me, ki ti amenn kreasyon plizir lorganizasyon militan kuma Playgroup, Muvman Liberasyon Fam, sindika profeser

UPSEE, Lalit de Klas, Lekol Korperativ (ki ti anfet met dibut LPT an 1976).

Bi LPTKan LPT pran nesans an 1976 li

met kuma so bi pu devlop konpetans dan literesi parmi adilt parski nu ti anvi ki tu dimunn Repiblik Moris konn lir, ekrir, konte byin, pu ki zot epannwir antan ki dimunn. Anmemtan nu ti desid pu promuvwar langaz maternel pli servi Moris, Kreol ek Bhojpuri, e pu fer presyon lor lotorite pu li donn ful rekonesans langaz Kreol ek Bhojpuri. Alor apartir 1977 aksyon LPT demare avek kur pu montre adilt lir ek ekrir dan Port Louis, Bambous, Curepipe ek plizir lezot rezyon. Nu organiz enn expozisyon Plaza, Rose Hill lor lang Kreol dan lemond ek plizir forum ek kolok lor listwar lang Kreol. Anmemtan nu ti kumans devlop demand anfaver rekonesans ofi syel lang Kreol ek Bhojpuri e fer presyon lor lotorite atraver petisyon ek manifestasyon. (Get Not Nimero 1 pu enn listorik bref lor LPT)

Diferan kalite kur1. Kur literesi

Kan LPT desid pu montre adilt lir-ekrir an 1976, li pena ni lokal, ni profeser, pena ni diksyoner, ni liv, ni mem enn lortograf konvenab. Fondater zot mem, pa ti konn ekrir Kreol dan enn fason ordone.

Nu ti kumans par enn grup ki anvi vinn “profeser volonter” e fer nu oto-ledikasyon: nu fi nn dokimant nu lor kanpayn literesi ki Paulo Freire ti fer dan Brezil, lor pratik ledikasyon popiler Celestin Freinet dan Lafrans ek inspire nu depi lexperyans ledikasyon alternativ A.S.Neill dan Summerhill. Nu ti osi benefi sye lexperyans kur literesi byin avanse ki nu manb, Lindsey Collen ti akerir dan Islington dan Lond. Nu fi nn adapte tusa konesans ek lexperyans dan ledikasyon la pu kontex Moris.

Nu kur ti demark li depi lezot grup ki ti pe privilezye kote “alfabetizasyon fonksyonel”, setadir montre literesi kuma enn mwayin pu dimunn adapte e konform li ar sosyete existan. Alor ki dan LPT nu ti plito truv travay literesi kuma enn zuti pu zelev ki vinn aprann liber limem, e pu “profeser volonter”, atraver seki li aprann depi so zelev adilt, anmemtan liber limem.

Alor nu ti kumanse par bann kur kot ena enn sel profeser ek enn sel zelev. E amezir profeser gayn plis lexperyans

ek konfyans, nu ti elarzi kur la. Bann kur ti pe fer dan lavarang dimunn, anplener dan zardin piblik ubyin anba lipye montayn.

Nu fi nn rod inpe zistwar, poem e nu fi nn kree nu prop liv pu kur literesi. Anfet, premye liv nu ti fer, apel “Bann Poruz” nu ti ekrir zot ar lame, antu 200 kopi. Me, nu metod lanseynman, li pa depann lor liv. Liv la, li kiksoz dimunn lir amizir li aprann. (Get Not Nimero 2 pu nu bann zuti pedagozik.)

2. Kur Post Alfa

Byin vit apre so bann premye kur literesi, LPT fi nn kumans organiz bann sesyon pu zelev ki fi ni terminn kur bazik literesi. Normalman sa bann kur la dire 15 sesyon par la.

Ladan, nu ranforsi lekritir atraver pratik tu kalite text ekrit. Nu ranforsi lektir atraver lir text ki pli long, par exanp lor size teknik, syantifi k, medikal, politik. E nu servi bann text ase avanse: roman Misyon Garson, Sirandann Sanpek (koleksyon zistwar Baissac), Lemorn (enn poem an proz), bann koleksyon lartik depi ribrik Kwin Medikal ek Kwin Syantifi k dan Lagazet LALIT, ki ti sorti regilyerman alepok.

Pandan sa bann kur la, nu osi invit dimunn ki konn enn domenn byin vinn koze lor diferan size pandan kur. Finn ena kozri lor Ki ete langaz imin?, lor Darwin so teori lor evolisyon, lor meteo ek kimanyer servi map pu swiv traze siklonn, byolozi imin, plantasyon diferan pye fri ek legim, kimanyer elektrisite travay, kimanyer servi telefonn ek SMS (fi x ek portab), kimanyer servi kompyuter.

Nu ti osi fer enn ‘Bridging Course’ pu seki fi nn terminn kur literesi, kot nu fi nn introdir Angle sirtu Angle koze, me avek inpe lekritir, avek kudme seri Grapevine (Oxford University Press).

3. Kur Teachers Training

Depi kumansman mem, LPT fi nn organiz bann kur adrese a dimunn ki deza konn lir ekrir, e ki anvi aprann anseyn literesi. E byin vit nu fi nn gayn zelev ki fi nn, a zot tur, vinn profeser. Nu manb Kolet Marcelin ti donn buku kur literesi dan Port Louis, Bambous ek tutolong lakot Rivyer Nwar, osito ki li ti’nn metriz literesi, limem. Sa li enn partikilarite LPT, ki ena zelev vinn profeser, e ki anmemtan profeser pe tultan aprann ar zelev.

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84 Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015

Bann kur teachers’ training dire enn semenn. Mem si parfwa nu fer mem kalite kur de-trwa wikenn. Kur teori, li osi swivi par enn sesyon in-training (1 mwa), plis enn swivi kan nuvo profeser al fer kur limem. Suvan nu antrenn profeser depi lezot lasosyasyon.

Nomb partisipan dan nu bann kur profeser li fi nn tultan varye buku. Parfwa nu fer enn kur pu enn sel profeser volonter, me normalman, li varye ant 10 ek 50. An 1982 nu fi nn mem anim enn kur avek 250 partisipan dan enn sel grup.

Pu konteni seki nu anseyne, kapav get Not Nimero 2, ki explik nu pedagozi. Me, dan kur ena osi bann tips pu profeser: “Kifer pa kumans par ABCD?”, “Kifer pa montre siyn nom boner dan kur?”, “Ki difi kilte dimunn ki pa konn lir-ekrir gayne dan lasosyete?” “Kimanyer ranforsi memwar? Kimanyer fer koreksyon dan text enn zelev?” “Kimanyer met zelev alez”. Nu osi inklir enn kur lor kimanyer efektye enn test lizye, test zorey. Nu donn gaydlayns lor preparasyon ek organizasyon kur. Kote teorik, nu inklir enn sesyon lor “Ki ete BICS ek CALP? (konsep devlope par Prof. Jim Cummins), lor “Ki ete langaz imin?” (teori Derek Bickerton), “Miltilingwis baze lor lang maternel” (baze lor travay Tove Skutnabb-Kangas). Nu osi explik mankman ki ena dan lapros alfabetizasyon fonksyonel. Nu ena enn apersi lor fi lozofi ledikasyon, sikolozi ledikasyon ek enn sesyon lor Ki ete LPT?”

Amizir bann lane inn pase, LPT fi nn kree, prodir, inprim plizir text pu profeser literesi; ena Liv Profeser (1977), Alfa Ennbuk (1981, 158 paz), 30 folder pu sak profeser (1990), Gid Profeser Literesi (2007, 155 paz)

4. Kur Ekrir Kreol

An 1988 enn grup lamizik apel Grup Kiltirel Lorizon ti apros LPT parski zot manb ti anvi aprann ekrir zot text sante dan enn sistem ekrir kreol koeran. Alor nu ti prepar enn kur lor kimanyer ekrir Kreol. Kur la ti inklir sesyon diskisyon lor bann mo servi pu lamizik, lalis linstriman lamizik (parmi zot ti mansyonn enn espes lakordeon apel konsertina). Nu ti rod bann mo pu dekrir diferan kalite lamizik: kuma leze, lur, ge, tris, kool, sofe, lagam. Nu ti get bann lexpresyon ubyin zedmo ki al ar lamizik kuma “zako dan lamizik”, “lamizik divan pavyon deryer”. Pandan kur zot ti kree enn text byin kreatif lor lamizik:

Nu kontan lamizik. Nu kontan lamizik.Lamizik samem nu lavi.Lamizik li seki nu tande partuTapaz ek silansLamizik li pa mazikNu ki fer li.Sa lexperyans la, ti ed nu an 1989 pu

elabor ek pibliye enn gid pu anseyn lekritir Kreol dapre grafi LPT, apel “How to Write Kreol Properly”. Li bon nu fer remarke ki alepok grafi ki LPT servi, koni kuma grafi “n/nn”, ti anfet grafi pli itilize parmi bann lasosyasyon, sindika ek laplipar ekrivin, poet. Dayer sa fe la ti mansyone dan rapor Komisyon lor Ledikasyon prezide par Victor Glover an 1983.

An 2012, apre ki Akademi Kreol Morisyin (AKM) – kot LPT ti fer parti – fi nn elabor enn nuvo lortograf pu lang Kreol (lortograf ki fi nn vinn ofi syel), LPT fi nn kumans organiz kur pu aprann ekrir Kreol dapre sa lortograf la. An 2014 Open University konzwintman ar LPT fi nn fer enn lot kur lor “Kimanyer lir ek ekrir Kreol”, tuzur dapre lortograf ofi syel, pu enn grup dis transkrayber Lakur Siprem. Kur la ti kontenir wit sesyon fas-a fas ek kur la ti osi aksesib onnlayn. Bann sesyon ti kuver tem kuma bann vwayel, konsonn, silab, ponktyasyon, bann “mo gramatikal”, plis kat sesyon lor diferan kalite text ki konsern Lakur, domenn medikal, literer ek bann gid pratik.

5. Kur Kreol as a Foreign

Language (KFL)

Enn kalite kur ki zordi pe gayn buku demann se lor kimanyer koz kreol, koni kuma KFL. Kuma LPT ti kumans fer sa kur la? An 1982 nuvo levek Anglikan, Trevor Huddleston, ki ti osi prezidan Muvman Anti Aparteid dan Moris (SOMAAP), ti anvi aprann koz Kreol e de manb LPT ti al fer enn kur pratik konversasyon ar li. Kumsa ki nu ti devlop enn modil sinp pu aprann koz Kreol. Dan bann lane 2000 demand pu sa kalite kur la kumans ogmante parski guvernman ti pe ankuraz dimunn lezot pei vinn travay Moris, inkli biznesmenn. E an 2001, nu fer enn kur KFL dan GRNW pu enn grup zom Swis ki zot fam Morisyin.

Lexperyans sa bann diferan kur la ti amenn nu an 2002 pu pibliye enn gid pu aprann koz Kreol “Mauritian Creole in Seven Easy Lessons” ekrir par enn profeser Ostralyin, Mark Frew. Li enn parmi bann liv

pli popiler ki LPT fi nn pibliye. Anfet demand pu kur KFL fi nn grandi sirtu apre ki LPT gayn Pri UNESCO pu Literesi an 2004. Depi sa nu fi nn fer kur koz Kreol pu dimunn sorti Lafrans, Lend, Lasinn, Lamerik, Belzik, Litali. Kur la kontenir sesyon konversasyon baze lor diferan sityasyon kot bizin kominike an Kreol kuma dan bazar, dan lapos, kan pran bis, kan invite pu manze kot enn fami Morisyin. Li osi inklir sesyon lor vokabiler, gramer Kreol.

6. Kur ‘Creative Writing’

Kreativite li devlope pli fasil dan nu lang maternel. Depi lontan plizir ekrivin, poet e mem profeser ti dimann LPT organiz enn kur pu devlop zot kreativite literer. An 2012, nu ti organiz enn kur “Creative Writing” dan Grand Rivyer kot 30 dimunn ti swiv, parmi plizir ekrivin koni ek zenn debitan. Kur la ti anime par Lindsey Collen, ki enn ekrivin ki de fwa fi nn gayn “Commonwealth Writer’s Prize” pu Lafrik.

Dan sa kur la li ti explik lor prosesis lekritir enn roman. Bann partisipan ti osi gayn lokazyon pratik ekrir text depi zot memwar, swa lor memwar kitsoz byin ordiner, ubyin enn obze konkre ki zot rapel kan zot ti ena 3, 4 an. Lerla zot ti ena pu kree enn evennman ki dekul depi sa obze la.

KonklizyonTu sa bann diferan kur ki LPT fi nn

fer fi nn kree enn repertwar varye lor diferan fason servi langaz Kreol, fi nn anrisi vokabiler teknik langaz Kreol e fi nn kontribye dan devlopman Kreol ekrit. Tusa larises ki fi nn kree lor langaz Kreol ek dan langaz Kreol pa ti existe 38 an desela. Zordi dan Moris nu ena enn panopli liv ki kapav servi pu kur literesi, pu aprann ekrir Kreol, pu montre koz Kreol. Ena tut enn pedagozi pu diferan kalite kur dan langaz Kreol.

Nu ena osi zordi 2 edisyon diksyoner Kreol-Kreol par Arnaud Carpooran ek so lekip. Nu ena tu sa travay teknik ki lekip AKM fi nn akonplir an 2011, sirtu dokiman Lortograf Kreol Morisyin ek liv gramer lang Kreol. Nu ena enn Yunit Kreol dan Mauritius Institute of Education ki pe asir formasyon ek ankadreman teknik pu profeser Kreol, nu ena profeser ki pe anseyn Kreol dan primer. Tusala nu pa ti ena dan bann lane 70. Si nu ena tusala zordi li gras a travay lorganizasyon kuma LPT, Playgroup, Terre de Paix, BEC ek

Prezantasyon

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plizir individi ki fi nn persiste servi lang Kreol kuma medyom pu anseyne, ki fi nn kontiyn promuvwar lang Kreol ek oze prodir materyel edikatif dan lang Kreol. Seki nu ena zordi, li konstitye enn baz sifi zan pu etann itilizasyon langaz Kreol dan sistem ledikasyon e lezot linstitisyon Leta.

Not Nimero 1: Lor listwar LPT

Evolisyon LPT fi nn marke par interaksyon ant travay literesi adilt ek devlopman lekritir Kreol Morisyin.

1976 – 81 • LPT lans so travay literesi lor baz

volonter. Pibliye liv zis pu kur literesi. Organiz Expo lor langaz Kreol (Plaza, 1977). Organiz enn Zurne spesyal pu selebre Langaz Kreol dan Port Louis an 1981(Expo, Forum-Deba).

• LPT fer enn sondaz nasyonal lor to analfabetism an 1981 (6 rezyon lavil-lakanpayn, 2400 dimunn). Rezilta: 53% adilt ek 41% parmi zenn ki fi nn konplet sis lane letid nivo primer.

1982 – 84

• Expansyon kur literesi dan diferan rezyon Moris. Kumans met dibut enn linprimri otozere. Instale dan enn batiman kot Grande Rivier Nord Ouest, pa lwin ar Port-Louis.

• Nuvo kontex ekonomik avek akselerasyon indistrializasyon, itilizasyon nuvo masinn elektronik dan lizinn ki sannkula ekziz enn mindev kalifye, ki konn lir instriksyon lor masinn, ki metriz literesi. Ena konpayni prive ki fer apel a LPT pu kur literesi pu travayer ki instal telefonn, pu mesennjer.

• Atraver partnarya ar Freres des Hommes nu ti donn kudme kree enn rezo lorganizasyon dan Lafrik. Kumsa ki nu fi nn fer enn kur profeser pu animater literesi dan ex-Zaire ek tradir e pibliye liv profeser an Swahili (apel Elimu). An 1984, LPT pibliye enn premye diksyoner Kreol-Angle.

1985 – 95

• Konsolid linprimri. Pibliye avek tarif pli bomarse pu seki an Kreol ek Bhojpuri, pu lasosyasyon ek sindika. Sa travay la permet nu devlop rezo kontak ar tu federasyon sindika Moris.

• Lans Premye Konkur literer an Kreol an 1987.

• LPT vinn enn ful peblisher e zwenn Association des Editeurs Mauriciens (AEM).

1996 – 2000

• Organiz antu 5 Konkur literer. An

1997 LPT donn kudme Linstiti Kreol Sesel lans enn konkur literer pu Losean Indyin (Pri Antoine Abel).

• LPT azir kuma katalis dan kreasyon All Workers Conference ki regrup tu federasyon sindikal Moris pu reziste kont globalizasyon iltra liberal. Pibliye 40 lagazet Dorad an Kreol ek enn paz Angle.

2001 – 2006

• LPT desid pu remet kap lor so aksyon lor langaz maternel. Deba dan lasosyasyon lor ditor ki nu prop manb fi nn sibir kan siprim lang maternel dan lekol.

• Organiz Kolok lor langaz Kreol 2001. Rezolisyon Kolok: met dibut enn Yunit pu servis otur langaz Kreol kuma tradiksyon, kanpayn pu drwa gard minits dan langaz Kreol, dimann Guvernman met dibut Sant Nasyonal Folklor pu ramas zistwar lontan ek gard vivan kiltir popiler.

• Plizir manb LPT swiv kur PRAESA, liniversite Cape Town, lor Miltilingwis baze lor lang maternel. Travay avek Neville Alexander ek Tove Skutnabb-Kangas lor ankadreman pu aktivis lang maternel dan Lafrik ek lor zenosid langaz.

2007 – 2009

• Diskisyon parmi manb lor met dibut enn Tribinal lor Zenosid Langaz.

• LPT lans plizir Grup detid lor liv Derek Bickerton “Language and Species” ek “Bastard Tongues”.

• LPT organiz Hearing Internasyonal lor Ditor kan Siprim Lang Maternel dan Lekol, 2009. Panel Exper pu Hearing : Prof. Robert Phillipson, Prof. Beban Sammy Chumbow, Prof. Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, Prof. Vinesh Hookoomsing, Medha Moti, Vidya Golam, Jean Claude Bibi. Plis ki 45 temwanyaz depi profeser, zelev, paran, lingwis, akademik, ex-minis, militan langaz Kreol… En delegasyon LPT ti sumet so Fayndings ek Rekomandasyon Minis Ledikasyon ek plizir linstitisyon edikatif. Sa Hearing la fi nn ena en rol inportan dan prosesis ver introdir lang Kreol kuma size opsyonel dan lekol an 2012.

• An 2009, LPT ek lezot manifeste divan Parlman pu introdir Kreol pu deba dan Lasanble Nasyonal. Reini 20 lorganizasyon ki siyn Sart pu drwa gard minits zot lasosyasyon, setadir zot memwar kolektif an Kreol.

2010 – 2014

• Devlop langaz Kreol ekrit: kur KFL, kur Ekrir Kreol. 2 manb LPT dan Akademi Kreol Morisyin (AKM).

RésuméLedikasyon pu Travayer est une organisation qui, pendant 38 ans, a œuvré en faveur de la création des conditions idéologiques et politiques requises pour que le Créole Mauricien soit aujourd’hui en mesure de se développer. En même temps, les conditions matérielles ont été créées de manière collective pour que la présente situation soit possible. Le texte suivant démontre comment, à travers des luttes politiques et pré-politiques – par le biais de forums, de colloques, de pétitions, de manifestations, et même à travers une audition publique internationale sur le préjudice causé aux enfants par la suppression de la langue maternelle dans les écoles – Ledikasyon pu Travayer, avec l’aide de ses trois ou quatre organisations alliées, a contraint l’État à reconnaître la forme écrite de la langue créole. Dans le même temps, nous avons créé l’espace pour que les musiciens, artistes, écrivains et militants politiques puissent utiliser la langue créole dans leur démarche respective. Nous démontrerons aussi dans le présent texte comment LPT a créé et nourri le Kreol écrit, en éditant et imprimant des travaux en Kreol. Les ressources écrites en Kreol ont également été valorisées à travers l’organisation de salons du livre, les lancements d’œuvres écrites, l’organisation de cinq prix littéraires (plus un sixième conjointement avec Lenstiti Kreol des Seychelles), les cours de création littéraire, et des ateliers de lecture et de critique littéraire.Cette approche et la production de matériels sont liées aux cours de formation continue en Kreol, un aspect qui est au cœur de la mission de LPT. Nous allons également brièvement exposer dans le texte qui suit la pédagogie que nous avons développée pour six types de cours qui sont très différents l’un de l’autre, à savoir l’alphabétisation des adultes, la post-alphabétisation, la formation des formateurs pour l’alphabétisation des adultes, l’écriture du Kreol, le Kreol comme langue étrangère, et les ateliers de création littéraire.

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86 Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015

• Lans Campus dan GRNW [diferan kur pu etidyan lor konesans zeneral (GP), kozri, kur Tai Chi, kur literesi. Campus la ti kordine par enn lasanble tu grup ansam, inpe kuma Lekol Korperativ ti fer an 1976].

• Kontiyn fer presyon lor lotorite pu servi plis kreol ekrit: LPT ekrir let a Minis Gender Equality-Family Welfare, Minis Lindistri-Komers lor zot kominike an Kreol ki pa servi Lortograf ofi syel.

• An 2013 LPT konzwintman ar Immedia demar travay ver piblikasyon poem Ti Bato Papye an 46 lang dan en sel liv. Sa linisyativ la fi nn enn ena enn imans sikse. Finn gayn risponns extra: 60 lang, inkli an Mauritian Sign Language ek Braille.

• An 2014 LPT resevwar Pri Internasyonal Linguapax pu nu travay promosyon langaz Kreol ek enn Award depi Creole Speaking Union (Moris) pu nu long kontribisyon dan lavansman langaz kreol.

Not Nimero 2: Zuti pedagozik pu

literesi ki LPT fi nn devlope

Ala enn apersi nu bann zuti pedagozik:

(i) Dir-ekrir (dir-lir-ekrir). Etan done ki zelev adilt ki to osant

nu sistem montre, li tutafe natirel ki nu kur li an Kreol. Dan kur LPT, zelev lib pu exprim so realite ki li pe viv tulezur, ki li dan lakaz, dan so travay, ubyin dan landrwa kot li viv. E sa li rezwenn defi nisyon UNESCO, ki dir ki kikenn “literate” si li kapav ekrir ek lir avek konpreansyon enn paragraf lor so lavi tulezur.

Alor dan premye sesyon mem, profeser pu dimann zelev prezan dir kitsoz ki inportan pu li, kitsoz ki li ti pu kontan met an ekri. Lerla kan zelev la dir so fraz, profeser pu ekrir ar penntel nwar so parol mo-a-mo lor enn gran fey papye blan, pu tu zelev truve. Apre, li pu lir zelev la so fraz ansam ar li. Kumsa zelev la pu ena enn premye lexperyans anprann pozitif kot li pe reysi lir so prop parol, seki li panse. Anmemtan li pe truve ki so parol osi ena valer, ki kapav ekrir seki li panse, parey kuma pu lezot dimunn ki letre.

(ii) Mo zeneraterEnn lot metod nu servi dan kur se

“mo zenerater”. Anfet, zot plito bann tem zenerater. Li enn lalis 15 a 20 mo/tem ki ena plizir fonksyon. Zot kuver preske tu son ki servi dan langaz Kreol. Zot kuver diferan

laspe lavi dimunn: lafami (nesans, maryaz, lamor), travay, lozman, lwazir, priz desizyon dan landrwa, krwayans, etc. E sirtu zot bann mo ki anmemtan prodir diskisyon-deba dan kur e osi ki prodir nuvo mo.

Lalis mo ki servi li varye pu sak landrwa, sak fobur lavil ubyin vilaz. Par exanp pu enn vilaz kapav servi sa lalis mo la: zanimo, lamone, vote, manze, kann, travay, mulin, pri, frod, drwa, treter, ledikasyon, gaspiyaz, transpor, sosyete. Ala enn lot lalis ki fi nn servi pu enn grup peser: zanimo, lamone, vote, labutik, kamarad, brizan, debarkader, bayan, lozman, pwason, travay, siklonn, montayn, ledikasyon, gaspiyaz, transpor, sosyete.

Profeser pu introdir enn sel mo zenerater dan enn sesyon. Li pu kumanse par dimann so zelev kur pu dir seki zot panse lor sa mo la, dizon ‘zanimo’. Lerla li pu les zelev rakont tu seki zot kone, seki zot panse lor zanimo. Apre 10 a 15 minit li pu ekrir zanimo lor papye blan e lir li ansam ar zelev. Dan prosenn sesyon li pu kas sa mo zanimo la an diferan son e lir zot ar so zelev. Get lexanp pli anba:

zanimoza ze zi zo zuna ne ni no numa me mi mo mu

Kan zelev fi ni lir sa seri son la an orizontal ek vertikal, lerla profeser pu dimann zelev dir ki lezot mo kapav konstrir zis ar sa bann son la. Par exanp zelev pu dir zaze, zize, zozo, zuzu, zame, zene, zeni, naze, nene, mani, mama, mame, meni, mize, mine, mini, momi, mazine, nemoni.

Amezir ki zelev pe anprann lor sa bann mo zenerater la, li pu realize byin vit, par limem, ki lekritir li pa kitsoz infi ni, me li faynayt. Li realize ki li pa bizin konn tu mo ki servi dan langaz Kreol, me zis sa lalis 20 mo zenerater la ki enn baz lor lekel li kapav aprann ekrir preske tu lezot mo ki existe dan so langaz. Li pe konn repertwar bann mo ki existe dan so langaz. Sa metod la li donn buku konfyans zelev.

Atraver sa metod la, dan LPT nu fi nn akerir konesans intrinsek ki existe dan langaz Kreol tusel. Nu fi nn aprann ar zelev peser lor vokabililer ki zot servi pu dekrir eko-sistem rezyon dan lamer kot zot lapes. Sa li enn larises imans pu devlopman vokabiler Kreol

e osi pu konpran ek sovgard lanvironnman marin dan diferan lakot Moris.

(iii) PoeziDan kur literesi zelev gayn lokazyon

ekrir so prop poem, sakenn dapre so prop ritm, so prop konteni emosyonel. Kuma introdir poem? Profeser donn zelev enn lalis 6 mo byin rode, e lir zot ansam ek dimann zot servi sa bann mo la pu ekrir enn text an form enn poem. Ala 2 lalis mo ki nu servi dan kur:

papye, kanal, glise, fl ote, bato, dilo lasann, travay, ledo, brile, laswer, dife

(iv) Kit enn mesaz (lor papye ubyin par SMS)

Zelev deza konn linportans ekrir mesaz lor papye ubyin par SMS. Suvan enn ti mesaz kapav ena enn gran itilite pratik. Alor ena gran lintere parmi zelev pu aprann ekrir bann mesaz byin sinp, me ki itil dan so lavi tulezur. Ekrir mesaz li pa zis enn lexersis teknik me li osi enn form liberasyon pu zelev. Bann mesaz swivan donn enn lide lor zot kote pratik:

- Mo fi nn al labutik, pe returne tutswit. Atann mwa.

- Rapel pu pran gaz tanto.- Pa bliye kit lakle divan dan so plas

kan to sorti.- Pe fer overtaym zordi ziska 9 er.(v) Fer enn lalisEnn lot metod nu servi dan kur

se kimanyer fer enn lalist, par exanp kan fer rasyon, pu materyo konstriksyon, seki zanfan bizin pu larantre lekol. Pu sesyon lor lalis, profeser pu dimann tu zelev pu fer enn lalis komisyon pu enn mwa. Lerla profeser les zelev dir seki pu mete lor lalis la, e amezir li ekrir lor papye blan seki zelev dir. Kan fi ni ekrir lalis la, profeser pu lir li ansam ar zelev e apre les zot ekrir li lor zot kaye.

(vi) LektirApre buku lane pratik dan kur literesi

nu fi nn reysi devlop enn seri liv pu introdir lektir. Parmi liv ki nu servi dan kur ena Bef, Ki pase la, Mo Mama, Kaptu, Mor lao burik, Zistwar Aesop, Anu Plant May, Alala Fri, Zistwar labalenn.

(viii) Zwe edikatifNu ena plizir zwe an Kreol kot zelev

anmemtan pe zwe ek aprann. Parmi ena zwe KAP, Dat, Skrabul, Mo krwaze.

(ix) LarNu osi servi lar dan nu kur kot nu

montre foto travay Picasso kuma Guernica

Prezantasyon

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87Island Studies Indian Ocean / Océan Indien 2015

Bann travay ki fi nn konsilte pu lekritir sa papye la :

• ADEA (2006). Optimising Learning and Education in Africa: The

language Factor: A stock-taking Research on Mother Tongue and

Bilingual Education in Sub-Saharan Africa.

• Alexander, N. (2003). The African Renaissance and the Use of

African Languages in Tertiary Education. PRAESA.

• Baker, C. & Hornberger N.H. (2001). An Introductory Reader to

the Writings of Jim Cummins.

• Benson, C. (2003). Mother Tongue Schooling for Pluralism and

Participation. Centre for Research on Bilingualism : Stockholm

University.

• Bickerton, D. (1990). Language and Species. University of

Chicago press : Chicago.

• Bickerton, D. (1981). The Roots of Language. Ann Arbor, Mich :

Karoma Publishers.

• Freinet, C. (1980). Les Techniques Freinet de l’Ecole Moderne.

Paris : Armand Colin.

• Freinet, C. (1969). Pour l’Ecole du Peuple. Paris : Maspero.

• Freire, P. & Macedo, D. (1987). Literacy: Reading the Word and

the World. London: Routledge & P. Kegan.

• Freire, P. (1972). Cultural Action for Freedom. Harmondsworth

: Penguin.

• Freire, P. (1972). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Harmondsworth

: Penguin.

• Freire, P. (1998). Teachers as Cultural Workers: Letters to Those

Who Dare Teach. Boulder, Colo : Westview Press.

-• Frew, M. (2003). Mauritian Creole in Seven Easy Lessons.

GRNW : LPT. Lalit, Program lor Langaz, 2nd Edition, Lalit de Klas

publications, 2004.

• Lalit (2006). Program lor Ledikasyon - Pu Enn Sistem Ledikasyon

Egaliter-Pu Enn Sosyete Egaliter. Lalit de Klas publications.

• Ledikasyon pu Travayer (1977). Kur Profeser. GRNW : LPT.

• Ledikasyon pu Travayer (1983). Alfa Ennbuk. GRNW : LPT.

• Ledikasyon pu Travayer (2007). Gid Profeser Literesi. GRNW :

LPT.

• Ledikasyon pu Travayer (2009). Kreol & Bhojpuri Lang Maternel.

GRNW : LPT.

• Ledikasyon pu Travayer. (2002). Langaz Kreol Zordi. GRNW : LPT.

• Ledikasyon pu Travayer-UNESCO (1992). 30 Folder lor

Alfabetizasyon. GRNW : LPT.

• Neill A.S. (1968). Summerhill. Harmondsworth : Pelican Books.

• Obanya, P. (2004). Learning In, With, and From the First

language. PRAESA.

• Ramdoyal, R. (1977). The Developmant of Education in

Mauritius, 1710-1976. Reduit : MIE.

• Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2000). Linguistic Genocide in Education,

or Worldwide Diversity and Human Rights. Mahwah, NJ :

Lawrence Erlbaum.

• Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2003). Eski Guvernman pe tuy Bhojpuri

& Kreol?–Zenosid lingwistik dan lekol ubyen diversite langaz?

GRNW : LPT.

• Wa Thiong’o, N. (1997). Decolonising the Mind-The Politics of

Language in African Literature. New Hampshire : Heinemann.

e dimann zelev dir seki zot panse lor seki sa artis la fi nn kree. Ena sertin konteni sesyon lor Guernica ki fi nn vinn bann poem. Nu osi servi desin artis Escher ki kontan zwe ar bann form ek perspektiv.

Abstract

Ledikasyon pu Travayer is an organization that has, over a 38-year period, created broad ideological and political pre-conditions for the Mauritian Kreol language to be able to begin, today, to thrive, while at the same time, collectively creating the material reality that has made this thriving possible. The paper will show how, through political and pre-political struggles – from forums, colloquiums, petitions and demonstrations to even an international hearing on the harm done to children by the suppression of the mother tongue in schools – Ledikasyon pu Travayer, together with its three or four ally-organizations, compelled the State to begin to recognise the written form of Kreol language. At the same time, we created the space for musicians, artists, writers and political activists to be able to use the Kreol language in their respective endeavour. We will also show how LPT went ahead and created and nurtured written Kreol, by publishing and printing in written Kreol. Written Kreol materials were also promoted through book fairs, launches, fi ve literary prizes (plus a sixth one jointly with Lenstiti Kreol Sesel), creative writing courses, readings and literary criticism. This approach, together with the actual production of material was linked with ongoing educational courses in Kreol that are at the heart of LPT’s mission. In this present text, we will briefl y outline the pedagogy we developed for six very different types of courses, namely Adult literacy teaching, Post-literacy teaching, Adult literacy teacher-training, How to Write Kreol, Kreol as a Foreign Language, & Creative Writing.

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Page 87: Editor's note · to the same language, Brück proposes a discussion of bimodal reference marking to wrap up the ‘creolistic’ part. Editor's note Choppy then opens up the part

About the authors…/ A propos des auteurs…Prof. Dany Adone: Dany Adone is Professor of Applied Linguistics in the Department of English Studies and Director of the Australian Studies Programme (Linguistics) at the University of Cologne. She is a visiting Professor at the Northern Institute, Charles Darwin University, Australia, and is also affi liated to AIATSIS, Australia, and to Lenstiti Kreol, Seychelles. She has served as President of the Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics. Her current research projects focus on the Acquisition of Creole Languages, and Linguistics of Sign Languages.

Mr Alain Ah Vee: Alain Ah Vee is a member of the Executive Committee of Ledikasyon pu Ttravayer (LPT). He has around 30 years of experience in adult education work, as literacy teacher and trainer in literacy teaching. He is involved in the running of courses on ‘How to write Kreol’ and ‘Kreol as a Foreign Language’. In 2003, he attended a Course on Mother Tongue-based Multi-lingual Education, organised by PRAESA, at the University of Cape Town. Alain has written numerous articles in English and Creole in Dorad Newspaper, Revi Lalit, and Rencontres (published by the Centre for Mauritian Studies at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute). He is also the editor of the book ‘Klas’, a collection of essays on class compiled by Lalit and published in 2009.

Ms Melanie Brück: Melanie Anna Brück studied Biology, English and Pedagogy at the University of Cologne, Germany, and the University of Manchester, UK. She is currently working as a research assistant at the Chair of Applied Linguistics (Prof. Dany Adone) at the Department of English, University of Cologne. In her PhD project she investigates multimodal reference marking in Kreol Seselwa, thus combining Gesture studies with Creolistics and Cultural Studies. Her fi eld work is being supported by the Lenstiti Kreol Enternasyonal and has been funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

Mrs Penda Choppy: Penda Choppy is a graduate of Leeds University, U.K., with a BA Honours in English. She is currently doing an M.A. research degree via distance learning with the University of Birmingham, U.K., in the fi eld of post-colonial literature. She has worked at the Creole Institute of Seychelles for the past 16 years and is currently its Chief Executive Offi cer. Penda has published several articles in the fi eld of Creole Studies and is the author and editor of several books in Seychelles

Kreol and English.

Dr Mats Deutschmann: Dr Deutschmann is Associate Professor at the Department of Language Studies at Umeå University, where he also teaches courses in Creolistics. Since 2011, when a partnership agreement between Umeå University and UniSey was signed, Mats has actively been working on language questions together with researchers and teachers at UniSey. His main research focus is on language attitudes, language planning in Creole-speaking contexts, and the role of Creole languages in education. His research interests in Creolistics date back to his childhood, which he spent in the Seychelles, where he also attended school.

Dr Guilhem Florigny: Guilhem Florigny est lecturer à l’Université de Maurice depuis janvier 2011. Lors de ses études en Sciences du langage à l’Université Paris-Ouest-Nanterre-La Défense, il a travaillé successivement sous la direction de Rémy Porquier et de Colette Noyau. C’est sous la direction de cette dernière qu’il a préparé sa thèse de doctorat portant sur l’acquisition du kreol morisien et du français par des enfants mauriciens. En 2010 à Paris, il a soutenu sa thèse, qu’il a obtenue avec mention « Très honorable » et félicitations du jury. Ses recherches actuelles portent sur l’acquisition du langage en milieu plurilingue et sur les représentations et usages des langues à l’école.

Mrs Astrid Gabel: Astrid Gabel holds a degree in English, History and Educational Sciences from the University of Cologne. Her fi nal thesis titled “Gaining Control – The Movement Theory of Control in the Minimalist Program” dealt with the syntactic analysis of control sentences. Currently, she is a research assistant associated with Prof. (Dr.) Dany Adone at the University of Cologne. She is working on her Ph.D. thesis about syntactic aspects of Kreol Seselwa. Her main research interests are Syntax, Minimalist Program, Pidgins and Creole Languages, as well as Language Contact.

Dr Fabrice Georger: Fabrice Georger est docteur en sciences du langage. Il s’intéresse particulièrement (mais pas exclusivement) à la cohabitation complexe du créole et des autres langues dans les espaces énonciatifs insulaires. Il a ouvert en 2003 la première classe bilingue créole/français à La Réunion. Il est aujourd’hui chargé de

mission dans le 1er degré, où il intervient sur les sujets concernant le créole réunionnais dans la formation continue des enseignants. Il souhaiterait participer et contribuer au rapprochement des recherches scientifi ques concernant les études créoles dans les îles de l’Océan Indien.

Dr Jimmy Harmon: Jimmy Harmon is Director of the Nelson Mandela Centre for African & Kreol Culture in Mauritius. He holds a PhD in Language Studies and Literacy from the University of the Western Cape, a Master in Educational Leadership from the Australian Catholic University and a Licence-ès-Lettres Modernes from the University of Reunion Island. His paper is a study that was part of his doctoral research. Fieldwork was conducted from 2010 to 2014. His research was located in heritage language studies and identity construction. It investigated the introduction of Kreol Morisien as an optional language in primary schools within the Republic of Mauritius.

Dr Mylène Lebon-Eyquem: Maître de conférences en Sciences du langage à l’Université de La Réunion depuis 2008, Mylène Lebon-Eyquem approfondit ses recherches sur les facteurs qui favorisent l’acquisition langagière en milieu créolophone. Elle travaille en partenariat avec des chercheurs de la zone océan indien (Maurice, Rodrigues, Seychelles, Madagascar), dont un projet AUF intitulé « Cultures familiales et scolaires, regards croisés d’enfants et d’adolescents » afi n de conduire des analyses comparatives dans ces différents espaces sur les politiques familiales et scolaires. Enfi n, elle conçoit des guides pédagogiques pour un enseignement du français selon les stratégies de convergence de L1 et L2, défi nies dans la didactique adaptée du français aux situations de créolophonie.

Mr Justin Zelime: Mr Zelime is a Lecturer in English at the University of Seychelles since January 2010. In September 2014, he received a position as a PhD student in language studies at Umea University, Sweden. His research project looks at the impact of English as a medium of instruction on the academic performance of second language learners at primary level in Seychelles. He is expected to complete his doctoral studies in September 2018. He also forms part of a group of lecturers working on a Palme Linneaus project with Umea University, as part of which educational exchanges of lecturers and students are organised between the University of Seychelles and Umea University.