The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
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FEATURES Vol/53 No/3 2014 JUNE/JULY The Linguist 11 they did not master. It engendered frustration among teachers, who were not always fluent in the language of instruction, particularly in schools in less affluent parts of the country. It left parents at a loss, unable to supervise their children's homework. Along with instruction in French came educational materials from France, which were not adapted culturally and otherwise to the reality for Haitian children. As a result, the system produced ill-prepared students. The Haitian elite was affected to a much lesser extent, as they tended to speak Creole and French interchangeably. This bilingualism landed them the best jobs and better exposure on the global stage. Excluding Haitians The social divisions between a small elite that is overwhelmingly mixed race, white and Arab, and a majority that is overwhelmingly black and mostly creolophone, were very apparent during the rescue and reconstruction efforts. When I asked Roberte, a trained (Creole/Fr/Eng) interpreter, whether there had been an increase in her volume of work following the earthquake, she replied: 'The number of Haiti-related assignments increased only in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. On several assignments, Haitian interpreters were specifically asked to cover meetings or conferences related to the rescue and reconstruction efforts… However, the language requested was often French.' Sometimes the term 'French Creole' was used. 'I knew they meant Haitian Creole. I also knew that the requester did not know that Haitian Creole was a full-fledged language, and had to be educated about it,' she adds. 'I often found myself in the role of explaining that it was important to know what type of audience would attend – their social class, the expectations of the client – so as to provide what the client wanted, namely interpretation in French or in Creole.' The challenges were many. Roberte is a Haitian-American and lives in the United States. To keep her knowledge of the language current, she consults with Haitian linguists and interpreters. 'Some of the prominent linguists, translators and interpreters I usually consult with in Port-au- Prince when I find myself in a linguistic glitch, had died in the earthquake. So, I was at a loss for words on many levels,' she says. 'I also dealt with clients from international institutions who insisted on having French interpretation so that donors could participate, while the people concerned – who were also participating in the meeting – spoke Creole and had only limited knowledge of French. I sometimes felt that the donors and experts could communicate with each other in European languages quite well, in a way that many Haitian recipients of international assistance could not.' In the film Fatal Assistance, filmmaker Raoul Peck tackles this issue. In one of the scenes, a young French-speaking volunteer addresses a crowd of frustrated Haitians, still living in tents two years after the earthquake and wondering about the promised housing. The volunteer speaks in French, a language they vaguely understand. While she senses their anger and frustration over their predicament, she misses 'The patient was dying and there were too many doctors around, not communicating with him' DESTRUCTION A United Nation food drop following the earthquake (left); a restaurant survives between damaged buildings in Port-au-Prince (top); and an entire village is destroyed (above) RESCUE EFFORT Soldiers from the French Army try to bring survivors to safety DGEORGESJR, 'H AITI EARTHQUAKE', 14/1/10 VIA FLICKR(CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) CLINDBERG, 15/1/10 VIA FLICKR (CC BY 2.0) ROOSEWELT PINHEIRO/A BR, 14/1/10 VIA WIKIPEDIA (CC BY 3.0 BR)