Language Landscape in Haiti

Video Transcript

Haitians are proud of their culture and language. I'm noticing now that speaking French to a Haitian is kind of offensive. And I think it's because of the background and perception of it. If you spoke French that means you were of the elite, educated, upper class, and that's not highly looked upon now. But growing up, like I said, I was taught that French is the proper way to speak to people and Creole was more like [the] familiar, colloquial way of talking.

In this video, a Haitian American distinguishes Haitian Creole from French.