Pidgins and Creoles: Issues for Development
Discuss the arguments for and against having primary and/or secondary education through the medium of a specific pidgin or creole (for example Tok Pisin or Sranan).
Make sure you are clear about who would benefit or be disadvantaged in each case.
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January 31, 2008 at 8:00 pm
The first thing that came into my mind was the fact that it is, of course, much easier for the children to learn and understand things if they are explained in their native (creole) language. However, I do not know if the ease of learning should be crucial for deciding whether education through the medium of a pidgin or a creole is reasonable or not. The question for me is if an education on a high level is possible through a creole at all because I do not know if these languages possess words for describing e.g. mathematical or biological processes. If they do not have terms for such things, they will possibly be invented in schools and then standardized. This would mean that a creole’s vocabulary would expand and become more specific.
Maybe the usage in school will also enhance the prestige of a pidgin/creole since a language used in school is regarded as the official language of a country.
February 1, 2008 at 12:19 pm
When a creole has been established in a society, this should be seen as an indicator for a certain degree of social stability of a community. I think this community then has the need for a common language, so it would be of great advantage for all members of this community to learn the creole. Having this creole as a common language would then also contribute to the stability of this community.
In other communities, which have not reached this stability but are multilingual due to a plurality of ethnic groups, it could be of great advantage to learn the needed pidgins as secondary languages in order to make communication possible between as muc different groups as possible.
Keeping languages alive by teaching them in school as a secondary language can also help to create and stabilize a certain kind of group identity, as can be seen in the Republic of Ireland where children grow up with Gaelic as a second language. Although Gaelic is neither a pidgin nor a creole, one can detect the same mechanisms of identity through language, which are certainly true for pidgins and creoles as well.
February 2, 2008 at 5:56 pm
In my opinion a pidgin could never be used as a medium of education, because it is impossible to give grammar lessons etc. at different schools in a language which is not determined by a norm. On the contrary a non-varying creole could be suitable.
The creole as a medium of education is an advantage for the pupils who communicate with their families at home in the creole. It is proved that children learning in the creole, they use at home, can develop linguistic and cultural “sense” more easily and quickly.
Some disadvantages arise in a global context. If pupils were made to use the creole as a medium of teaching, other languages, e.g. the former superstrate, would be more treated as a foreign language. The effect is that less people could speak it then properly. Here occurs the great danger of isolation. Other countries may perhaps have learned the former superstate of the “creole-education-community” as a foreign language, but certainly not the creole. Especially in terms of trade and foreign policy this community would suffer disadvantages.
Another point is the status of the creole and the staff teaching it. As already mentioned, the creole would have to be expanded. You need new learning material and teachers who are specailised on the creole.
All in all, a creole as a medium of education supports the forming of a cultural identity and the pupils don’t need to switch their code during the day. Globally seen, teaching in a creole could be a great disadvantage for external relations. Considering the advancing globalisation this might be the most important point and so I don’t consider it advisible to make a creole the medium of education.
February 10, 2008 at 3:54 pm
In my opinion a creole could be used as a medium of education. During the first years in school, it would be much easier for pupils to learn if they were taught in the language they speak at home. They wouldn´t have to switch between different languages at one day. Explaning grammatical rules, for example, would be much easier in a creole. In natural sciences, like chemistry, there might be some complications, because technical terms might be missing. But these terms could be invented, so natural sciences could also be taught in the creole. This also leads to the stabilization and expansion of the creole. So using a creole as a medium of education would also be an advantage for the creole itself. And of course for the puplis, who can be tought in their native language.