Créole Progress Report

Learning a Language with Kelsey

  Step 1. Always listen

  Step 2. Make as many mistakes as possible—the sooner they get corrected, the sooner    you’re on your way to speaking bon Kreyol (good Creole)

Step 3. It’s ok to be very confused and in the dark most of the time at the beginning—you  will only be surprised by how much more you understand of what’s going on around you as you learn.

  Concept 1. Language is very important

  Concept 2. Don’t be alarmed that you understand everything being said as long as they are not talking to you; it’s only when they speak to you that you suddenly don’t understand anymore

  Advice 1. Learn the important things first: where’s the bathroom; I’m hungry; I’m thirsty; words of your favorite food; words that pertain to your job. Then branch out from there.

  Step 4. Take your time to learn—language is NOT something you can force yourself to learn. Your brain will only hold so much at a time. You have to abide by your limit

  Step 5. Body language is very important to help understanding: Gestures, facial expressions, hearing everything well—not until you understand a language well can you piece together a phrase that you only partially heard or reflect back on what is said and understand it after the fact.

  Step 6. Don’t be afraid of the weeks when you have set-backs and feel like you’ve never heard a word of Creole in your life

  Step 7. Phone conversations are a learning curve all its own, that will come with time

  Step 8. Repeat after people

  Concept 3. Don’t be offended by continual correction from native speakers. Yes it’s humbling but it’s worth it if you want to learn the language.

  Step 9. Try making up words—you might be surprised. If it’s a Latin based word, it probably works. If nothing else, say it in English and just add the right accent—it might just work!

  Advice 2. If you don’t know how to say something exactly, figure out another way you could say the same thing with words you know.

  Concept 4. Entertaining people with silly Creole is really fun—by silly Creole, I mean Creole I’ve made up and/or translated from English and it just doesn’t work in Creole.

  Concept 5. Don’t worry about the moments when people ask you if you speak Creole well or say you speak all of Creole and then suddenly you can’t understand anything.

  Concept 6. Don’t TRY to understand. Understanding will just happen.

  Concept 7. Each person speaks a bit differently and sometimes it’s like learning the language all over again, just getting used to how they sound when they speak. (there are still a few people I cannot understand no matter how much I listen to them).

  Step 10. Write words that you don’t think you’ll remember and keep them handy.

  Step 11. Repetition Repetition Repetition. Seriously. After maybe 8-10 times I’ll remember the proper way to say that one word or that phrase, etc.

  Step 12. Get ready for the revelations when a certain word clicks or a phrase pops out of someone’s mouth and you’re like “I was wondering how to say that!”

  Step 13. Don’t try to speak as fast as everyone around you; take your time to form the words in your mouth, etc. Speak slower and the phrases come out faster

  Concept 8. Language creates images—when one understands, one creates images from the words being spoken

  Concept 9. Sometimes, miscommunication is not a language problem

  Concept 10. It’s not as frustrating to speak English with someone when you know you can speak their language too.

  Concept 11. Overcome the intimidation you feel when someone speaks your language better than you speak theirs. Go ahead and speak Creole with them! Most of them prefer to speak Creole with you and are not comparing their language skills with yours.

  Concept 12. Little by little the darkness of non-understanding is lifted and you understand more and more of what’s going on around you, what is being said; Language is the key to the chest of understanding. Listen to what is being said, watch what is being done, perceive how those things work together, and you slowly put the puzzle pieces of a culture together.

Funny Faux Pas and reflections:

Cringlish is the language I claim to speak right now. This happens both when I’m speaking mainly Enlgish and when I’m speaking mainly Creole at any given moment. But now I’m at the point in my understanding of Creole that I understand most of what people say to me so I forget when I don’t know a particular word in Creole and throw an English word in for it’s substitute, they don’t really understand (usually the English word is the critical word of the phrase). Thankfully, there are enough English speaking Haitians around me that it’s not always a problem and they give me the correct Creole word.

I’m very grateful for my understanding students and friends who understand my silly Creole. They are very patient when I try to make things up or just plain can’t say anything.