Kisa yo pè a? `What are they afraid of?’

On February 21, 2024, I was invited to deliver a speech at an event organized by the Ambassor of Bangladesh to the Netherlands and Leiden University in commmemoration of the International Mother Language Day. Below is that speech, which was originally delivered in Martinican Creole, along with a translation in English.

Original text

Jodi-a sé an bel jou. Tout aliwon latè, moun ka fété jounen entewnasional lang matewnel. Adan jounen-tala, moun toupatou ka sélébré divèwsité lengwistik. Men adan sé 7000 lang-lan moun ka palé aliwon latè, ni bon tibwen ki an danjé, ki pé disparet nenpot ki lè. Adan ti kozé mwen an, sa man lé fè sé katjilé épi zot anlè sitiyasion krabik tala. Pou fè sa, man ka pwpozé zot ki nou pran egzanp Matinik. Matinik sé an an ti lilet adan Lakarayib. An 1635, an tan l’Éwop koumansé kolonizé latè, sé Fransé-a kolonizé ti péyi-tala. Adan an ayen tan, yo chayé nonm ek fanm sòti an Afrik mennen yo travay kon esklav adan plantasion yo. Sé nonm ek sé fanm-tala té ka sòti dives koté an Afrik, kivédi yo té ka palé dives kalté lang. Mé divèwsité-tala té ka fè sé esklavajis-la pè, davwè yo té pè sé esklav-la lévé gawoulé ek yo ped pouwa-yo. Alò yo anpéché sé esklav-la palé lang-yo, ek sé yann di sé rézon-an ki fè si kréyol-la net. Goumen yo té ka goumen kont ladivèwsité pa anpéché ladivèwsité viré lévé. Apré lesklavaj-la, sé sistem kolonialis la ki pran plas-li. Mé sistem-tala té bazé anlès rasizm. Alò an zié sé kolonialis-la, kréyol-la pa té an vré lang, kon sé neg ki té ka palé’y. Mé, pli gran trajédi kolonializm-lan sé ki sé kréyolopal-la yo menm koumansé tiré mépri anlè kréyol-la. Yo té ka konsidéré ki fransé-a té ni plis valè, kidonk yo té ka fè ansot ki yich yo palé fwansé, pasé kréyol. Menm si sa pa rivé tjwé kréyol-la, jòdi-a, nou ka wè mwens an mwens moun ka palé’y. Kidonk ou pé pa di si an jou i pé pa disparet. Mé si ou bien katjilé, es nou pé vréman blamé sé kréyolopal-la pou sitiyasion-tala? Chwa-yo sé an chwa rasionel. Adan sistem ékonomik tala, tout lang pa ni menm valè. Adan ka Matinik, sé lang fransé ki ni plis valè. Sé li ki ka pewmet moun trapé lé méyè travay. Kidonk sa fok nou sé éséyé konprann sé poutji sistem-lan pa ka rikonnet valè tout lang. Lè nou ka bien katjilé, sé menm bagay-la nou ka wè. Sé pè yo pè. Pè di ped pouvwa-yo kon an tan lesklavaj. Jòdi-a, kolonializm sipozéman bout atè Matinik, men ayen pa vréman chanjé. Pa menm ni an lanné di sa, otorité lokal Matinik pran désizion ba kréyol-la stati an lang ofisiel pou mété’y kantékant épi fransé-a. Lè sa fet, prèmié bagay ki rivé, sé ki ni dé serten gwo-tjap Matinik ki lévé goumen kont sa pas, an lespri yo, sé lékonomi tou sel ki ka konté. An plis di sa, léta fransé pòté plent kont otorité Matinik pas yo di sé an désizion ki té ka pa té ka respekté konstitision la Frans. Kidonk ayen pa ka chanjé dépi an tan lesklava. Jik alè, nou ka wè ki dépi léta fransé, dépi lé gwo-tjap Matinik, yo tout pè wè kréyol-la pran fòs, davwè si kréyol-la pran fòs, sé lé kréyolopal ki ka pran fos tou. Kidonk, jik alè la divèwsité ka fè yo pè, pas yo pè ped pouvwa-yo. An réyalité, sa ki ka fet Matinik ka fet tout aliwon latè. Nou ka viv anlè fondas an sistem kolonialis ki poko toutafetman mò. Jik alè ladivèwsité ka fè moun pè. Divèwsité lengwistik kon tout model divèwsité. Mé, si jòdi-a, nou ka sanblé pou sélébré jounen entewnasional lang matewnel, man ka pansé sé pas nou pa pè ladivèwsité ankò. Ek pou mwen, aprésié divèwsité lengwistik, sé prèmié pa anlè chimen-an pou an monn ki plis jis. Ek sa sé pa an bagay ki pou fè nou pè.

Translation

Today is a beautiful day. All over the world, people are celebrating the International Mother Language Day. On this day, people all over the word are honoring linguistic diversity. But, of the 7000 languages that are spoken in the world, many are endangered and could disappear at any time. In this short talk, what I would like to do is to reflect with you on this dire situation. In order to do so, I will focus on the case of Martinique. Martinique is a small island in the Caribbean. In 1635, at the time when Europe started colonizing the world, the French colonized this country. Very shortly thereafter, they brought in African men and women, enslaved them and forced them to work on their plantations. These men and women came from diverse places in Africa and were, therefore, speakers of diverse languages. But this diversity scared the slave owners, because they were afraid that the slaves would revolt and that they would then lose their grip on power. This is why they forbade them to speak their native languages and that is one of the reasons why Martinican Creole emerged. Their fight against diversity did not prevent diversity from emerging. After slavery was done, it was superseded by the colonial system. This was a system based on racism. Thus, in the eyes of the colonialist, Martinican Creole was not a true language because it was spoken by Black people. Yet, the biggest tragedy of colonialism is that the Creole speakers themselves came to spite their own language. They considered French to be superior, so they ensured that their children would speak French, rather than Creole. Even though this did not kill the language, today there are fewer and fewer people who speak Martinican Creole. So it may very well be that one day it could disappear. But, if you really think hard about it, can we really blame the Creole speakers for this situation? Their choice was a rational one. Under the present economic system, not all languages have the same worth. In the Martinican case, it is French which has the greater worth. It is the language which offers the best work opportunities. Therefore, what we need to understand is why this system does not recognize the value of all languages. Careful inquiry shows that it is the same as before. They are afraid. Afraid of losing their grip on power as in the days of slavery. Today, colonialism is supposedly done in Martinique, but not much has changed. Less than a year ago, the local authorities decided to grant Martinican Creole official status. When this occurred, the first thing that happened is that some of the local bourgeoisie fought against this decision, claiming that only the economy mattered. On top of that, the French government took legal action against this decision on the grounds that it violated the French Constitution. So it would appear that not much has changed since the days of slavery. To this day, they, be it the local bourgeoisie or the French government, are still afraid of Creole gaining ground, because it would also mean the empowerment of its speakers. To this day, then, they are still afraid of diversity, linguistic or otherwise. In fact, what is happening in the Martinique is happening all over the world. We live on the foundation of a colonial system which still has some life in it. Today, there are people who are still afraid of diversity, linguistic or otherwise. But, if we are gathered today to celebrate the International Mother Language Day, I believe that it is because we are no longer afraid of diversity. And I also believe that the appreciation of linguistic diversity is the first step on a journey toward a fairer world. And that is something that we should not be afraid of.