0:00:02.452,0:00:04.682 Hi guys. 0:00:04.682,0:00:05.872 (sigh) 0:00:05.872,0:00:09.872 This is a response to my video "Les [br]consequences du Francais en Haiti" 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 which I did it in French talking about the[br]consequences of French in Haiti. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I published this in April and I have the [br]link to it up here and down there 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 in my description box. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I got some really strong reactions to [br]that post and it seems like I really hit a 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 nerve for some people so I'm dedicating[br]this week's message to response and debunk 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the prevalent counter arguments I received 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Here are the main points I made [br]in that video: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "French hinders comunication in [br]self-expression among Haitians 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It divides the Haitian population and[br]fosters an inferiority complex for the 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 majority of the population. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Haitions sustitute someone's ability to [br]muster a few words in French for wisdom or 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 intelligence.Haitions fail to realize that[br]what they are seeing is more important 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 than the language they used to say in. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And lastly, Haitians by and large cannot [br]speak French. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 These are fairly common and well-known[br]issues I presented to support my proposal 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 of eliminating French as one of the two[br]official languages of Haiti. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But many didn't want to hear it and here [br]are some of the responses that I want to 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 address. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The first one is that the problem of Haiti[br]is one of education not of language. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Here is my issue with that point. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Everyone knows that the state of education[br]in Haiti is dire, that has always been the 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 case in Haiti but have you stopped to [br]think that language is the basis of 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 learning and education, so if you are [br]attempting to teach in a language that is 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 cumbersome, unnatural and foreign to kids[br]then you keep them at a disadvantage. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The medium that allows you to communicate[br]the knowledge you are attempting to pass 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 on is extremely relevant. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 My experience as a student in Haiti was[br]that many of my teachers were not fluent 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 in French, far from. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So yes, there is an educational crisis in[br]Haiti and this isn't breaking news to 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 anyone. But the fact that we are insisting[br]on sticking to French as the academic 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 language is to our own detriment. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It is pedagogically impractical and [br]frankly at this point pretty irresponsible 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The other thing people say that kind of [br]goes along with the lack of education 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 argument is that well, we shouldn't just [br]limit our kids to Creole we should teach 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 them French, Spanish, German, Italian, [br]everything. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Ok, well, do I want our kids to learn [br]multiple languages? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Of course. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I would like every little Haitian out [br]there to know as many languages as the 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 human brain can retain and my argument has[br]never been to eradicate French from 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Haitian schools but rather to repeal its[br]status as an official language of the 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 of Haiti and instead prioritize Creole [br]which is the language that every last 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Haitian speaks. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Luxembourg has 3 official languages. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 One of them I'm sure most of people have [br]never heard of, it's called Luxembourgish 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and it is the language that is indigenous[br]to its people, the language of the heart 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 for them so to speak. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Even though, not many people outside of [br]Luxembourg use it, that is the language 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that kids are taught in the first year of [br]primary school before switching to German 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and then French. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And proficiency and all three of their[br]official languages is required for 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 graduation from secondary school. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Now as you can see they are somehow able [br]to pull off a 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 trilingual educational system to go along[br]with the fact that they have 3 offical 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 languages meaning their important [br]legislature, and official national affairs 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 are recorded and reported steadily in all[br]3 of these languages, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 even the one that we've never heard of. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 What's the point of this little sidebar? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Well, it isn't a sidebar at all. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It is to answer to the people who would[br]rather say: let's just teach our Haitian 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 kids every language on the planet instead [br]of focusing on teaching them in their 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 primary language, Creole. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 A language that is said to be official in[br]our country yet all the important business 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 political, professional and administrative[br]dealings are not recorded or reported 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 in Creole. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Over the years, when nationally elected[br]officials address the population, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 they deliver speeches in French and all [br]while everyone knows that Creole 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is the language. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Creole is constitutionally one of our [br]official language but that's only"a L'oral 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 like people say, meaning it's only [br]something we say. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Have we even tried to apply it in that[br]capacity? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Have we even tried before we start crying[br]how it is unsustainable as a global means 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 of communication for our children? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 What kills me is that these people [br]objecting so passionately against the 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 removal of French are the first to boast [br]that we defeated French in 1804 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and that's the one thing from which they[br]derive Haitian pride, yet they don't 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 realize that they are perpetuating [br]oppression, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 holding stubbornly onto the language and [br]the ways of the French at the expense of 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 their own culture. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 For those of you telling me that back in[br]the days, you and your friends used to 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 speak French, that's like me say every [br]Haitian speaks English because my friends 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I speak it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 That doesn't mean anything. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If you look at the data, education has [br]always been a privilege reserved for the 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 very few in Haiti and only the educated[br]can manage to speak a little French in 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Haiti ergo. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Certain people's experiences back in the [br]day when things were a little bit better 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 for some doesn't demonstrate that at some[br]point French worked in Haiti. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It never did and never will. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Now, the other argument I got quite a bit [br]is that we can't get rid of French 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 because we need something to keep us [br]connected to the rest of the world and 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 people were also saying that having a [br]Creole take-over 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 now would set us back because we would [br]have to start from scratch 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 since Creole is such an unformulated[br]language. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Ok, first of all, I hate to break it to [br]you but the world has left Haiti behind 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a long time ago, and it's not just because[br]our people don't speak French, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it's because we have not invested or[br]educated our people. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Speaking French is not what's going to get[br]connected or keep us connected to the 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 world because we don't need French to[br]facilitate international exchanges 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and to implement French as a language of[br]the Haitian people would require the same 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 effort as to implement any other language[br]outside of Creole. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 With Creole we have an advantage, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that's our mother tongue, we already [br]speak it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 We have to make the distinction: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 To teach French is not the same as [br]educating our people. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Here in the USA, everyone speaks the same[br]language, yet you will see that an 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 uneducated person cannot articulate or[br]express themselves. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The reason why our Creole-speaking masses[br]sound uneducated oftentimes 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is because they are uneducated,not because[br]they are speaking Creole. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 However, French can make a smart and [br]educated Haitian sound stupid 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And a stupid Haitian who can remember [br]their French vocab and grammar rules is 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 oftentimes reveal and considered smart,no[br]matter how dimwitted they might be. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 There is something really wrong with this[br]picture. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I was lucky enough to listen to Maurice[br]Sixto at a young age and discovered how 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 he was able to claim such profound, [br]culturally relevant,poetic and educational 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 stories in Creole. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 He was well spoken and most importantly[br]Haitians could understand and truly 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 connect with the deeper meaning of what[br]he was sharing. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Back then, he wielded the Creole language,[br]which some attempt to devoid of all 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 virtues, brilliantly, because he was [br]educated. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 He was able to use his imagination and[br]talent to enrich the language. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Had there been more of an encouragement[br]for self-expression in Creole and Haiti 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and respect for the language, no doubt, it[br]would be at a more refined stage today. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 That's what happened when something is [br]yours, when you care about something, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you work at it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 That's your responsibility. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You don't just sit and say it will never [br]work because the languages that are so 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 sophisticated today weren't always that[br]way; 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 people developed them, people made them[br]great. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 They didn't just sit and say let's adopt[br]another language that's already developed 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to help us assimilate and sound educated. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 That being said, I appreciate that fact [br]that we need to equip our children with 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the tools to compete on a global level 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and that includes language skills 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but that doesn't preclude us from [br]strengthening and valuing our own language 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 in our own country and taking advantage of[br]it to educate our children. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Keeping that in mind, if I had to choose [br]the second mandatory language for the 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 education in Haiti, for our kids to know [br]inside and out, it would definitely not 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 be French because in today's world, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 French is struggling to remain revelant. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 That has been the trend for some time now,[br]you can check out the links to a few 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 articles I posted to support that [br]statement in the description box. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Listen my Haitian people, generally [br]speaking, we don't speak French, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 me included, and here are the reasons why. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Speaking a language is not about knowing[br]some of the grammar or being able to read 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and write or understand it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It's about living the language, hearing it[br]and feeling it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I know some kids who were tragically[br]forbidden by their parents in Haiti to 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 utter of a word of Creole growing up in [br]Haiti, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 yet they still didn't speak French what [br]they did was essentially translate Creole 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 phrases into French like for example 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "envoie les yeux pour moi s'il te plait"[br](true story) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Now, is it grammatically correct, sure,[br]is it French? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I'll leave that up to you to decide. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Of course you can interact very well with [br]a native French speaker but communicating 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 successfully to another Haitian in French[br]is much harder. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Short of constantly immersing ourselves in[br]French in the French culture through up to 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 date literature, cinema, or other creative[br]work, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 we really cannot keep up with the language 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So yeah, we don't speak French and it's ok[br]it's not the end of the world. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 What's not ok is people, my people, not 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 capable of rationally debating a critical [br]issues in our Haitian society. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 People who will tell me "well why aren't[br]you speaking Creole?" 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 meanwhile their kids probably don't speak[br]a lick of Creole let alone the French that 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 they are so loudly and mindlessly [br]defending, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 people who are blinded by their bias. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I said it in my other video and I'll [br]repeat it now. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I love the French language. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 My favourite recording artist this season[br]is actually Belgian. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I am so grateful that I was afforded the[br]opportunity to learn French. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Many Haitians don't get that opportunity. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And I will pass on as much appreciation[br]for French to my kids as I can because the 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 issue is not and has never been the[br]language; the issue is the many Haitian 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 people who simply refuse to wake up. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Once again, my name is Marli, I am a Haiti[br]hope ambassador and Wake up Haitians, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 seriously.