“Kreyòl, or Haitian Creole, is the major language of Haiti, spoken by nearly all the 10,000,000 people who live there, plus those in the widespread Haitian diaspora. Its vocabulary (but not the grammar) is primarily based on 18th-century French, with admixtures from African languages, English, and others. Although it is now an official language of Haiti, it has historically had second-class status to French, which was spoken only by the elite and educated, Kreyol being spoken by everyone else. Likely because its use was (and still is) strongly related to social class, the first texts in Kreyol did not appear until the 1920's; orthography (spelling) was finally standardized in 1979.”
The above is from the Book of Common Prayer (Episcopal)
My husband doesn’t speak Creole, French, or Spanish, but by the time his students graduate from Institution Univers located in Ouanaminthe, Haiti, they know those plus English. Usually a senior is appointment to translate for him, although most of the students can understand, if not speak, English.
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