Akorbi Explains the Linguistic Differences Between French and Haitian Creole

October 2, 2018
4:05 pm

There are so many unique and interesting languages in the world, and we believe these fascinating languages deserve to be celebrated! One of these languages is Haitian Creole. Though derived from French, it is vastly different in many ways. Its unique origins and distinctive evolution from the original French make Haitian Creole a very interesting language to learn more about. Akorbi explains the development and history of Creole as well as the way in which it is unique on the world stage. Related Post: Staffing Solutions: Common Languages in Different Regions

The Origins of Haitian Creole

Throughout much of modern world history, France was a dominant colonial power. They colonized many places in Africa, the Caribbean, and even North America. In each of these places, the French imposed their language and culture on the people they encountered. One of these places was the island of Saint Domingue, which is known as Haiti today. Haitian Creole was born as a result of the interactions between the African slaves and the French slave owners. The slaves were only taught basic French. But they took what they were taught and created their own version of French through a combination of what they learned and listening to others speak French. In addition to French, Haitian Creole also has influences from Spanish, English, Portuguese, and West African languages. It was not declared a national language alongside French until The Constitution of 1987. Though both French and Haitian Creole are the official languages of Haiti, Haitian Creole is the only language that all Haitians hold in common with one another.

The Differences

The differences between French and Haitian Creole center mostly around the grammar of both languages. For instance, in Haitian Creole, you don’t conjugate verbs as you do in French. Tense is understood based on the presence or absence of specific tense markers that precede the verb. About 90 percent of the vocabulary is the same, but many of the cognate terms have different meanings in French and Haitian Creole. Related Post: Akorbi Explains: How Romance Languages Dominated the West

Choose Akorbi!

We’re incredibly proud of our fantastic interpreters and translators at Akorbi. We’re also proud of how many languages we offer (more than 170!) for both interpretation and translation. One thing that makes Akorbi stand out is that we have team members who speak Haitian Creole fluently and work in the language. Another thing that makes Akorbi such a great company to use for interpretation and translation is that all of our translators are native speakers of the language they are working with. With any language, that is important, and Haitian Creole is no exception to this rule. Though in some ways similar to French, a French speaker would not be able to translate Haitian Creole because of all of the cognate terms. If need a translation or interpretation for Haitian Creole, Akorbi is just the company you need. We take great pride in our staff of translators and are confident we will be able to help you! Contact Akorbi or call 1-877-4-AKORBI today!

French, Haitian Creole, Linguistic History

Share this post: