806007430 LING 6301 Prof. V.

Youseff

Name: Hassan Basarally

ID: 806007430

Course Code and Name: LING 6302- The Sociolinguistics of West Indian Society and

Language

Assignment: 2- Write a clear rationale for the creation of a language policy for Tobago,

which in some ways is distinct from the language policy of Trinidad. Justify this in reality

of the separate histories, particularly the language histories of the two islands and the

different range of language varieties which the speakers of each island command. Briefly

elaborate a language education policy for each island.

Date due: 23/11/2010

Lecturer: Prof. V Youseff

Programme: MA English

Faculty: Humanities and Education

University: University of the West Indies

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Rationale for a separate language policy for Tobago.

Most nations today have a language policy; however, such policies may be official and

planned or unofficial. A policy involves making a judgement as to which varieties should be

taught and promoted and for which settings. A policy is not just comprised of what varieties are

to be promoted or restricted but beliefs about particular languages and seeks to modify a speech

community’s language attitudes and choices (Spolsky, 2152). In designing a language policy, the

first step is to study a speech community’s sociolinguistic history and behaviour. The Republic

of Trinidad and Tobago is a political entity comprising of the larger island of Trinidad and the

smaller one of Tobago. The language situation in the country has traditionally been viewed as

monolithic. However, this ignores the distinct political and language history of Tobago.

The first major difference between the islands is colonial history. Trinidad was settled by

the Spanish until 1797, and with it came significant French settlement. The island was then

conquered by and eventually ceded to Britain. Tobago changed hands many times, eventually

remaining under British control. The linguistic impact of this is that Trinidad had significant

linguistic input from the Spanish, French and British. The longer periods of different European

rule allowed enslaved Africans to be imported and the emerging Creole or Creoles having

different lexifing languages. Due to the large French migration to Trinidad, the first Creole

spoken was a French lexicon one followed by an English lexicon Creole (Youssef and James,

323). In Tobago, the only long term coloniser was Britain; hence the Creole that developed had

an exclusive English lexifier.

With British rule being firmly established, and the administration enacting a policy of

sole English use in public domain, there was a shift from the French lexicon Creole to a

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mesolectal English lexicon Creole in Trinidad. Tobago’s English lexicon Creole did not undergo

such a shift and remained basilectal. In addition, there was migration by many other groups to

Trinidad e.g. Indians, Chinese, Portuguese, Syrian/Lebanese etc., further adding to the

mesolectal Creole. Economic factors also differentiated Tobago, Trinidad became more

industrial and more children attended school where the mode of instruction was Standard

English. Tobago remained primarily agricultural in which less children attended school initially,

as they were required to assist in agricultural production.

There are also sociolinguistic factors that separate the two islands. The language attitudes

toward the mesolectal Trinidad English lexicon Creole, the basilectal Tobago English lexicon

Creole and Standard English vary. In Tobago there is a marked difference in the language

attitudes of the young and old. Youseff and James (326) found that younger Tobagonians value

the Trinidadian mesolectal while the older ones view it as “unstable”. The Trinidadian mesolect

is viewed by younger Tobagonians as associated with modernity and progress. There is also less

desire to learn Standard English or even view it with high regard as the older Tobagonians do. A

factor for not valuing the acrolect is the limited social mobility that it can bring in Tobago as

compared to Trinidad (Youseff, 185 a). This limited social mobility is seen in the shortage of

professional occupations available in Tobago. Many educated Tobagonians find better

opportunities in Trinidad or abroad.

A single language policy for Trinidad and Tobago will be insufficient in light of the

differences between both islands. The variety of prestige is different in both islands and even

different amongst age groups in Tobago. A different Creole is spoken in each island. The islands

have different socio-economic realities which affect language attitudes, particularly motivation

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to learn the acrolect and attitudes towards the mesolect. Hence, any linguistic behaviour to be

promoted or encouraged must take these specific factors into consideration.

A Separate Language Education Policy for Trinidad and Tobago

A language education policy is related to a general language policy. The language

education policy articulates the goals and attitudes of the language policy that is relevant to

education and is viewed as an extension of the language policy (Baldauf Jr., 84).

Situation Analysis

Trinidad: Trinidad has a mesolectal English lexicon Creole that is spoken by the majority

of students. As a result of migration in the twentieth century, there a small speech communities

e.g. Bhojpuri, Chinese, Arabic. The island has become a destination for TESOL (Teaching

English as a Second Language) learners, particularly from Latin America. The island has more

secondary and tertiary institutions and generally performs better in the CXC (Caribbean

Examinations Council) examinations in English language than Tobago.

Tobago: Tobago has a basilectal English lexicon Creole that is spoken by the majority of

students. The island is relatively monolingual with the acrolect spoken in certain situations by

‘educated’ Tobagonians. The limited educational and economic prospects demotivate students to

learn the acrolect and they shift towards the mesolectal Trinidadian variety. This is a major

reason for the island’s lower academic achievement in CXC English language.

Trinidad and Tobago: There are several constraints on the language learner in both

islands. Firstly, there has been the assumption that the students speak or understand English

despite them speaking Creole. As such, choice or textbooks, teaching strategies and teacher

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training and attitudes do not reflect that the majority of students are learning English as a second

language (Craig, 30 a). The classroom reality is that students, and in many cases teachers, use the

Creole in classroom interaction. Code-switching becomes a norm as the Creole and the acrolect

overlaps lexically and speakers command different segments of the perceived Creole continuum.

Policy Option:

Due to the linguistic situation on both islands a bidialectal or bilingual model is the only

suitable one. Trinidad and Tobago can also be described a varilingual (Youseff, 190 b), in which

a person can have competence in English and the Creole, full competence in one while partial

competence in the other, or limited competence in both. Therefore, even though there may be

multiple varieties available, there is varying competence is the variety that is spoken by the

learner. However, the extent of the bidialectalism needs to be stated. There is transitional

bilingualism where the first language is used to allow the child to adjust to the variety taught in

school. Monoliterate bilingualism involves aural-oral skills being taught on both languages but

literacy in the dominant one. Partial bilingualism has the dev elopement of literacy in the first

subject for specific situations but literacy in the dominant language is taught for a wider range

(Craig, 316 b). Finally, there is full bilingualism.

Amongst the factors that would affect such a policy are funding, teacher competency and

language attitudes. Governments may be hesitant to fund bidialectal programmes when the

existing monolingual ones are already expensive and barely meeting the students’ needs.

Teachers have not been adequately trained in such forms of education. In addition, society may

view education in the Creole as a step backward when Standard English is the target and has the

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prestige. There is also the problem of the Creoles in Trinidad and Tobago not being standardised,

hence, full bilingual education with it will be difficult.

In light of these factors the best option in the current sociolinguistic climate is Craig’s

second alternative (61 b) for both islands. In this proposal there will be oral use of the Creole.

English will be introduced from the beginning of schooling and the acquisition of reading and

writing is linked to the learning of English. This can be described as monoliterate bilingualism.

Policy Decision:

Trinidad

 A language education policy for Trinidad must recognise that the language situation in

multilingual.

 English is the official language.

 Trinidad English lexicon Creole is spoken by the majority of the population; however

there is the presence of several heritage languages on the island, e.g. Bhojpuri, Chinese,

Arabic, Trinidad French- lexicon Creole.

 Effort must be made to preserve these heritage languages.

Tobago

 A language policy for Tobago must recognise that the language situation is bilingual.

 English is the official language.

 Tobago English lexicon Creole is spoken by the majority of the population.

1. Language Learner :

Trinidad: The language learner in the Trinidadian language environment must develop

positive attitudes to the Creole and a motivation to learn the acrolect. Due to the lexical

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similarities between the Trinidadian Creole and English many learners assume that they

already speak the acrolect. Hence, students need to be aware of the differences between

both varieties.

Tobago: The language learner of Tobago today is mainly from the younger age group.

The learner must see the value of learning Standard English in light of English being a

global language. They must also feel ownership of English as they are amongst its users.

A change in attitude is necessary as studies have found that failure amongst Tobago

students have been attributed to “unavailing/discontinuous societal culture” (Youssef,

185).

Generally, the language learner falls into one of three profiles developed by Carrington;

those whose first language is English and have some competence in the vernacular, those

whose first language is a Creole or vernacular and those who learn English as a second

language and whose first language is a vernacular or Creole without an English lexical

base (Simmons-Mc-Donald, 43). The Trinidad and Tobago language learner falls in the

second category and therefore needs:

 Increased exposure to Standard English especially in its written and spoken forms.

 Greater opportunity to produce spoken English in the classroom.

 Clearly differentiate between the Creole and English

 Clearly differentiate how to determine which variety is most applicable to each

social situation.

2. Language Instruction:

Though the instructional needs of both islands may be similar in many ways some needs

are more applicable to each island.

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Trinidad:

 Provide adequate exposure to texts in English. With exposure, students will be able to

access idiom and utilise it in the classroom.

 Comparison of Creole and English structures. Students perceive the acrolect and the

mesolectal Creole to be the same due to lexicon.

 Use of role play to develop oral competency in English. There is a need for the

development of spoken competency in both islands. Devonish points out that

regardless of the skills in English skills acquired by the student, there is still difficulty

to “actively and creatively participate in any domain where spoken English is

required” (104).

Tobago:

 There must be a predetermination of what features of English the students 1. Know

and produce 2. Produce under stress 3. Understand in context and 4. Do not know.

E.g. subject verb concord, misuse of prepositions and possessives, confusion of

will/can and would/could.

 Motivation to use different dialects in the classroom.

 Provide opportunities for students to model the target language.

 Development of perception and production skills in English (Youseff, 191 b). This is

related to literacy as many students may understand Standard English text but cannot

respond to them.

3. Literacy and the Teacher:

Tobago:

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 Teachers must realise that they are the linguistic models for students. Students

emulate the speech produced by teachers. Many teachers do not have a firm command

of the English.

 Teacher Classroom Speech (TCS) (Youseff, 182) is not Standard English but an

interlanguage. This is what is produced by many teachers and in turn emulated by

students.

 There is a difference between skills in reading and writing and literacy. Functional

literacy still remains a problem.

 Teachers must be provided with pre service and in service courses in educational and

creole linguistics to prepare them for the classroom reality. In Tobago, where there is

a shortage of teacher training facilities, there must be moves to the establishment of a

teacher development centre on the island whose focus is the language needs of

Tobago students.

 Teachers should be appraised in language competence.

4. Assessment:

In classrooms there needs to be:

 Increased usage of formative assessment so that different language competencies

(reading, writing, speaking and listening) will be developed.

5. Society:

Trinidad and Tobago’s society must be informed of the actual linguistic situation and

encouraged to modify their language perceptions in the following ways:

 Parents must realise that students do not implicitly know English.

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 Society must realise that inclusion of the Creole in the classroom is a learning

strategy that utilises students’ previous knowledge and not a hindrance to learning

English.

 The attitude towards the Trinidadian mesolect in Tobago must change as it is a

variety spoken by many younger people and a sign of language change which is

inevitable.

Works Cited

Baldauf Jr., Richard B. “”Unplanned” Language Policy and Planning” Annual Review of
Applied Linguistics. 14 (1993/1994): 82-89 Web 5 Nov. 2010.
Craig, Dennis R. Teaching Language and Literacy: Policies and Procedures for Vernacular
Students. Georgetown: Educational and Developmental Services. 1995. Print
Craig, Dennis R. “Language Education Revisited in the Commonwealth Caribbean” Due
Respect: Papers on English and English related Creoles in Honour of Robert Le Page. Ed.
Pauline Christie. Kingston: UWI Press, 2001. Print
Craig, Dennis R. “Creole Languages and Primary Education.” Pidgin and Creole Linguistics. Ed.
Albert Valdman. Bloomington: Indiana U P, 1977. Print.
Devonish, Hubert. Language and liberation: Creole language politics in the Caribbean. London:
Karia Press, 1986. Print.
Spolsky, Bernard. Language Policy. Proc. of 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism, 2004,
Somerville: Cascadilla Press, 2005. Print
Youssef and James. “The creoles of Trinidad and Tobago: phonology.”Varieties of English: The
Americas and the Caribbean. Ed. Edgar W. Schneider. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 2008.
Print.
Youssef, Valerie. “Language and Education in Tobago”. The Languages of Tobago. Ed.
Winford James and Valerie Youseff. St. Augustine: School of Continuing
Studies UWI, 2002. Print
Youssef. Valerie. “Case Study Issues of Bilingual Education in the Caribbean: The Cases of
Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago” International Journal of Bilingual Education and
Bilingualism. 5.3 (2002): 182-193 Web 5 Nov. 2010.

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