Language Policy: Trinidad and Tobago
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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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806007430 LING 6301 Prof. V. Youseff
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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806007430 LING 6301 Prof. V. Youseff
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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806007430 LING 6301 Prof. V. Youseff
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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806007430 LING 6301 Prof. V. Youseff
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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806007430 LING 6301 Prof. V. Youseff
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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806007430 LING 6301 Prof. V. Youseff
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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806007430 LING 6301 Prof. V. Youseff
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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806007430 LING 6301 Prof. V. Youseff
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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806007430 LING 6301 Prof. V. Youseff
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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