Dem wod mo saf"": Materials for reading Creole English

Abstract

As part of a study that sought ways to improve the language arts educational experience for Grenadian children, an anthropologist investigated how Carriacou Creole English (CCE) reading materials could be provided and how these children would react to them. CCE is the native language of the inhabitants of Carriacou. The anthropologist rejected traditional orthography and eye dialect in favour of a morphophonemic spelling system for CCE that would really make it look like a different language. The first exposure the children had to their native language in written form was a primer that used simple line drawings to illustrate sample words. Various language experience texts were gathered from the children and used in the classroom. At the end of the first term, stories and other texts were collected into a reader. The orthography worked well with children who were already literate CCE speakers. The enjoyment demonstrated by the children as they read their native language suggests that reading CCE would enhance the language arts programme in Creole-speaking territories by making schooling a more positive experience for them