Author: John Robert Lee
EMANCIPATION LECTURES A SUCCESS
The Folk Research Centre and the Cultural Development Foundation, organizers of the annual Emancipation Lectures, are thanking all those who made this year’s lecture series a success. The three lectures, held in Castries, Laborie and Gros Islet from August 3rd to 5th, were very well attended.
The theme of this year’s activities was “Lanng Manman Nou: language issues in Saint Lucia.” Speakers were Dr. Martha Isaac, Ms. Celeste Burton and Dr. Kentry JnPierre. The Ministry of Education and Culture gave their full support to the event and all lectures were attended by Senator Gaspard Charlemagne, Minister responsible for Culture in the Ministry of Education and Culture. In Gros Islet, which is celebrating 25 years of its township status, the audience was addressed by Parliamentary representative Hon. Leonard Montoute.
All the lectures examined the language situation in St. Lucia and reviewed the work done over the past thirty years to clarify and regularize the place of Kwéyòl . While the FRC has led the development of a writing system (orthography) for the local creole or patwa, the language of the majority of St. Lucians still holds no official place in the society.
The lectures also considered the establishment of a Language Commission that would work with the Ministry of Education and Culture and other relevant parties to make recommendations regarding the official status of Kwéyòl, and its place in education and other sectors. Alongside this the Commission would examine the larger language situation including the place of other languages like French and Spanish. The FRC hopes that some form of the Commission would be established during this year’s Creole Heritage Month in October. Similar Commissions have been created in Jamaica, Curacao and Seychelles where local creoles exist alongside the formal, official languages.
All the lecturers are St. Lucians and experts in the field. The large audiences were responsive to the issues raised and made valuable contributions to the ongoing discussions. The FRC is preparing the lectures for broadcasts on local radio and television stations.
