Creole Explained

In this episode, I discuss neocolonialism and how this phenomenon leads Creole speakers to deny the value of-or even- the existence of their language. Jamaica is only one example of where this occurs.

This was inspired after a student of mine who recently immigrated became upset when her peers said they’d like to learn Patois(Jamaican Creole). He insisted that it was a “not a real

Language.”

Are there fake languages?

In this episode, I discuss South Louisiana's connection to the Latin world as well as my own personal connection to the Latin world, which has reinforced my Latin identity. Louisiana, particularly the southern portion, was once part of the Spanish empire. I explain how Louisiana and in particular Louisiana Creoles would NOT be the same if it weren't for the Spanish.

BOP IT.

Here, I contextualize Bounce music from New Orleans as an afro-creole genre that diverges quite a bit from its Rap predecessor... so much so that it bare a number of similarities with caribbean genres such as Dancehall (Jamaica), Dennery Segment Lucian Soca (Saint Lucia), and Bouyon (Dominica).

Regardless, Bounce Music is uniquely NOLA. It is one of a kind. It could have been only created given its intriguing cultural diversity.

I'm sorry for the long absence. My studies were getting intense, but I have returned with a new episode where I discuss

1. My mysterious 2nd great grandfather

2. Some genealogy tips, especially with dealing with endogamy.

Here I discuss learning French first vs learning Creole first. I also talk about anti-white agendas becoming anti-French at the expense of Creole heritage.

New Podcast? New Pet? New Content?

After over 3 years of searching, I finally found my 4th great grandfather baptism from nearly 200 years ago!

In this video, I react to Dr. Shirley Thompson's 2017 "Mon Cher Dupré"

The articles illuminates the complicated "love" story between the Louisiana Creole FWOC Marie Boulard and her husband John Dupré.

After Boulard dies, Dupré tries to tarnish her name and scam her kids using her "love" letters that she had written to him.

In this episode, I discuss the GG and where they are located. I also discuss the process of decreolization that the Gullah language has been experiencing for decades now. Because of decreolization, many GG people, even the in the rural islands, will not be found speaking a Creole that approaches the more basolect forms of English Creole found elsewhere. This has led a lot of people to believe that the Gullah language is essentially the decreolized form promoted online nowadays.

In this episode, I discuss how I take a realistic approach to my work, which can sometimes put me at odds with colleagues who take a more "idealistic," romanticized approach. Realism attracts me as a scientist because of its objectivity. I go by the evidence, not the feelings.

One unfortunate evidence-based opinion is Louisiana Creole is dying and is currently functioning dead.

I eventually talk about the bigotry in the community. Some Creoles have dismissed me even from professional groups because I have different views than they do. This is odd to me because it is contrary to the very ideals that many of these very individuals support such as diversity.

Is it right to have a diversity of gender, race, etc but not diversity of thought?

I was going to make this just a trailer but...yeah lol

PICS:

TOP

Left: The Gullah Woman cooking Rice (traditional staple) (Black Southern Bell @Pintrest)

Right: Mulatto woman(FWOC) with her enslaved person and her child in Barbados in 1770s (Agostino Brunias)

BOTTOM:

Left: Creole girls in likely Haiti (unknown artist)

Middle: Afro-Cuban woman with Creole headresss (La Cubana by Dumna Bank)

Right: Creole women in Louisiana (Frenchcreoles.com)

We often hear a lot of comparisons between Creoles and Cajuns. However, this discussion can get further complicated when we explore that the Creoles can be further divided by historical ethnic separations. At first, it was the Free People of Color vs the enslaved Black Francophones. After the civil war, the Free People of Color lost their distinction, as now everyone was free. Therefore, they needed something else to distinguish them- or at least they tried.

Photo Credits

Left: Marine Family of South Louisiana (Ancestry: Littlewhitejeep)

Right: Unidentified family of South Louisiana (FrenchCreoles.com)

Here I review some statistics and research limitations. I explain how AncestryDNA and company work to determine your ethnicity update. I also review the history to explore why matching with a cousin in Africa is very slim for the vast majority of Black Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, and Afro-Latinos.

I cite some of the numbers from thednageek.com. Dr. Leah Larkin and other contributing members have several cMs calculators and articles detailing the use of cMs in determining genetic relationships.

I do believe with the right tester, you can match with African cousins perhaps. That will be my research question if I get my grandfather to test.

Music:

Music: LAKEY INSPIRED - Chill Day" is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Music provided by BreakingCopyright:

• [Non Copyrighted ...

In this episode, Marc and Malala explore identity, race, and culture on the island nation of Madagascar.

Madagascar, like most Creole nations, is a former French colony. Yet, we see that the Malagasy a proximal relationship to "Creole" but maybe most do not identity as such.

ART: USC International Mission Photo Archives

Music: LAKEY INSPIRED - Chill Day" is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Music provided by BreakingCopyright:

• [Non Copyrighted ...

In Louisiana, the Creoles of Color tried hard to keep themselves isolated and distinct from a group that looked like them and sounded like them: The Black Francophone Freedman. Were the latter Creoles? Does this distinction even matter? Here I will explore a distinction included by the Creoles of Colore of Bayou Country novel.

White People mixed these two group up and historically wanted to avoid both of them at all cost. Many Americans would also confused and conflate these two groups into one. Yet, we must remember. Technically.....many of those black francophones were owned by Creoles of Color. So, is it shocking that the Creoles of Color did not want to mix with them?

Here I address the concept of Linguistic Reinforcement. Saint Lucia, a creole nation just south of Martinique, appears to be retaining its creole identity, especially from interactions with the French Creole island Martinique. Saint Lucia's sister island, Dominica, is just south of Guadeloupe. Creole culture and language appears to be reinforced in Dominica by interactions with Guadeloupe. Despite Dominica and Saint Lucia both being anglophone, a far greater portion of their populations speak Creole compared to that of Louisiana. Louisiana Creoles are farther away, yes, and have undergo repressive Americanization efforts. Yet, it appears many Louisiana Creoles are largely unaware of their Creole cousins around the world. Even more, it appears many of these Creole populations are unfortunately largely unaware who Louisiana even is and whether she even speak Creole...

Coucouuuu. Je voulais faire mon tout premier épisode en français depuis un moment.

Je vous explique le mouvement de revitalisation des langues... mourantes dans la Louisiane. Malheureusement, c'est ça.

Que de 2% de la population parlent français en Louisiane selon une étude 2022, ce qui représente moins de 85 000 locuteur . Le français était la langue maternelle de à peu près 500 000 louisianais en 1970. Quel changement hein.

Donc, il faut se demander maintenant, est-ce que l'état de la Louisiane est actuellement francophone? Est-elle actuellement créolophone? Ensuite, j'aimerais savoir pourquoi est-ce que les Créoles n'arrivent pas à se rendre compte qu'il s'agit d'une langue fonctionnement morte. Ceux qui mènent la revitalisation vaudraient mieux en assumer pour mieux viser leurs efforts.

Hey guys. So, I am starting a new part of my podcast where I make reaction episodes. These are meant to be funny and informal af. Please do not listen if you are gonna be sensitive....

Anyway, my 4th great grandmother really set herself up financially. It reminds me of a lot of the plaçage. Honestly, Joséphine could have very well been a placée! Either way, I support it. It was smart. Another example of how free woman of color played the hell out the system that was meant to hurt them !

In this episode, I discuss my 4th great grandmother, Joséphine DeGruy. She was born into slavery in Louisiana in 1814. She and her family were freed in 1818 when she was just 4 years old. Around 1840, she "married" a white man by the name of Jean Felix Breaux. They are seen together in the 1850 census with their children living in Iberville. My 4th great grandfather, Jean Felix Breaux, is listed as a white planter with thousands of dollars in real estate.

I also discuss how determined the identity of Josephine's mother, my 5th great grandmother!

Here I explained how I inadvertently obtained native-like fluency in French.

I am so happy It happened though. My great grandmother's native tongue.

Here I explore the unique white identifying Creole-speakers. Whites could have acquired some of the creole language while working along blacks during the reconstructive and post-reconstructive era. They also could have learned Creole from black caretakers (both enslaved and free). Yet, we also must consider that "Creole" , unlike the case in other former French areas, is not well distinguished from French in Louisiana. The two language exist on a continuum. This is interesting, because this sort of continuum only is usually seen in English Creoles, as noted by McWhorter.

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In this podcast, I describe how the cajun ethnicity formed when Acadains migrated to Louisiana and intermarried with the, already-present, Creole populations that were in the South Central Regions of Louisiana where they settled.

In this episode:

I discuss the complex linguistic context of Louisiana. In Louisiana, there are two languages that currently exist: Louisiana Regional French and Louisiana Creole. The lines are often blurred between the two languages. To further complicate things, many Creoles actually do not speak Creole, rather they speak something similar to Cajun French. Similarly, many Cajun-identifying Louisianans actually speak Creole and not Cajun French. I also explore why, unlike in many other Creole-speaking areas, there are so many white creoles in Louisiana. In a one study, 25% of Creole-speakers surveyed were white (Vladman & Klinger, 1997). Lastly, I share an audio clip of Laura melançon speaking Louisiana Creole. She explains that she grew up Creole, and that her husband always would make her speak "the only way" (Louisiana Creole Woman speaking Creole French*,Louisiana French Channel, Youtube).

*= I consider Creole French to be a misnomer. Louisiana Creole is the appropriate, contemporary term to refer to the language. Creole French implies that it's a type of French, which is linguistically false. French Creole is ok, as this would mean that is a French-based or French-lexified creole language (which is accurate for the linguistic variety to which we are referring here).

In this episode, I debunk the myth that Louisiana Creole derives from Haitian Creole. I cite excerpts from experience Creole scholars such as Sybil Kein. I also explain why Haitian Creole and Louisiana Creole have so many similarities. Enjoy!

Hi, everyone! This is Marc of Creole Explained on Youtube. I figured I wanted to do the podcast-style a bit more, because it is easier for me and perhaps for you all as listeners. Here I discuss some of the goals of this podcast.