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3 - Language Ideologies and the Creole Context

from Part I - Theoretical Background and Setting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2025

Britta Schneider
Affiliation:
European University Viadrina
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Summary

This chapter examines language ideologies in the context of creole linguistics and in the Caribbean. Creole linguistics offers critical insights into how languages are socially constructed. Traditional debates in creole linguistics have often framed creoles as ‘simpler’ or structurally distinct from other languages, reflecting Western biases. Other approaches challenge these views and underline the fluidity and variability of creole languages. In the second part, the chapter examines language attitudes and ideologies in creole-speaking societies, focusing on the Caribbean in general and Belize. Creole languages function as symbols of solidarity and belonging. In Belize, the rise of Kriol’s prestige reflects national identity and cultural independence, and intersects with English, Spanish, and indigenous languages. This requires frameworks that account for the polycentric, complex sociolinguistic realities of creole-speaking societies. The chapter establishes Belize as a compelling site to explore how languages are discursively constructed, and shows how academic and lay perspectives influence this construction.

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Type
Chapter
Information
Liquid Languages
Constructing Languages in Late Modern Cultures of Diffusion
, pp. 38 - 53
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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