Or Kriol as a bridge between languages and cultures?

What is it about?

This article deals with the sociolinguistics of Kriol, an English-lexifier creole widely used among Aboriginal people in the north of the Northern Territory (Australia). I present and discuss some views and ideologies expressed by first language Kriol speakers about their own language. My argument is rooted in a particular field situation. I describe a series of speech interactions with four persons, and I suggest possible interpretations of their views, using my own understanding of their local and personal backgrounds as well as socio-linguistic and historical clues. The first person is a young man who expressed some criticism about Kriol, claiming that Kriol was ‘breinwoj brom Inglij’, literally ‘brainwash from English’. Because the young man’s statements were puzzling, I decided to ask older speakers what they had to say about his claim, and recorded their reactions. I have chosen to present two responses in this article. In both of them, speakers across generations express positive views about Kriol. In line with the young man’s views, older and middle-aged speakers of Kriol depict their language as standing ‘in between’ English and traditional Aboriginal languages. But they also express affection for and pride in their language, while the young man, in that particular occasion, sounded critical. As I present the quotes and conversations of various speakers, I suggest a number of interpretations in order to shed some light upon what presents itself in these cases as a generational discrepancy. I identify two possible factors triggering this discrepancy: an awareness of the history of Kriol and of its recognition as a respectable language on the one hand; and older Kriol speakers’ mastery of ancestral Aboriginal languages on the other hand. From this case study, a generational pattern begins to emerge, that must be considered with great caution, because generalisation cannot be made on the basis of a few cases.

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Why is it important?

This article reflects on local language ideologies based on actual conversations with several Kriol speakers.