French and Creole Language in the Francophone Caribbean

I would like to share some thoughts on the links between Francophonie and the French Caribbean. Francophonie was first defined as a geographical concept before becoming a political and a sociocultural institution. Conceived as the set of countries that speak French as official or cultural language, Francophonie has a very debatable relationship with and within the Caribbean. Beside the fact it is suspected to continue colonialism and imperialism, many Caribbean writers state that Francophonie serves more France (dominant partner) than its counterparts (colonized and exploited). They think it is a smart way for safeguarding the French interests across the region. This is a typical post-colonial topic placing France at the centre and the Francophone world as the periphery.

This paper will look at the particular involvement of Caribbean writers and scholars such as Maryse Condé, Patrick Chamoiseau, Raphael Confiant, Edouard Glissant in dismantling the concept of Francophonie or denouncing the dangers posited by its theoretical and practical backgrounds. As a matter of fact, Maryse Condé never agreed with the activities of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, the representatives of Creolité (Bernabé, Confiant, Chamoiseau in their essay titled In Praise of Caribbeanness) claim their right to publish literary texts in Creole and therefore create an aesthetic based on Caribbean orality and culture, whereas the thought of Edouard Glissant has been important in the process of coining the Littérature-monde movement by Michel Le Bris and Jean Rouaud. The 2007 Manifesto’s purpose was to put an end to Francophonie. It caused a passionate debate that involved both the French establishment and intellectuals of various disciplines or political horizons. I will examine the role played by the writers from the Caribbean (Martinique, Guadeloupe, Haiti) and their contribution to this debate. This reflection forms part of the essential thoughts behind my research and publications on hybrid poetics, antillanité, créolité, and/or peripheral francophonie.