Wagner Rodriguez, C.A.

Camille A. Wagner Rodrguez

LING 8005 // Prof. N. Faraclas
February 1, 2015

Charter on Language Policy and Language Rights in the Creole Speaking Caribbean
Charter on Language Policy and Language Rights in the Creole-Speaking Caribbean. (2011). Retrieved from:
http://research2.wayne.edu/hum/Hum/Programs/brownbag/flyers/11-12/CARIBBEANLANGUAGECharter.pdf

The Charter on Language Policy and Language Rights in the Creole Speaking
Caribbean was developed by a council of representative from each Creole-speaking Caribbean
state. Its main purpose is to express and support the language rights of the creole-speaking
communities in the Caribbean considering the different sociocultural contexts and the challenges
they might present. It proposes fifty-two articles, which are sub-divided into themes, which will
be supported by a Regional Council of Languages and a Territorial Council of Language for each
creole speaking territory to which the charter applies.
The first set are categorized as concepts and general principles (Charter 2011, art. 111) and express the basic individual and collective language rights. It includes mentions of the
right to mutual respect and sociolinguistic balance in society, the rights of immigrants
(assimilation vs. integration) in the light of language equality. This theme also considers
language practices as representative of cultural identity and cultural worldviews. Therefore, it
recognizes the need for management and means for language instrumentalization, translation
services and language education.
The second set of articles (Charter 2011, art. 12-23) deals with Public administration,
official bodies and socioeconomic sphere and they relate to language rights in the legal and

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governmental spheres. It includes articles that recognize the citizens rights to use their own
language in court, to have government documents in their language and made accessible to the
public. It also includes articles that protect territorial language use in professional and
commercial settings. It is curious that when talking about legal rights some articles mention that
these rights should be respected within the territory of a language community (art. 18, 19,
20.1). This clause could be understood as a reflection of the laws own limitation to protect
beyond its territorial bounds. Nevertheless, it should be noted that as this charter is meant for the
Caribbean region whose population to nation ratio could be fairly manageable.
The third theme discussed is divided in two sub-themes (a) education in schools (art. 2429) (b) education out of school (art. 30-37). As the title might foreshadow these articles deal
with the speakers language education rights and the language education policies that should be
implemented in order for those rights to be met. The fourth group of articles was categorized
under the theme culture (art. 38-48). These articles promote sociocultural rights of language
practice, and language maintenance; as well as access to means for exercising these rights and
the states duty of protecting and promoting these rights. The final group of articles serves as
guidelines for policy implementation (art. 49-52). These propose steps or procedures for the
successful implementation and promotion of the previous articles.
It is important to recognize that these agreements have been accorded upon in an
international and diplomatic sphere. However, even more interesting will be to research and
reflect on how these diplomatic efforts cast dim shadows on the governments of the participating
countries. As a researcher interested in Language Policy this discrepancy has inspired various
investigative curiosities such as the accountability of each government with the actions taken by
its international representatives; and the attitudinal facades in place.