The Other Tongue, the Other Voice: Language and Gender in the French Caribbean
Author(s)
Schnepel, Ellen M.
Abstract
Since Douglas Taylor’s early work (1951) pointing out sex-based characteristics of the language of the Black Caribs, little research addressing the differential relations of gender towards language has been generated in creole studies in the Caribbean. Conceived as a theoretical contribution to the state-of-the-art while providing empirical evidence from language planning efforts in Guadeloupe and Martinique in the French Antilles, this article sets out to survey the attention given to language and gender in the region. It concludes with a balance sheet of issues which still need to be addressed.