Language, Culture and Power

Introduction The 1957 election of Francois Duvalier as president of Haiti saw the emergence of a political machinery which attempted, with varying degrees of success, to exert greater influence over Haitian cultural-but specifically communication-practices. Indeed, the establishment of a Duvalier dynasty following the death of Papa Doc and the transfer of power to his son Jean Claude Baby Duvalier were signs that Haiti had entered a new era in its political development. Not only was the transfer of power from father to son significant, but the length of time that each president ruled broke all existing records in the country's history. Thus, the almost thirty year rule of the Duvaliers, if among the most brutal periods in Haitian history, was the longest stretch of uninterrupted government the country ever experienced. The return to the tradition of coup d'etat as a matter of course in changing government under the younger Duvalier suggests that the older Duvalier might have created a political balance that his son was later unable to manage; in essence, that the Duvalier political machine was an aberration that could not long outlive its chief proponent: the Doc himself, Francois Duvalier. Since the overthrow of Jean-Claude Duvalier more than 18 years ago, there have been ten presidents serving a total or fourteen terms, only one of which was a complete 4 year term. Two hundred years after independence and as the country continues along the path of political instability, it is relevant to explore the legacy of its most stable political period as well as some of the reasons for its return to chaos. It has been suggested that the political stability Haiti experienced during the years the elder Duvalier ruled were due to his persona and government style. Papa Doc's way of governing Haiti placed indigenous cultural practices, including the use of language and religion, at the forefront national politics. The younger Duvalier, on the other hand, saw very little importance in embracing folkways and was even less concerned with their use as political tools. An evaluation of Duvalierism under its two forms therefore raises the following questions: To what extent did Francois owe his stay in office to his knowledge and use of folk culture? To what extent did Jean-Claude's distance from the folk lay the foundation for the end of the Duvalier dynasty? The aim in raising these questions is not to suggest that culture was the only or primary factor affecting the trajectory of the Duvalier regimes but to recognise that there is a vital link between politics and cultural practices, particularly those related to communication. Language, Communicative Behaviour and Politics In exploring the relationship between communication practice and specific political outcomes, this article assumes that communication is the primary means by which culture is transmitted. This is best perceived when communication is treated as a complex of culturo-linguistic practices or behaviours, which are deployed or suppressed based on the desire to identify or not to identify with a group. This position follows the view, articulated by Le Page and Tabouret-Keller, of linguistic behaviour as the means used by individuals to communicate their membership in particular communities. The authors argue that people's use of language entails the projection of their inner views of the universe and an invitation to others to share in these. Accordingly, by verbalising in particular ways, individuals seek to reinforce their models of the world and hope for verbal acts of solidarity from others.1 For Le Page and Tabouret-Keller, people are directed towards or away from particular language habits because of the strong urge that human beings feel to identify with one another, a process to which language is central. Le Page and Tabouret-Keller believe that the receptiveness of others to individuals' verbal projections signal the affirmation of a shared identity

Genealogy · Power (physics · Sociology · Anthropology · Caribbean and African Literature and Culture · Historical and Literary Analyses · History · Migration, Identity, and Health

• Eloquence and power

  Aldo Scaglione, John Earl Joseph•Language•1989

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