Creolizations in the Caribbean and the Americas

Abstract

Explores the position of the Caribbean in relation to the Americas. There are three kinds of community in both: the indigenous inhabitants (Meso-America); the European migrants (Euro-America); and the descendents of transported African slaves (Neo-America), which is the locus of creolizations, and is the main focus of Glissant’s discussion. Unlike the European migrants, the transported Africans had to invent a new culture, starting with the Creole languages. These were considered inferior by the white population – and for creolization to truly flourish there has to be equality between all the participating communities. One of the main properties of creolization is its unpredictability. The chapter ends with a discussion of the formation of Creole languages.