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The Caribbean reality was one not fully know to me before this course. This aspect of my identity was inchoate, puerile even. I was thrust into an arena where I was then forced to face this part of my identity, and in doing so I was able to critically examine my immediate society and the condition of the Caribbean existence.
The Caribbean context, in reflection on this course, has been inadequately dealt with within the education system in Caribbean schools. The ‘re-education’ of individuals at the tertiary level, despite being enlightening, is asynchronous to the most important period of development of individual identities. The revision of Caribbean realities through the eyes of Caribbean nationals could be best dealt with early on, in a bid to allow individuals to truly know what it means to be of this region, and how we define ourselves in a way to fortify ourselves against further infiltration by western pseudo-imperialistic culture.
The course has allowed me to better appreciate all aspects of our collective cultural and historical inheritance, and acknowledge the silenced parts of our own societies. The intricate, almost indiscernible connection each territory has with the other, manifested through various means such as linguistic peculiarities and adaptations, hybridisations, and assimilations of various aspects of culture are important to our identity, as individuals and as a region.
Although brief, it was still informative and insightful. It allowed me to change my views on society, and perceptions of my own inherited past.

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article by Peter Ray Blood

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The language of the English-speaking Caribbean is replete with the influence various languages. Their respective dialects mirror the creolization of cultures and ethnicities in these hybrid societies. This is constantly demonstrated as the variations in vernacular in everyday conversation of persons within the region and even within their own territories. The British have had colonial power in the Caribbean from as far back as the early 16th century, and in true form have also attempted to stamp out both indigenous cultures and the imperialist influence of those who have colonised these countries before them.
The assimilation of cultures is constantly postured through speech, despite Standard English being the official language used in formal documents. The use of language the create pidgin and then creole tongues prove the shared reality exists within the Caribbean society and is strikingly evident in English speaking countries. Though they differ, the roots of their existence lie within the shared soil, and their manifestations are in some ways intertwined with each other. The identities of these sub-regions coexist and mix at times to become almost indiscernible from the other. the video presentation shows how truly similar we are as islands, the variations in dialect all stem from similar cultural influences, it is the extent of the influence that has resulted in variations, although we are all culturally linked. The following article showcases the drive for further integration through music, being a vehicle for change in language it can then be seen to further intertwine the linguistic characteristics of the various islands.

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cont'd picutre showing song from book Brown Girl in the Ring by Elder et al

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picture showing song from book Brown Girl in the Ring by Elder et al.

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picture showing book: Brown Girl in the Ring by Elder et al

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French colonisation began in Martinique in 1635, and their widespread permeation is seen in many areas of Caribbean society. France still controls four territories that function as overseas departments, operating as part of France. This at once removes them to some degree from the collective identity, as they view themselves in some ways as entities outside the Caribbean sphere, creating a manifold division of identities. French is the official language in these territories, while Creole is equally commonplace.

Although English is spoken to varying degrees in these territories as a means of communication with tourists and migrants. However, former French colonies such as Hispaniola and St. Lucia speak a variation of French-based Creole as a result of the contact. It is interesting to note the legacy of Haiti in forging a new identity after the Revolution of 1791, and their use of French Creole. Their thrust for independence and separation from colonial powers in the aim of forging their own unique identity echoes through in their use of language, influenced by French and African languages. This can be seen as the rejection of language as a tool of subjugation by the French. the language has been retained in many forms as seen in the book Brown Girl in the Ring by Elder et al, signifying the various ways the language has been adapted and changed within the Caribbean, despite maintaining its core language, a reminder of the colonial past.

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Dutch speaking islands such as Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Saba, and St. Eustatius, were settled by the Netherlands in the 17th cent., but colonisation began in 1634 on St. Croix and Tobago (1628). Dutch speaking Caribbean territories, commonly called the Dutch Antilles, still retain close ties to the Netherlands, and are collectively called the Caribbean Netherlands, a term which can in many ways reflect the lack of inclusion of their realities under the broad scope of the Caribbean identity. By virtue of this separation from the whole whether or not it is in name alone, it reinforces the idea of the other.
Their linguistic capacity is diverse, in that many of these countries’ inhabitants are also fluent in Spanish, English, and patois (notably the creole Papiamento, which is now an official language of the Dutch Caribbean territories) as a result of their colonial histories and geographical location. African, European, and indigenous influences in language dominate the culture, and cultural influences from within the region also exist, a truth which emphasises the common theme of interconnectedness within the Caribbean as identified in the text below.

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Spanish colonial influence began as early as 1492 and was the most enduring evidence of Spain’s colonial control, ending in the Spanish-American War of 1898. The present day Spanish West Indies, previously called Las Antillas Occidentales under colonial rule is today known as the Spanish-speaking West Indies, as Spanish is the national language of countries notably Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, that were under their rule for a long period of time. Retention of the language does come with their own etymological variations among countries, despite it being the same language. These changes are evidence of the transformative qualities of Caribbean culture and an instinctual refusal to fully accept things forced upon us.
However, the influence of Spanish colonisation can still be seen in the language of colonies that no longer use Spanish as their official language, but who have had Spanish influence in the past. This is clear in the use of place names such as the one identified in the photo. The act of colonisation has caused cultural traits such as language to be so entrenched in the existing culture that it is almost impossible to remove completely by the incoming imperial power. The British influence on language and other aspects of culture could not fully remove existing traits in countries such as Trinidad and Jamaica. The reality that countries regardless of their official language can be influenced by similar forces, acting to superimpose their culture onto new and often existing societies influences the Caribbean identity. The notion of the interconnectedness of the region is ubiquitous in modern language, and yet an idea of connectivity has failed to become part of our sense of “Caribbeanness”.

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Identity is the fact of being, it is what defines who we are and how we see ourselves, and subsequently how we interpret the world around us. It is a fluid condition of the human existence. Our Caribbean identity then is identified by the qualities, culture, and beliefs common to the region that separate us from others. The reality of the linguistic inheritance of indigenous societies, a colonial past and the patois that evolved from it, is a manifestation of one such complex trait that defines us. This linguistic reality may challenge the idea of a singular Caribbean identity and instead emphasize the idea of the other within the region, seen in the categorisation of French, Dutch, Spanish, and English-speaking sub-regions. Yet they can also be evidence of a collective historical past and the interconnectedness of our attempts to reconstruct the dominating colonial influence to fit the Caribbean context. The constantly evolving nature of language in the Caribbean allows for the continuous redefinition of the region, which in some ways can intensify the sense of a collective identity.