essay

Language and identity: Haitians in New York City

Carribean life in New York CityStaten Island, New YorkPublished In 1987 • Pages: 202-217

By: Stafford, Susan Buchanan.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article focuses on identity and status conflicts experienced by Haitian immigrants in New York City and expressed in their debates over language usage, particularly, in this case, as it pertains to the use of French or Creole in the Catholic Mass at a Brooklyn church. The author notes that the '…issue of language not only continues to express identity and status conflicts among Haitian immigrants, but it is also a vehicle for debating the leadership within the Haitian milieu and the representation of the Haitian community to the wider society' (p. 203).
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
External migration
Cultural identity and pride
Linguistic identification
Status, role, and prestige
Ingroup antagonisms
Priesthood
Congregations
Organized ceremonial
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Haitian Americans
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
1998
RegionThe area the document pertains to
North America
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Regional, Ethnic and Diaspora Cultures
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
essay
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Government Official
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle ; 1997
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
Oct. 1974-Jan. 1977
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
not specified
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
New York, N.Y., United States
NotesAdditional notes
Susan Buchanan Stafford
Includes bibliographical references (p. 215-217)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
85047915
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Haitian Americans