September 11 Digital Archive

Haiti; masculine or feminine?

Title

Haiti; masculine or feminine?

Source

born-digital

Media Type

article

Original Name

Haitians have always thought of their country as a kind of foster mother, and thus derived the gende

Created by Author

yes

Described by Author

no

Date Entered

2002-11-20

VTMBH Article: Edition

45

VTMBH Article: Article Order

2

VTMBH Article: Title

Haiti; masculine or feminine?

VTMBH Article: Author

Françis Saint-Hubert, MD

VTMBH Article: Publication

Haiti en Marche

VTMBH Article: Original Language

French

VTMBH Article: Translator

David Ronis

VTMBH Article: Section

edits

VTMBH Article: Blurb

Haitians have always thought of their country as a kind of foster mother, and thus derived the gender of the name Haiti. However, French reference books insist on defining Haiti as masculine, imposing arbitrary decisions from colonial times on Haitians. That our approach is more emotional than rational does not diminish its importance or validity. Nor should it demand less of your respect.

VTMBH Article: Keywords

VTMBH Article: Body

To the Editors of Le Petit Robert de Noms Propres (The Petit Robert Dictionary of Proper Nouns)
The Robert Dictionaries
107, Avenue Parmentier
75001 Paris
France

Dear Sirs:

French reference works in general, and your dictionaries in particular, indicate that Haiti is of the masculine gender. First, this is surprising to a Haitian and, upon reflection, it is profoundly intriguing. We write Haiti chérie (feminine) and we sing Oh! Ma belle Haiti (feminine). As far back as I can see, we have always referred to our country in the feminine form, as you do to your country.

For us, doubtless more so than in France, the thought process is clear: sentiment prevails over grammatical rules. Haitians have always thought of their country as a kind of foster mother, and thus derived the gender of the name Haiti, which they adopted from the Indians. That our approach is more emotional than rational diminishes neither the importance nor validity of the conclusion. Nor should it demand less of your respect. In order to illustrate this, Ive chosen the following examples from our literature:

Antoine Dupré, <i>Hymn to Liberty,</i> date unknown, reported by Hérard Dusmesle in <i>Travels in the North of Haiti,</i> 1824

Haiti, <b> ma chérie,</b>
Receive my last farewell
Which the love of country
Sets our forefathers aflame.
(Pompilus, Pradel, <i>Pages from Haitian Literature,</i> State Printing Office, 1951, p.24)

Paul Lochard, <i>Our Forefathers,</i> 1878

But you, my Haiti, <b>my mother!</b> O my country,
Guard the memories of our wounded fathers!…
And the defeated slave made steady
And ancient Haiti restored proud and free.
(Gouraige, Ghislain, <i>Best Haitian Romantic Poetry,</i> Port-au-Prince, La Phalange Publishing, 1982, p.49)

Massillon Coicou, <i>Haiti,</i> 1892

Disappointed, informed, <b>she</b> (Haiti) is the lonely foundation;
And, as if to cradle <b>her</b> ills that nothing could make fall asleep,
Flowers fill <b>her</b> with their exquisite scent
Rivaling love with golden stars.
---------------------------
In vain, <b>she</b> invokes the glory of <b>her</b> forefathers
To weaken their executioners; in vain <b>she</b> tells them
<b>Her</b> mission is to help the black race
Emerge from the shadows, humble Haiti.
(Ibid, Gouraige, p. 90)


Louis-Joseph Janvier, <i>The Haitian republic and its servants,</i> 1883

… I thank you, noble France, for allowing me to take up my pen today in defense of my country under attack… by those who will not believe that one can take away neither the sun nor the sublime French revolution nor Haiti, <b>daughter</b> of one and <b>goddaughter</b> of the other.
(Ibid, Gouraige, p. 47)

The above examples leave no doubt that for Haitians, Haiti is a feminine noun.

It is also appropriate to ask, Sirs, why the great French language references around the world do not acknowledge this widespread usage and even contradict it so decisively.

To clarify, there isnt one rule for determining the gender of country names. Outside of the obvious cases (although we say La Côte dIvoire we also say Le Costa Rica), there is no logical explanation for the difference between Le Dahomey and La Guinée. One rule, laid down by the great Belgian grammarian Maurice Grevisse, states that, in general, names of towns (and countries by extension) are masculine when they end in a syllable without a silent e. Nevertheless, Grevisse stresses that this rule has many exceptions.

In the case of Haiti, its etymology determines neither its spelling nor gender, leaving its history and usage to be spoken for by Haitians themselves. Apparently, French references have chosen to scorn this criteria and instead impose arbitrary decisions from colonial times on Haitians, as well as the rest of the world.

For the colonists, the road wasnt as straight. They changed the name of the island, first to Hispaniola and later to Saint Domingue (for reasons altogether foreign to the natives, but what did it mattertheir days were numbered). Without the events of the Jan. 1, 1804, the word Haiti would only have been an historical curiosity, certainly a graceful nickname, but one only of sentimental interest (like Quisqueya for the Dominican Republic). On that day, the slaves declared their independence from France. They restored the old Indian name to their country, which they instinctively feminized, retaining the French spelling. Thus they expressed their spontaneous sentiments towards their new country, which they saw as mother/provider, without the burden of grammatical considerations, which they probably otherwise ignored. The French opposed this decision on two levels.

Although France eventually recognized Haitis independence in 1826, in return for indemnity (they continued to call it Saint Domingue until then), the name kept its masculine form dictated by French spelling rules. They were not going to bend, even a little bit, the great principles of the language of Voltaire in order to accommodate the naive wishes of a group of Negroes who wanted to be independent. As surprising as this may seem today, this same position, espoused by those who write dictionaries, still prevails.

Sirs, I cannot help but see the monumental lack of respect towards Haitians and a total contempt for their feelings for their country. This particular usage is not a state secret, judging from the many examples, and it is hard to imagine that in 200 years no French lexicographer has noticed it. It certainly has not escaped the notice of curates, bishops, diplomats and French university professors who have lived in Haiti and written about our literature, our history and our morals.

Thinking hard about this, one realizes that the persistence to keep Haiti masculine more resembles a haughty rejection than an inadvertent action. In colonizing our land, you seem to have denied us our own right to determine the gender of the name of our country. Yet, you recognize the same right among your fellow citizens with regard to their own towns (as well as other peoples). The French language acknowledges Le Mexique and Le Mozambique alongside La Belgique and La Jamaique. In reality, and you doubtless know this, similar exceptions, like well-known irregular verbs, rather enrich a language and bring a human element to a grammatical process, which otherwise would only be a mechanical application of rules.

In the age of the computer, it is delightful for Haitians to note that, in letting their hearts speak for 200 years, their ancestors have perhaps contributed a little to the humanization of the language of their masters. In order for this symbol to be of value, with all due respect to your editors, please remember that our dear Haiti is a mother, whom, for better or worse, we are bound to love, but certainly one that even the greatest reference works of the French language must respect for who she is.

Yours truly,
Françis Saint-Hubert, MD
5 Marie Court
Elmont, NY 11003
Email address: Magdhala Francillon@yahoo.com

VTMBH Article: Line Breaks

1

VTMBH Article: Date

2002-11-20

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VTMBH Article: Hit Count

73

Citation

“Haiti; masculine or feminine?,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed November 13, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/1282.