Background

Our team of 10 researchers from the CCLE lab came together during our time in the Linguistics Department at the University of Michigan. (For more on CCLE, see “Team”) United in the belief that “all languages are equal, legitimate, deeply creative, and worthy of use in all domains of life”, we forefront an anti-exceptionalist narrative about Creoles and other minoritized languages. (For more about our mission, see “Home”) With that goal in mind, we began our community-based research project in 2021 dedicated to revitalizing attitudes towards Creole languages and promoting their equitable inclusion in linguistics pedagogy.

In phase 1 of our project, we individually consulted 15 Creole speakers and 58 linguists for a holistic understanding of their views regarding Creole representations, characterizations, and ideologies. In phase 2 we brought both groups together in a workshop to share perspectives and strategize effective integration of Creoles into general linguistics courses. Their comments encouraged a pedagogical approach that introduces Creole voices directly into linguistics classrooms. Now, in phase 3 we are developing this website to house practical and easy-to-implement pedagogical resources for Creole languages and communities.