Michel DeGraff
Birth date1963 (age 63–64)
Birth placeHaiti
FieldsLinguistics
WorkplacesMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Alma materCity College of New York (BS)
University of Pennsylvania (PhD)
Thesis urlhttps://www.proquest.com/docview/303994125
WebsiteOfficial site

Michel Anne Frederic DeGraff[1] (born 1963) is a Haitian creolist and a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His scholarship focuses on Creole studies and the role of language and linguistics for decolonization and liberation.[2] He has advocated for the recognition of Haitian Creole as a full-fledged language.[2]

Early life and education

DeGraff was born in Haiti in 1963.[3] He grew up in a middle-class family and attended a school where the instruction was in French. He felt that French was a hindrance at school, as not speaking it well caused complexes of inferiority among otherwise bright children.[4] He believes that he spoke one and a half languages, with Haitian Creole being the "half", when in fact the language that all children spoke well by default was Creole.[4] He recalls that French, although imposed at home and at school, was never used for jokes or on the soccer field.[4]

DeGraff moved to New York in 1982 and enrolled in City College of New York, where he studied computer science.[5] He developed an interest in linguistics during an internship at Bell Labs in New Jersey in 1985, as a Summer Intern at AT&T Bell Laboratories' Linguistics and Artificial Intelligence department.[5] In 1992, he earned a PhD in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania, with a dissertation on the role of language acquisition in the formation of the syntax of Haitian Creole.[5][6]

Academic career

DeGraff is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[2] He previously served on the board of the Journal of Haitian Studies.[2] He is also a founding member of the Haitian Creole Academy.[7]

In the fall of 2012, he received a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to introduce online Creole language materials in the teaching of STEM in Haiti.[2] He believes that Haitian children should be taught in their native language at all levels of instruction, contrary to the tradition of teaching them in French.[4] DeGraff believes that instruction in French, a foreign language for most Haitian children, hinders their creativity and their ability to excel.[4]

In 2022, DeGraff was elected as a fellow of the Linguistic Society of America.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ Mercéus, Bertrand (ed.) (4 December 2014). "Les 33 académiciens du créole haïtien investis dans leur fonction". Le NOuvelliste. Retrieved 22 June 2016. (in French)
  2. ^ Zéphir, Flore (Fall 2012). "Creolist Michel Degraff: A profile of Commitment, Advocacy, Excellence and Hope". Journal of Haitian Studies. 18 (2): 268.
  3. ^ "2005 LSA Institute - People - Michel DeGraff". web.mit.edu
  4. ^ Ulysse, Katia (11 August 2011). "Michel Degraff: Our Word is Our Bond". Voices from Haïti. Archived from the original on November 21, 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  5. ^ Dizikes, Peter (12 May 2011). "A Champion of Creole". MIT. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  6. ^ DeGraff, Michel Anne Frederic (1992). Creole grammars and acquisition of syntax: The case of Haitian (PhD thesis). University of Pennsylvania.
  7. ^ "Michel DeGraff named charter member of the Haitian Creole Academy". Whamit!. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 2015-11-02.
  8. ^ Lanier, Alison (October 13, 2022). "Professor Michel DeGraff named a fellow of the Linguistics Society of America". MIT News. Retrieved July 17, 2024.