Benjamin
Hebblethwaite
Assistant Professor in Haitian
Creole & French
Department of Languages, Literatures & Cultures
The University of Florida
363 Dauer Hall
P.O. Box 117405
Gainesville, FL 32611-7405
Some of Ben's publications as PDFs or links:
Forthcoming in 2012. Hebblethwaite, Benjamin. French and underdevelopment, Haitian Creole and development: Language policy problems and solutions in Haiti. The Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages.
2010. Adverb
Code-Switching among
2009. L’asymétrie
et la bidirectionnalité dans l’alternance codique du créole haïtien-anglais de
la 2ème génération à
2002. The Universality of Morpho-Syntax: Synthetic Compounding in French, English, Dutch and Korean. The Journal of Universal Language 3.2.1-29.
Benjamin Hebblethwaite (hebble@ufl.edu) is an
Assistant Professor of
Haitian Creole in the Department
of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at the
University of Florida. Hebblethwaite
coordinates the largest Haitian Creole
and Haitian Studies program in the U.S.
He and two teaching assistants
offer courses in introductory and
intermediate-advanced Haitian Creole
in addition to Haitian studies (e.g.,
Introduction to Haitian Creole Linguistics,
Haitian Culture and Society and
Introduction to Haitian Vodou, among others).
In the summer of 2011, he taught
Haitian Creole for Disaster Relief
for the first time. Hebblethwaite’s research
uses linguistic methodologies
to explore a range of phenomena in Haiti and its
U.S. Diaspora.
His book, Vodou
Songs in Haitian Creole and English, collects, translates
and interprets Vodou songs and includes a substantial dictionary
of Vodou terms (Temple U. Press).
Hebblethwaite’s
passion for the illustration and defense of Haitian Creole has
resulted in the
publication of three bilingual Haitian Creole, French and
English volumes in
collaboration with Jacques Pierre (e.g. 2001, 2005 and
a recent book at
L’Harmattan, 2010). His interest in expanding Haitian Creole
literacy inspires
ongoing efforts on the Haitian Creole Scrabble Project
(Journal of Pidgin and
Creole Languages, 2009). Haitian-American code-switching
and bilingualism as
found in Florida are aspects of his
research that relate closely to his
students at UF and his experiences living
in the Sunshine state (Florida
Foreign Language Journal, 2006; Cahiers
de Linguistique, 2009; Bilingualism:
Language and Cognition, 2010). His
article, Haiti
Earthquake (2010), appeared in the Encyclopedia of
Disaster Relief (2011). He has also worked on
various collaborative projects
including serving as Editorial assistant on the Haitian Creole-English Bilingual
Dictionary (Valdman,
2007) and working as the main Creole contributor for the
Haitian Creole Express CD-ROM (Foreign Service Institute, 2008).
Currently
Hebblethwaite is developing research on the problem of teaching
children in
French (2012 and forthcoming) at school when they only speak Haitian Creole at home and he
is working on the Bilingual Dictionary of French Rap with UF Ph.D. candidates, Kelly Wiechman and Jordin Patten, and the UF undergraduate, Jemima Douyon.
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If you want to enroll in Haitian Creole classes at UF, but don’t
know
where you fit in given your Creole-speaking background,
please send me an e-mail at hebble@ufl.edu
I want to hear from you!
Also, new this semester is the University
of Florida's Journal of Intermediate Haitian Creole
Teaching Philosophy
Teaching Evaluations (from Indiana University)
Translations:
First time in print in Haitian Creole:
The
Gospel of Thomas in English, Haitian Creole and French, Classic Editions,
2005
Benjamin Hebblethwaite and Jacques Pierre, Hans-Gebhard Bethge and Michel Weber
That's me on the left chatting with a farmer who
was purchasing a new head
for his pick-axe at this small supply depot in Bèl Rivyè, South-Eastern
Haiti.
He told me that he had D.D.T. in his spray backpack and that it is the most
effective weapon against pests. Note that D.D.T. is illegal in the U.S.A. because
it has been found to cause birth defects. However, it is manufactured in the
U.S.A.
and sold to countries like Haiti.
Translations: (All translations Copyright © 2003/2004 Benjamin
Hebblethwaite)
Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Mwen gen yon rèv ~ I have a dream" in bilingual Haitian Creole/English
format (translated by Benjamin Hebblethwaite and Nicolas André)
Marie de France
Prefas
"Pyebwa frenn nan ~ Le fraisne"
in bilingual Haitian Creole Old French format (translated by Benjamin Hebblethwaite
and Jacques Pierre)
Damadada (First Buddhist
excerpts to appear in Haitian Creole)
Prefas: Entwodiksyon nan tradisyon boudis la
Vèsè Marasa ~ Twin Verses (translated by
Benjamin Hebblethwaite)
Vijilans
Lespri
Flè yo
Sòt la
In this photo I touch the "Tree of Judgment"
in Milo where Northern
Haiti's great king, Roi Henri Christophe, passed judgment.
To any Haitian from the north, Roi Christophe is revered with awe. Among
his astonishing accomplishments was the construction of the Sitadèl,
an
enormous fortress designed to thwart any attempt by France or any
other nation to reoccupy Haiti. The Sitadèl still stands and
is considered to be
an architectural wonder by the UN.
Go to Haitian Creole Courses
Back to the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures' Haitian Creole
Homepage
hebble@ufl.edu
Last updated on December 15, 2009