Why is Haitian Creole spoken in Haiti?

Answer 1

"Haitian" Creole is one of the official languages of Haiti in addition to French. It is a French based-creole, which is virtually spoken by everybody. They speak it because when the African slaves came to the French/Spanish colony they had to learn a form of communication quickly in order to communicate with their masters as well as other slaves whom may have spoken a different African language.

As a result, the Creole varied from the French in terms of sentence structure but retained 90% of the French vocabulary essentially mixing the language properties. In addition to French, anyone born in Saint-Domingue (colonial Haiti), would be able to have spoken Creole regardless of race.

When Haiti became its own nation they retained the Creole language but the French was used by the educated in formal, business, government and educational settings. Before officially becoming a co-official language, Creole was once referred to as a 'patois' that designated a European language that was used which was not quite like the standard.

Answer 2

Haitian Creole is spoken in Haiti because it developed as a result of the interactions between French colonizers, African slaves, and indigenous populations on the island. It emerged as a way for these groups to communicate and has since become the dominant language in Haiti.