Martinique 1

Listen to Martinique 1, a 24-year-old man from Martinique, who has also lived in the United States, Asia, and England. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 24

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 1985

PLACE OF BIRTH: Washington, D.C., United States (but raised in Martinique)

GENDER: male

ETHNICITY: Caucasian

OCCUPATION: N/A

EDUCATION: post-graduate

AREA(S) OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS:

The subject was born in Washington, D.C., and moved to Martinique at age 3. At age 14, he moved to France and then at age 21 lived in Rock Hill, South Carolina, for one year. He also lived for several months in Malaysia, China, and Egypt, and finally settled in London, UK, where he was residing at the time of this interview.

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH:

He spoke English in the United States in kindergarten and spoke French at home. Once in Martinique, the subject stopped speaking English and adopted French as his first language. He then had to relearn English in school.

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: Subject

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 08/03/2009

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

So, both my parents are French; huh, they met in the U.S., in Washington, D.C., where they worked. Huh, this is where I was born, and, huh, this is where I spent the first three years of my life. Huh, then, huh, when I was 3, we moved to Martinique, an island in the Caribbean, huh, because this is where my father is from and this is where all his family still lives. So we settled there and, huh, in Martinique, huh, the the official language is French, so I started speaking French there on a daily basis, and, huh, at that point I rejected English because I could see that everybody around me spoke only French, and the only person who spoke English to me was my mother. So I thought it was completely useless, and hum, I, I actually forgot most of what I had learned in, in English, and huh, I started learning English again, from scratch, when I attended school, and by that time I had forgotten absolutely everything, so I just learned it, like, just like any other French kid. Hum, however I still had good marks, but I think it’s because my mother took my studies very seriously, and she really, really wanted me to learn English properly and she would always be ready to help me, to check my homework for example or answer any questions I might have. Hum, but I don’t think learning French from age 3 only hum, had an impact on, on my French. I speak it just like any other French, huh, person I guess, hum, the main difference I have with mainland Fran… French is my accent, because I have a Caribbean accent, and, huh, for those who don’t know it, it’s a bit surprising, because we don’t pronounce the Rs the same way they do in mainland France, and oftentimes people think I am a Brit when they listen to me, and I had, as an interpreter, I’ve had clients congratulate me on my French, thinking that it’s not my first language.

[Subject speaks in French]: Et, pour finir, quelques mots en français, pour euh illustrer mon accent martiniquais, que j’ai quand même pas mal perdu depuis que j’ai quitté la Martinique. Eh bien, je ne sais pas, j’aimerais euh, féliciter les auteurs de ce site. L’envergure des travaux qu’ils ont entrepris est vraiment très impressionnante, et je suis heureux de pouvoir y contribuer avec ce modeste enregistrement.

[English translation: And, to finish, a few words in French, to illustrate my Martinique accent, although I have lost it somewhat since I left Martinique. Well, I don’t know, I would like to congratulate the authors of this website. The scope of the work they have undertaken is really impressive, and I am happy to contribute to it with this modest recording.]

TRANSCRIBED BY: Subject

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 08/03/2009

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY: N/A

COMMENTARY BY: N/A

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

The archive provides:

• Recordings of accent/dialect speakers from the region you select.
• Text of the speakers’ biographical details.
• Scholarly commentary and analysis in some cases.
• In most cases, an orthographic transcription of the speakers’ unscripted speech.  In a small number of cases, you will also find a narrow phonetic transcription of the sample (see Phonetic Transcriptions for a complete list).  The recordings average four minutes in length and feature both the reading of one of two standard passages, and some unscripted speech. The two passages are Comma Gets a Cure (currently our standard passage) and The Rainbow Passage (used in our earliest recordings).

 

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