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Haiti Travel Fact Sheet
Source: flickr.com.
Contents
Basic Info
Country Name
Republic of Haiti
What the People are Called
Haitians
Ethnic Groups
Due to the racial caste system instituted in colonial Haiti, Haitian mulattoes became the nation's social elite and racially privileged. Numerous leaders throughout Haiti's history have been mulattoes. Comprising 5% of the nation's population, mulattoes have retained their preeminence, evident in the political, economic, social and cultural hierarchy in Haiti. Alexandre Pétion, born to a Haitian mother and a wealthy French father, was the first President of the Republic of Haiti.
U.S. Embassy
U.S. Embassy in Haiti Consular Section (Adoptions Unit) Boulevard du 15 Octobre Tabarre 41 Tabarre, Haiti Tel: 509-2229-8000 (from Haiti); 1-866-829-2842 (from the United States) Email: papadoptions@state.gov
Canadian Embassy
Street address: Delmas between Delmas 75 and 71 Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Currency
The Haitian gourde (HTG) is the national currency. Creole speakers will call U.S. dollars, Dola Ameriken or Dola US (pronounced oos), and gourdes, goud (rhymes fairly closely with the English “mood”). The vast majority of businesses and individuals in Haiti will accept U.S. dollars, though gourdes may be preferred in places such as outdoor markets.
The Haitian dollar equals 5 gourdes, and exists as a concept only. This exchange rate is fixed, with certain informal prices specified in Haitian dollars.
Time Zone
UTC-5.
Phone/Internet Information
- Calling code +509
- ISO 3166 code HT
- Internet TLD .ht
Major Languages Spoken
One of Haiti's two official languages is French, which is the principal written and administratively authorized language. It is spoken by all educated Haitians, is the medium of instruction in most schools, and is used in the business sector. It is also used in ceremonial events such as weddings, graduations and church masses. The second is the recently standardized Haitian Creole, which is spoken by virtually the entire population of Haiti. Haitian Creole is one of the French-based creole languages. Its vocabulary is primarily derived from French, but its grammar and pronunciation display influences from some West African, Taino, Spanish, and Portuguese languages. Haitian Creole is related to the other French creoles, but most closely to Louisiana Creole, Mauritian Creole.
Haitian Creole grammar is highly analytical: for example, verbs are not inflected for tense or person, and there is no grammatical gender—meaning that adjectives and articles are not inflected according to the noun. The primary word order (SVO) is the same as in French.
Many grammatical features, particularly pluralization of nouns and indication of possession, are indicated by appending certain markers, like yo, to the main word. There has been a debate going on for some years as to whether these markers are affixes or clitics, and therefore what should be used to connect the affixes to the word: the most popular alternatives are a hyphen, an apostrophe or a space. It makes matters more complicated when the affix itself is shortened, perhaps making only one letter (such as m' or w').
Although the lexicon is mostly French, the sentence structure is like that of the West African Fon language.
For more information on Haitian French, go here. For more information on Haitian Creole, go here.
Major holidays
- January 1 New Year's Day and Independence Day
- January 2 Ancestry Day
- January 6 Epiphany
- May 1 Labor and Agriculture Day
- May 18 Flag and Universities Day
- August 15 Assumption of Mary
- October 17 Dessalines Day
- November 1 All Saints Day
- November 2 All Souls' Day
- November 18 Vertières Day/Armed Forces Day
- December 5 Discovery Day
- December 25 Christmas
Source: Public Holidays Haiti
Source: Haitian Embassy