Tell me if you read, I will tell you who you are : discourses procuced on illiteracy in Reunion Island context in contrast with discourses by so-called illiterate adults

DISCOURS PRODUITS SUR L'ILLETTRISME EN CONTEXTE REUNIONNAIS ET DISCOURS EN RETOUR D'ADULTES DITS ILLETTRES

Abstract

Illiteracy, a french concept that appeared in the 1970s, is more topical than ever. If the latest studies have pointed to a decrease of this phenomenom, the media often evokes the spread of illiteracy, which then takes on the appearance of a social pathology. Some regions of France are particularly affected by illiteracy : this is the case of Reunion Island, an overseas department and ancient French colony. Reunion Island is a multicultural and multilingual territory, where creolization has allowed the hybridization of cultures, lifestyles and linguistic practices. It is also described as a society with an oral tradition. In this context, what is the vision of literacy ? In what terms do we speak of illiteracy ? This article explores and confronts the dominant discourse (media and institutional) with the individual discourse of people supposed to be illiterate or to have difficulties in their writing practices. These minority discourses appear more nuanced, even dissenting, and to a certain extent advocate the normality of the state of non-literacy. This allows us to question imagination around illiteracy and the singular status of this concept, which appears emblematic of an epistemological divide between two societal models and two relationships to knowledge.