Haitian Creole is French-based.
Haitian Creole ( [ ˈheɪʃən_ˈkriːoʊl ] [ kreyòl ayisyen , links = no ] , [ kɣejɔl ] ; créole haïtien ) is a French-based creole language spoken by 9.6 -- 12million people worldwide , and the only language of most Haitians . It is a creole language based largely on 18th century French with influences from Portuguese , Spanish , English , Taíno , and West African languages . The usage and education in Haitian Creole -- which is not mutually intelligible with French -- has been contentious since at least the 19thcentury : where Haitians saw French as a sign of colonialism , Creole was maligned by francophone elites as a miseducated or poor person 's French . Until the late 20thcentury , Haitian presidents spoke only French to their fellow citizens , and until the 2000s , all instruction at Haitian elementary schools was in French , a foreign language to most of the students .