SAMPE IA

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Introduction

In the Caribbean and specifically in Jamaica, the most accepted language for

communication is that language left to us by our European colonisers. The pidgin that developed

from the contact of the African slaves and European masters later developed into their own

individual languages (or Creoles. They (the elite in society shun these languages as

inappropriate or inade!uate for public and sometimes even private use. This notion is widely

accepted by even those who can spea" nothing else but the Creole. It has fed belief that the use

of the Creole, in Jamaica#s case $patois%, ma"es one inferior to the users of Jamaican &tandard

English.

This research serves to educate the minds of these $elite% and those not so fortunate but

have adapted that way of thin"ing. It also serves to inform them of the reasons not to doubt the

e!uality of the Creole to the official language, to remove the thought of the Creole being inferior

or bad language, and to invo"e a sense of pride in one#s $nation language%( term used by the

'arbadian poet 'raithwaite.

Research Questions:

Do young people consider patois as bad language?

Do people view Jamaican Creole as Jamaican Standard English’s eual?

!as the language pre"udice#taught to us by our European colonisers# been

passed on to this present generation and by what degree?

Can the pre"udice be prevented $rom being perpetuated $or coming years?

Technical terms

Indispensible) Absolutely necessary* vitally necessary

+other tongue) ne-s native language* the language learned by children and passed from

one generation to the net

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Culture) All the "nowledge and values shared by a society

Creole) A mother tongue that originates from contact between two languages

/re0udice) A partiality that prevents ob0ective consideration of an issue or situation

1ialect) The usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people

2iterature 3eview

Creole according to the ford English 1ictionary is a combination of European and

African language. 2anguage is the spo"en or written form or way of communicating in a society.

$The mother tongue is indispensable in all forms of progress of a community: psychological and

intellectual balance of its members. If we continue to force the child, Martiniquais, to subject to

a lifestyle in French at school and a Creole one at home, we will reinforce the process of

collectie irresponsibility plaguing the Martinique community ... a people who is reduced to

practice its language only at home is condemned to face the death of its culture, of which this

will only be the mirror reflection of an otherwise real agony.! "douard #lissant, writing about

Creole in Martinique. 4e can embrace this statement made by Edouard 5lissant in the wider

Caribbean and even more distinctly Jamaica. $+any sociologists argue, in fact, that without

language, there can be no culture at all.% according to 2isa J. +cintyre in her boo", The /ractical

&"eptic Core Concepts in &ociology, third edition. This definitely bac"s Edouard 5lissant#s

statement $condemned to face the death of its culture% . ften times, our own dialect is pushed to

the bac" burner and scoffed at. This may not seem li"e a big issue but it helps to destroy our

culture.

$4e "eep "nowledge from the ma0ority of people by denying them "nowledge in the

language they use. There is something very wrong in saying to a human being, -2et me cut off

your legs, and I will give you artificial ones, which will be perfect.- I-m saying let us wal" on our

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own two feet...% says, 6gugi wa Thiong-o, 7enyan writer who initiated literature in his native

5i"uyu tongue. 2anguage is about identity, according to 2inton 7wesi Johnson in &amaica

#leaner , 899:;<9;<=.>e says, $?or me, one of the defining characteristics of poetry is

authenticity of voice, and my natural voice is the ordinary spo"en Jamaican language.%

&tephanie Tame)1urrleman in &amaica #leaner , 899@;<8;<: in the article $The ni!ue

Jamaican Creole% states that, ne thing that became evident to her in time was that we as a

people (Jamaicans fre!uently unconsciously perpetuate inherited and useless pre0udices if not

forced to abandon them. &he further eplained that she has learnt from her studies at the

niversity of 5eneva that $ Jamaican Creole is not a -corruption- of a language, but a -language-

in itself ...% . In other words, it is not bro"en or bad English. ?ew persons seemingly realiBe that

what we now embrace as &tandard English was in its infancy one of hundreds of the regional

dialects spo"en in England, and li"e our /atois, went through similar rites of passage before a

single form emerged, or was selected, as the standard. 4hat our linguistic eperts have been

urging all along is, we are now moving towards bilingual status. This prospect horrifies some of

us to whom &tandard English is sacrosanct. The common patois (as an evolving language in its

own right is seen by some as a threat to the preservation of accepted &tandard English. Indeed,

the pre0udice not disguised when &tandard English is referred to as proper English.

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20071216/news/news5.html


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The following table comes from “2anguage Education /olicy in the tension between

&tandard Jamaican English and Jamaican /atwa%

Table D &ample 1istribution of stereotypes (6<,999

4hich spea"er do you thin" ?re!uency (F

Is moreintelligent

/atwa @D @.@FEnglish ==9 [email protected]

6either;'oth D8H D.:F

Is morehonest

/atwa 8GD D<F

English 8@G D9.F

6either;'oth D=D DG.:F

Is more

educated

/atwa =H :.8F

English =H< :<.@F

6either;'oth D9G D8.8F

Is more

friendly

/atwa D@H DH.GF

English 89 8=.8F

6either;'oth DDD D=F

>as more

money

/atwa @@ G.GF

English DH9 .@F

6either;'oth 9: :.=F

Is more

helpful

/atwa D99 D<.HF

English 8H8 D<.<F

6either;'oth DG D@F

Figure 4: Language Awareness (JLU, 2005, p. 8)

This table evidences that &JE (English is much more fre!uently attributed to positive

features than J/ (/atois is. stensibly, the respondents of this survey see spea"ers of &JE as

more intelligent, more educated, and as having more money than J/ spea"ers have. ?irstly, this

in parts, sure enough, reflects the socio)structural reality, since &JE is the official language of

Jamaica and is the classical language of the political leaders and institutions of higher education.

&econdly, the survey clearly shows traditional pre0udices li"e the connection between

intelligence and language use. 3egardless of these clear impressions, $it appears that since the

independence of Jamaica in <H:8 there has been a significant change in attitudes towards J/.

Increasing linguistic research on creoles, the resulting establishment of creoles as languages, and

the rise of positive attitudes towards J/, as a means of ethnic identity, socio)cultural epression,

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and an economic factor, considerably lifted the image of J/ (cf. +oEKC, 899<, p. G. In

addition, it contributed to a pressure on the state to accommodate the use of J/ in a wider range

of official contets (cf. 1evonish, 899G, p. :8H, e.g. in school or court (cf. ?rancis, 899Ga L

report on the training of J/ interpreters for assistance before the court.%

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1ata Collection &ources

The 3esearcher used two ma0or 1ata Collection sources that are discussed further down.

1uring the data collection, the researcher was aware of the legal and ethical concerns regarding

collection and even analysis. There was privacy concerning sub0ects and data and consent was

sought from sub0ects.

Muestionnaires were issued to sity (:9 individuals. Those to whom !uestionnaires were

given had a wee" in which to complete it. At the end of that wee") the period ?ebruary <G to

?ebruary 8, 89<<), only fifty (=o !uestionnaires were collected. These !uestionnaires served as

the bul" of The 3esearcher#s primary sources of data. In addition, observations were made based

on persons* attitude to the language, language registers used and by whom and how often. These

observations were made in the classroom, on the bus, on the street, at home, and at church.

The 3esearcher#s secondary sources came from 5leaner articles, tets and other boo"s.

The web was a !uite helpful source but wisdom was used in the information ta"en.

Communication 6otes from in 2ower &i ?orm was also referred to. The 3esearcher even

visited the 7ingston /arish 2ibrary.

In conclusion, The 3esearcher did everything in his power to stay on the ethical and legal

side of collection and analysis. 'e assured that the information presented in the research is all

true and reliable.

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/resentation of ?indings

$This chart shows the age age

groups of those individuals

4ho were given !uestionnaires.%

%igure &'hows the age groupings of the fifty %igure ': shows their se(

)ersons to whom *uestionnaires were issued.

%igure ('hows the sector in

which the + persons who got questionnaires wor- in.

%igure ):'hows the employment status of indiiduals.

%igure *: 'hould )atois be

used for instruction in schools.

%igure +:'hows what indiiduals thin- of patois

if it is a slae language.

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%igure ,: 'hows what indiiduals thin- %igure -: shows how often indiiduals

)atois should be used informally only. 'pea- patois.

%igure .: )atois is a sign of illiteracy. %igure &/: 'hows how often indiiduals

'pea- 'tandard "nglish

%igure && 'hows if )atois is easier to spea- $igure &': shows which ma-es indiidualsthan 'tandard "nglish Feel more comfortable

%igure &): 'hows patois 'hould become jamaica%s first language

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Interpretation of ?indings

?ifty persons received !uestionnaires. Twenty)two (88 males and twenty)eight (8G

females. The larger age groups were individuals in their teens and twenties* which totalled more

than half (=:F. This is important, as these are the young people. Their view on this matter is

most important, as they will lead our society in the coming years. The number of students and

the number of employed interviewees both totalled 88 with the unemployed totalling 0ust si

(:.this is interesting as si (: of the interviewees were above the age of fifty (=9 very close to

retirement age. The 3esearcher has reasons to believe that five of those are truly retired leaving

0ust one person out of a 0ob for whatever reason.

&ity)four percent of those employed admitted to wor"ing in the private sector. 4hen

as"ed if they believe that patois is a slave language only one person was adamant that it was.

This person stated that they strongly agreed that patois is a slave language. Thirteen of the

respondents simply agreed that it was while in contrast fourteen disagreed with twenty)two

seriously denouncing that thought saying they strongly disagree. The use o$ patois in schools

$or instruction seems to cause some controversy. +ost of the respondents strongly disagreed but

not by a far margin with others strongly agreeing that, it should be so. A tiny few disagreed with

the others maybe <9 or so agreeing. 0atois should be used in$ormally only had D:F strongly

disagreeing with that motion and 88F disagreeing. This leaves a total difference of <:F when

compared to the 8F that strongly agrees and the 9F that merely agrees with patois remaining in

the informal arena.

A vast ma0ority disagrees with the suggestion that patois is a sign o$ illiteracy1 The

greater number of respondents strongly disagreed with only one strongly agreeing. Ten (<9

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persons admitted to spea"ing Creole $occasionally% with D8 individuals claiming that they spea"

it !uite $often% and only G saying they $always% do. 4hen as"ed the inverse !uestion <G say they

occasionally spea" Jamaican &tandard English 8< say the often do with only H claiming that its

always used by them.

4hen they were to say whether patois is easier to spea2 than Standard English3 there

were no reservations so an area chart was used to present this. As epected by The 3esearcher an

absolute ma0ority strongly agrees that patois was easier 88 and 8< agreeing that it is. The

remaining seven (@ persons of the fifty who received !uestionnaires disagreed and strongly

disagreed si (: and one (< respectively. The 3esearcher must say he was blown away by this

one. 8: of the persons who were interviewed felt more comfortable with &tandard English.

Twenty)four (8 admitted that patois filled that col. 4ith a tiny difference of two (8, it is

astonishing that more people find patois easier but feel more comfortable with &tandard English.

The results to this last !uestion are rather intriguing. Should patois become Jamaica’s

$irst language? ?our persons strongly disagreed, <G 0ust disagreed leaving a total of twenty)two

(88 individuals. ?ifteen (<= persons strongly agreed to this notion and <D simply agreed ma"ing

a sum of 8G persons.

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1iscussion of ?indings

The 3esearcher has found this research to be !uite refreshing in the information it

brought forth, from the literature review, the presentation and the interpretation of findings. This

research has opened The 3esearcher#s understanding of the language situation in Jamaica.

&ome commonalities were found between the literature review and the data findings. ?or

instance in the evaluation of which language (patois;J&E the respondents felt more comfortable

with most of the respondents say they felt more comfortable with the &JE which would be

described) by “2anguage Education /olicy in the tension between &tandard Jamaican English

and Jamaican /atwa% ) as a traditional language pre0udice passed down. >owever, these same

respondents said that patois is easier to spea" than J&E in %igure &&. This is because according

to &tephanie Tame)1urrleman in &amaica #leaner , 899@;<8;<: $ one thing that became evident

to her in time was that we as a people (Jamaicans fre!uently unconsciously perpetuate inherited

and useless pre0udices if not forced to abandon them%

In the data findings a vast ma0ority of respondents declared that patois is not a slave

language this fact can be supported by &tephanie Tame)1urrleman (899@ in &amaica #leaner ,

who eplained that she has learnt from her studies at the niversity of 5eneva that $ Jamaican

Creole is not a -corruption- of a language, but a -language- in itself ...% . In other words, it is not

bro"en or bad English neither is it 0ust merely $slave language%.

In %igure ,3 we find that =GF of the respondents disagreed with patois being a slave

language and 8F agree that it is. This finding correlates so well with this statement from

the * /anguage "ducation )olicy in the tension between 'tandard &amaican "nglish and






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&amaican )atwa: !uoted from the literature review) $it appears that since the independence of

Jamaica in <H:8 there has been a significant change in attitudes towards J/. Increasing linguistic

research on creoles, the resulting establishment of creoles as languages, and the rise of positive

attitudes towards J/,%

The 3esearcher would li"e to shed light on one difference found between the 2iterature

3eview and the 1ata ?indings. The table shown in the literature review formulated in (899=

shows that at that time, out of a sample group of <999 @D persons (@.@F thought that the

spea"ers of Jamaican patois were more intelligent, ==9 ([email protected] thought the standard English

spea"ers were more intelligent. 4hen my research was done with a group of fifty (=9 persons a

vast ma0ority disagreed that the use of patois was a sign of illiteracy. +y research was done si

(: years later so it may be argued that things has really changed since. In addition it could also

be argued that my target group of fifty (=9 is smaller than the thousand (<999 targeted in the

earlier research.

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Conclusion 2imitations and

3ecommendationsIn conclusion we find that Jamaican Creole is in no sense a bad language or bro"en

English. It is seen as such by those to whom the plantation pre0udice has been passed down.

+any persons today are becoming more comfortable with the language* it is spo"en on bothe

formal and informal occasions. Eg. The +anatt commission of en!uiry, it#s noticed that those

attorneys and politicians at sometime switched to the basilect. &o people today from all wal"s of

life liberally use the language

There were many limitations in trying to get this piece together. The 3esearcher faced

problems of epense* bus fare, printing !uestionnaires, internet cafe, and printing the pro0ect

itself. 4hen the researcher sought persons to fill out the !uestionnaires many refused, and some

never returned it. The researcher travelled to different institutions) 4I, TEC>) in order to get

the perspective of those learned persons.

I would recommend however, that more !ualitative and !uantitative research be done.

/eople should be taught )especially young people)

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'ibliography2isa J. +cIntyre. (899:. The /ractical &"eptic Core Concepts in &ociology (Third edition.

+c5raw)>ill. /hillip A. 'utcher.

Cassidy, ?. 5., <H@<a. Jamaica Tal". Three >undred ears of the English 2anguage in Jamaica.

'asingsto"e;2ondon +acmillan Education 2td.

Cayol, 1., 899G. /atois or Jamaican CreoleN 3eport in The Jamaica 5leaner, June 8H, 899G.

nline http;;www.0amaica)gleaner.com;gleaner;899G9:8H;news;news.html

(9D.9=.89<9

J2, 899=. The 2anguage Attitude &urvey of Jamaica. 1ata Analysis. Jamaican 2anguage nit,

1epartment of 2anguage, 2inguistics K /hilosophy, ?aculty of >umanities K Education,

niversity of the 4est Indies, +ona.nline http;;www.mona.uwi.edu;dllp;0lu;pro0ects;3eportF89forF892anguage

F89AttitudeF89&urveyF89ofF89Jamaica.pdf (9<.9=.89<9

Angus &tevenson. (8998. The 2ittle ford English 1ictionary (eight edition. nited &tates.

ford niversity /ress Inc., 6ew or"

2inton 7wesi Johnson. (899:.2anguage as identity. &amaica #leaner , 899:;<9;<=

>ubert 1evonish. (8998. 2anguage rights, 0ustice and the constitution. &amaica #leaner ,8998;9<;8@

&tephanie Tame)1urrleman. (899@. Eploring the uni!ue Jamaican Creole. &amaica #leaner ,

899@;<8;<:

5eof 'rown. (899G. /atois as language or bro"en English. &amaica 0bserer , 899G;@;9

1aniel Jett"a. (89<9. The language situation of Jamaica,2anguage Education /olicy in the

tension between &tandard Jamaican English and Jamaican /atwa

>ilary Term. 1r. John >arris



http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/html/20080703T210000-0500_137430_OBS_PATOIS_AS_LANGUAGE_OR_BROKEN_ENGLISH_.asp


http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/html/20080703T210000-0500_137430_OBS_PATOIS_AS_LANGUAGE_OR_BROKEN_ENGLISH_.asp

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Appendi* Muestionnaire

Questionnaire1. se !a"e #e!a"e⃝ ⃝

2. Age 1$%1& 20%$0 $1%40 41%50 a'oe 50⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝

$. or* status stu+ent⃝ e!p"oe+⃝ une!p"oe+⃝

4. -# e!p"oe+, wi/ se/tor +o ou wor* in pu'"i/⃝ priate⃝

5. atois is a s"ae "anguage strong" agree agree +isagree strong"⃝ ⃝ ⃝

+isagree⃝

. atois sou"+ 'e use+ #or instru/tion in s/oo"s strong" agree agree +isagree strong" +isagree⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝

3. atois sou"+ 'e use+ in#or!a"" on"

strong" agree agree +isagree strong" +isagree⃝ ⃝ ⃝ ⃝

8. atois is a sign o# i""itera/ #or une+u/ate+ persons


&. ow o#ten +o ou spea* patois neer⃝ o//asiona""⃝ o#ten⃝ a"was⃝

10.ow o#ten +o ou spea* 6tan+ar+ 7ng"is neer⃝ o//asiona""⃝ o#ten⃝

a"was⃝

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11.atois is easier to spea* tan 7ng"is


12.i/ !a*es ou #ee" !ore /o!#orta'"e 6tan+ar+ 7ng"is⃝ patois⃝

1$.atois sou"+ 'e/o!e Ja!ai/as #irst "anguage


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SAMPE IA