I must confess that I am indeed appalled at what I consider to be the largely sterile debate which is being waged in the media on the value of using patois as a language of instruction in Jamaican schools.

Many of the participants in this debate seem to express the view that their assumed mastery of English confers on them a command of all things reasonable. The incongruity of their conclusions on this debate seems to unmask the fallacy of such pretensions.

I strongly support Professor Carolyn Cooper's argument that there is hardly anyone who speaks perfect English whatever that is. Our extemporaneous speech is littered with dangling modifiers, mixed metaphors and verbs in constant disagreement with their subjects.

Just a few days ago, I heard a learned lawyer saying on CNN 'the issue will soon be behind her and I'. This statement is not much different from 'on behalf of my wife and I' one of the most over-used ungrammatical preambles. Yet do these fluffs prove ignorance? Perhaps, but do they say much about the speaker's intelligence? I doubt it.

It should be noted that the language and reasoning are processed in separate parts of the brain. For example there is a condition known as Williams Syndrome, a genetic disorder characterised by rich speaking skills and very poor reasoning ability.

On the other hand, there is another condition, known as SLI - also believed to be genetically based - which is characterised by a deficiency in linguistic skills but no impairment to intelligence and reasoning.

There is a condition known as Broca's aphasia which results in the inability to understand the simplest grammar but does not retard the capacity to reason.

Damage to the Wernicke area of the brain seems to give rise to a reverse condition characterised by the ability to give flowery speech devoid of reason. So much for the connection with language and the ability to reason.

There is still a significant number of Jamaicans who find it difficult to follow a Standard English conversation. This might have nothing to do with their intelligence but with their orientation. Fae Ellington likes to recall the interviewer asking the distraught mother whose new born baby had gone missing at the hospital about 'closure'. The question according to Fae evoked a blank stare followed by 'Whey yu sey?'

The above-mentioned encounter between the grieving mother and the naive interviewer provides a poignant lesson in how we sometimes fail to communicate effectively in this society.

One index of a civilised society is the efforts it will expend to ensure the maintenance of effective communication. If I am giving instructions to someone who might not be adept at using English it might make sense to switch to a language which he will understand.

Two of the greatest teachers I encountered during my high school days have convinced me through their contrasting styles that mastery of ones subject and the ability to motivate one's students are more important than ones choice of language for instruction.

John Rupley was a tall American who simply brought the subject of mathematics to life in his quiet dignified manner. Students came from all across the island to attend his Saturday classes a virtual guarantee for success in things mathematical save perhaps for the most severely retarded.

He never veered from a Standard English presentation, I doubt he could, and his students soaked up the arcana of maths with gusto. Distinctions were often more common than failure. Rups, as he was affectionately called behind his back, was an icon long before it meant something you clicked on your desktop.

Larkland Tabois, now deceased, also taught us math. Tabs, as he was affectionately called, had a degree in Spanish and a mastery of English, he spoke Jamaican. Tabs' math instructions were conducted largely in the vernacular.

He would tease and cajole his students and had a rather Socratic approach to teaching, forcing his students to think and scoffing at those who wanted to be spoon fed. His 'horse sense' problems provided his charges with regular opportunities to engage in stimulating intellectual exercises.

Both masters brought out the best in their students and had a string of passes and distinctions to show for it. Clearly what was paramount was their mastery of their subject matter.

That said, it is important to point out that there are situations in which the choice of language for instruction would perhaps have been more important particularly for teachers who had less facility with their subject areas. Sometimes a difficult topic might better come to life if delivered in the language in which the instructor has the greatest competence.

Let it be abundantly clear, it is better to master two languages than one. No one can discount the value of our having a mastery of English it is the most widely spoken language. However we should not give short shrift to what for us is our native tongue. It is always so beautiful to hear a Fae Ellington or her mentor Leonie Forbes move seamlessly between Jamaican and 'propa inglish'. This facility I suppose is what we should all strive for.

However I strongly believe English should be taught in Jamaica as a foreign language and my experience as a teacher of Spanish reinforced that position in my mind. Immediately after leaving sixth form and waiting on a Harvard deferment, I had the privilege and opportunity to teach Spanish at my alma mater.

Two things stood out for me from this experience one was that I had to teach the students English as a foreign language in order for them to learn Spanish and that patois was helpful in imparting the Hispanic tongue.

Most of us are not taught that we conjugate verbs in English and that 'If I were you' is an example of the subjunctive mood. I remember explaining to my students some of the similarities in the sentence structures of Spanish and patois as I sought to teach the imperative mood.

I showed my students that in English we say 'Give it to me' the indirect object follows the direct. In Spanish and patois the reverse is true. 'Gi mi it' is structurally similar to the Spanish damelo.

In the latter case the direct object follows the indirect one. I could write numerous other examples in which I brought the Jamaican dialect to the service of my teaching Spanish. What is clear is that many of us operate under the misguided notion that we speak and understand English.

Another phenomenon I noted was that many of the students who thought they spoke English did not write it very well. What went wrong one might ask?

Well for starters those students who spoke on the vernacular understood that there was a distinction between their oral and written presentations. Those who believed that they spoke 'proper English' often transferred their ungrammatical oral habits to their written expression.

clydepmckenzie@yahoo.co.uk

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