A gentleman, nurse,

That loves to hear himself talk,

And will speak more in a minute

Than he will stand to in a month.

— Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet II, 4

TALKING is essential to every society, although I daresay some people will talk themselves silly, for as long as they hear their own voice, they’re happy. But it’s a means of communication that is vital.

But we do not all speak the same language. If you follow the Bible story, everyone spoke the same language at one time, but after they tried to build a tower in order to reach Heaven, the Lord made sure that henceforth, people would all speak different languages.

The Tower of Babel led to mankind’s babbling in different tongues. This language barrier led to a

bit of confusion and miscommunication among people, but as time went on, many folks learned other languages and interpreters also evolved. Still, many languages grew from the same root and have similarities. Others are totally in a different realm, such as the Oriental languages, Greek, Hebrew, African and such.

Here in Jamaica we have a language barrier of sorts, as some factions simply refuse to accept or appreciate the other’s use of their language. There is the Jamaican dialect, or patois, and there is Standard English.

We’ll decipher this language barrier right after these responses to ‘Money talks’.

Hi Tony,

You hit the nail right on the head. Gone are the days of young men and women falling in love just for the sake of love and not for money. These so-called relationships created by the attraction of money and riches do not, for the most part, last very long. They find that the only thing they have in common is the love of money, and then resentment starts to erode the relationship. Having said that, this quote by Oscar Wilde is not to be discounted: “Young people, nowadays, imagine that money is everything, and when they grow older, they know it.”

Michael

Season’s greetings Teerob,

Agreed with your commentary on the cliché topic. We as men often have lengthy discussions, ongoing for years, about what we think is fickleness, because of the ironies associated with it when we listen to females. To add, do you ever wonder how ugly men get women who are sparkling and pretty as city lights from a high view? So many examples exist locally. The guy is no looker, maybe he has ‘game’ but I doubt that would be taken seriously if he didn’t have financial backitive to cement the deal. Poor, ugly men can’t get a break without money.

KW

A few weeks ago, a man called one of those radio shows and was lamenting the use of patois by the witnesses in the Tivoli Enquiry. He said that they sounded terrible and were dragging us down as a country and shouldn’t be allowed to speak that way. He went on to say that that manner of speaking should be abolished and furthermore, “Only a certain type of people who dress and act a certain way speak in that manner.”

Obviously, he was from a certain class of people who not only ‘dress and act’ a certain way, but also look down their noses at those who speak our native tongue.

I was appalled at his bias and prejudice but pitied his ignorance. He is not alone. Our patois is a beautiful lyrical language and I love to hear it spoken. In fact, the world loves our language and others often try to imitate it. “Hey mon, you fram Jahmakya mon, you know Bob Morley? Irie.”

But there is a time and place for everything, and when it’s time for English to be spoken, then English should be spoken. After all, English is the universally accepted language, even though Mandarin Chinese is the most spoken, as far as numbers go.

Now, back to the language barrier and why it exists. The fact is, most people in Jamaica do not speak standard English, and even those who purport to do so, don’t. What they do is string together words with a certain accent to make you think that that they’re speaking proper English, but dere grammar are bad and dere syntax his terrhible.

To add to this, many put the H where it’s not supposed to go and drop it where it should go. “Hemphasise yu Hayshes yu hignorant hass.” As for the accent, “Listen man, I ad was tu goes to Noo Yark, yu knows, tu visit my madder in Brooklin last hear Christmuss.” Why the accent, I do not know, as I have relatives living abroad for over 40 years who still speak natural Jamaican. Is it a lack of self-esteem why they switch when they reach the airport?

Those witnesses in the Tivoli Enquiry speak the language that they are comfortable with, which is Jamaican. They do understand English, but many of the lawyers speak a different language completely. “Mr Brown, did the perpetrator strike the complainant on his cranium with a blunt-force instrument?”

“Wha him say?”

“Him claat him inna him head wid a board?”

Language barrier caused by arrogance?

Sometimes when those lawyers speak ,even I have a difficulty. And yet we cannot be condescending when speaking to people who aren’t as versed in English, as they’ll think that you’re talking down to them. Many politicians tend to do this. Interestingly, I heard a few of the Tivoli witnesses being interviewed outside after they left the stand, and they spoke quite clearly in Standard English. But remember, people will speak in the language they’re most comfortable with when under pressure.

Now, I am a student of English, loved it from I was a child, and I’m still learning. I cannot remember not being able to read, as I came from a family of educators, the closest being my mother who was a teacher. No one taught me patois, as it came naturally, but I was taught English. So I am not one of those who believe that patois should be taught in schools, or promoted. It hasn’t got to be, as it’s natural.

So when I see the ‘learned’ among us pushing patois and not pushing English, even as they speak and write English, I cringe. When Carolyn Cooper writes her column in patois, ‘Prappa spelling’, or ‘Chakka Chakka spelling’ I simply cannot understand it, no matter how hard I try. I can read Spanish, French, German, but I cannot read patois easily, even though I love it and speak it.

If we are to communicate we have to find a happy medium. We can speak English and intersperse it with Jamaican seamlessly. Most of us do that anyway. Barbara Gloudon and Orville Higgins do this expertly on their radio shows and there is no language barrier there. No one expects us to spout the Queen’s English 24/7, neither should we speak full Jamaican all the time. There is a time and place for everything.

Why doesn’t Carolyn Cooper write all her columns in patois, or lecture her classes in patois? That’s because English is universal and by using it, opens doors. Patois, beautiful as it sounds, has no use outside of Jamaica. My daughter speaks numerous languages, including English. They opened many international doors for her. No one taught her patois, it came naturally to her.

What language would you prefer your child to learn? Every country has its native language, Haiti has creole, Africa has hundreds, but the main goal is to learn the accepted language, with Haiti’s being French and other countries,’ English. By the way, the country that speaks French the most, apart from France, is Africa.

Louise Bennett (Miss Lou) brought the use of patois to the fore, and was at first vilified for doing so. But Miss Lou also spoke proper English and did so at the appropriate times. Most times I speak proper English, (well, I try) but I love my patois, which has its place, especially when a strong point is to be made. “Please move your foot so that I can pass.”

“Huh?”

“Me say fi move yu b…o cl…t foot so me can pass.” Get the point?

As for that patois Bible… why? Many people used to learn English from the Bible. Now where are they going to learn it?

Patois is beautiful, its lilt, its slang, its colour, its expressiveness. No wonder the world loves it. There is a university in Canada that has a course in Jamaican patois. But here in Jamaica it’s natural and doesn’t need to be taught or promoted. It’s as natural as ackee and we should not be ashamed of it. But please, to break down the language barrier, let’s teach English.

More time.

seido1@hotmail.com

Footnote: We’ve come to the end of yet another year, and the pace at which these years go by is mind-boggling. Where did this year go? I must thank you, my readers, for reading my columns, and also for your feedback, which I find invaluable. And, yes, for those who keep asking, I did win the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) award for opinion journalism a few years ago, so I have been recognised by my peers.

As for the book of my columns… patience. I wish you all a wonderful, prosperous and safe New Year, my friends, and thank you all very much. I must big up Barbican Women’s football team for their extraordinary run under coach Charlie Edwards. So many years, so many titles and records, with not even one game lost. Fantastic!