Lesson 7 of 48 · St. Andrew
Recognize the Patois-to-English continuum and say the same sentence three ways for three audiences (light introduction).
In St. Andrew you can hear the whole of Jamaica's language in one bus ride. Jamaicans don't speak 'Patois OR English' — they slide along a CONTINUUM. The deep end is the basilect (rawest Patois), the middle is the mesolect (the everyday urban blend), and the top is the acrolect (Standard Jamaican English). Same sentence, three ways: Im a nyam im dinna → Im iiting im dinna → He is eating his dinner. Mi naa go → Mi not going → I am not going. A fi mi dat → Dat a my own → That one is mine. Hear it? Each step swaps a few pieces; NONE of the middle steps are mistakes — they are systematic blends, and everyone from professor to higgler slides all day, sentence by sentence, depending on who is listening. The stereotype says 'uptown' St. Andrew speaks English and 'downtown' speaks Patois — but in truth, commanding BOTH ends is what Jamaicans admire; someone stuck at either end seems limited or stoosh. When to slide where: English for the bank, the office, formal strangers; Patois for the yard, the market, jokes, love and quarrels. For you, a heritage learner, know this: an elder may answer you in careful English to be 'proper' — reply in warm Patois and watch the whole conversation melt down-continuum. Example sentences (each in three registers): 1) Mi a go a maakit / Mi going maakit / I am going to the market. 2) Im nuh know / Im don't know / He doesn't know. 3) Wa yu a seh? / Wa yu saying? / What are you saying? 4) Di pickney dem a play a door / Di children dem playing outside / The children are playing outside. Errors to recast: treating mesolect as 'broken English' (name it: dat a di miggle a di road, an i correct); using deep basilect in a formal role-play; and sliding randomly instead of by audience. Keep this lesson light — awareness now, mastery later in the journey.
| Patois | Cassidy-JLU | English |
|---|---|---|
| chat patwa | chat patwa | speak Patois |
| taak | taak | talk, speech |
| stoosh | stuush | posh, stuck-up |
| hitey-titey | haiti-taiti | high-toned, snobbish |
| labrish | labrish | gossip, friendly chat |
| bredrin | bredrin | close friend (male) |
| sistren | sischrin | close friend (female) |
| yout | yuut | young person |
| boss | baas | friendly address for a man |
| star | staar | friend (street address term) |
| a yaad | a yaad | at home; in Jamaica |
| a farin | a farin | abroad |
| big man | big man | grown man; respectful 'sir' |
His whole method in the chapter is to describe both ends of a scale and the features between, and he repeatedly shows speakers moving up it feature by feature — he/she acquired before her, participial -ing acquired early, the passive last of all.
The description of the grammar is checked against the published work above. The lesson, the examples and the wording are mine.
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