Lesson 43 of 48 · St. Catherine
Seh di same message tree way — deep Patois fi grani, miggle talk fi bredrin, Standard English fi di boss — an know when fi slide.
Jamaican talk no live inna two box — a one continuum, an every Jamaican slide up an dung i whole day. Di deep rural end name basilect; di miggle name mesolect; Standard Jamaican English a di acrolect. Hear di same message slide: - Basilect: 'Mi naa go a di meeting tumaro — mi haffi kyai mi madda go a docta.' - Mesolect: 'Mi can't come to di meeting tomorrow — mi have to carry mi mother to di doctor.' - Acrolect: 'I won't be able to attend tomorrow's meeting; I have to take my mother to the doctor.' None a dem no 'broken' — each one correct fi i own place; di in-between forms a systematic blend, no mistake. Di skill weh Jamaica prize a fi command BOTH end: smadi weh can chat ONGLE deep Patois seem limited; smadi weh chat ONGLE speaky-spoky English seem stoosh. Di sweet spot a fi read yu audience: - Grani a yaad: deep an warm — 'Grani, mi soon come, mi a go a shap fi yu.' - Bredrin pon road: miggle, quick — 'Yow, mi soon forward, mi deh a shap.' - Boss a wuk: English, but wid Jamaican melody — 'I'll be back shortly; I'm just heading to the shop.' Watch di grammar slide too: 'im a nyam' → 'im eating' → 'he is eating'; 'a mi tell im' → 'is me tell him' → 'it was I who told him'; an inna town talk, 'did' tek ova from 'en/ben' as di past marker. Learner errors: (1) No mix di two end dem chaka-chaka to di wrong audience — 'I shall nyam presently' soun like joke. (2) No chat deep basilect to strangers or officials — i can read wrong; save i fi intimacy an family. (3) When grani answer yu inna stiff 'proper' English, no gi up — answer warm inna Patois, an watch ar melt come dung di continuum fi meet yu.
| Patois | Cassidy-JLU | English |
|---|---|---|
| slide | slaid | shift along the continuum |
| speaky-spoky | spiiki-spuoki | affectedly 'proper' English |
| stoosh | stuush | posh, stuck-up |
| read yu audience | riid yu aadiyans | judge who you are talking to |
| yow | yo | yo (street greeting) |
| forward | faawad | come, arrive (urban) |
| bredrin | bredrin | close friend |
| a yaad | a yaad | at home |
| pon road | pan ruod | out and about |
| chat proper | chat prapa | speak formally |
The continuum is his organising idea, and he gives the feature-by-feature order of movement up it: he and she acquired before her, participial -ing early, the passive last. He also confirms the lesson's specific claim that did takes over from en/ben, describing did as adopted in imitation of Standard (p. 60).
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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