JO - A Language of Our Own

Jamaica Observer

A Language of Our Own


JAMES MOSS-SOLOMON


Sunday, May 03, 2009


Many historians have identified that slaves in Jamaica invented a dialect of their own which represented many African languages but transformed into English-based dialect.


JAMES MOSS-SOLOMON


The essential trick was that the English-sounding words were not necessarily used in conformity with Standard English. It therefore paved an important path for many conversations to be held within earshot, but outside of comprehension. This linguistic skill served to enable the planning and resistance which eventually brought the despicable system of slavery to an end.

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Snippet(s):

"Today, the reverse may be true. Many of our educated people, including politicians, use English words in standard usage form in order to keep the true meaning from the vast majority of Jamaicans who have been generally deprived of a meaningful education. A now deceased politician once remarked that "the best way to keep a secret from the majority of people is to write it in plain English and put it on the front page of a newspaper"."