Brainstorm Activity #1:

Interesting topics to brain storm:

• Asian influences on Jamaican cuisine 
• Romantic comedies 
• Jamaican patois
• Zodiac signs 
• Similarities between Toronto, NYC, and London 
• Romance and relationships
• Sneakers and designer clothing 
• Celebrity gossip

 

Topic 1: to outlaw black slavery the British sent Chinese and Indian indentured servants to work in Jamaica and other Caribbean countries. With this came the mix of cultures Chinese brought over rice cultivation and some of their dishes as well as Indians. Indians also introduced curry to the islands. One dish that I eat which is a Jamaican dish is chop Suey but the authentic Chinese version of chop Suey tastes very different. I’m guessing this is because the island has various spices and seasonings to add to the dish. Also Caribbean curry chicken tastes different from authentic Indian curry as well. A lot of Jamaican dishes in preparation for dishes include Asian ingredients such as soy sauce, Mirin or oyster sauce. 

 

Topic 2: Jamaican patois mirrors a AVE in America. It has its own language rules but is looked down upon through certain eyes such as rich British people or old Caribbean people or Jamaican people. I believe it’s origins includes a language from Ghana Nigeria Ireland Britain and Spain the Ghana and Nigeria language stems from the black slaves who were on the island some, some words in Patois are similar to Irish dialect and the base of the dialect is standard British English and there are some few words or sentence structures that stem from the Spanish language.

 

Topic 3: There’s a saying that NYC, London and Toronto are all the same place but in different fonts. I believe this is because of the people who live there. it has west Indian influences African influences Muslim influences and more or less Spanish influences Hispanic influences they share the music genre drill, slang words, and relatable scenarios due to the immigrants who habitat the area

 

Brainstorm Activity #2:

-The sources that would allow me to answer my questions best:

Books, interviews, websites about the research done before hand, my parents and my family in friends living in Jamaica. 

-Access to people who know about the topic:

My mother and father were both raised in Jamaica and lived there for a long time. My mom used to go to school in Uptown Jamaica but lived in country so she knows the clear difference. My dad is on a working visa so he still “lives” in Jamaica here and there. I also have cousins and friends still in Jamaican. 

-Skills I would need:

I need questioning skills, note taking skills, and annotation skills. 

Brainstorm Activity #3:

What I know about the topic:

There are different variations of the dialect, all depending on the region where they reside. One big contrast that splits the dialect into two is the difference between uptown Jamaican Patois and country Jamaican Patois. I believe uptown is similar to Standard British English.  I do know that some of the origins of patois are African languages due to the Transatlantic slave trade in the 16th century and so forth. The Spanish language is also tied into patois because before Jamaica was under British rule, it was under the Spanish. There may or may not be some Chinese, Indian, and other Asian influence on the language due to indentured servants being on the island under British rule as well. 

What I want to know:

What I want to know about the dialect is why is it considered wrong compared to Standard British English? Why is uptown patois more acceptable than country? How does it affect the people of Jamaica as a society? 

 

 

Interview with Kimberly Baker AKA Mummy December 8th, 2021:

Where in Jamaica did you live?

I lived in Spur Tree which is in Manchester, a parish of Jamaica.

How would you describe it?

Well I grew up on a farm basically. I had goats, cows, pigs, chickens etc etc. Lots of land and plants and trees. It was beautiful.

Did you go to school there?

Yes for basic school and secondary. For “high school”, I went to a school in Half-Way Tree.

Where is that?

It’s a town in Kingston.

Is that part of Kingston country?

No, it’s not. I believe it’s downtown but it’s more closer to uptown with a walking distance.

Is there a clear contrast between Spur Tree and Halfway Tree?

Oh definitely. For one, in Spur Tree, country, I had to walk to school. Uptown, you take the bus. Two, everyone knows West Indian schools are militant, right? However, it was worse in Halfway Tree… I got beat in both schools for ‘chatting bad’ but in high school, it was worse. Cyan chat inna patwah at alllll

Code-switching is the practice of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language in conversation, according to Google. Have you ever code-switched?

Yes, all the time. I know I code switch here (USA) a lot but yes even in Jamaica. It was mostly at school or professional settings and even sometimes when I go uptown. I would switch from my patois to theirs or just proper English— weh yuh call it again? Standard British English… They usually can tell I’m from country though because of my accent.

Alright that’s all the questions I have for you. Tank yuh Mummy.

You’re welcome, my dear.

Tweets that I found:

Excerpt from Essay titled “Maroon Culture and How it Came About” written by Leanna Prendergast:

 

Survey I conducted on Twitter: 

The results are actually 80% voted for Uptown because someone accidentally clicked country.

Excerpt from “The Jamaica Reader: History, Culture, Politics” edited by Diana Patson and Matthew J. Smith:

What I learned:

All of these sources brought me to the conclusion that Uptown patois definitely takes more of British English than any other language that makes up the dialect, resulting in language subordination for country patois. Language subordination is when one language or language variety gains hegemonic powers over another. The attempt of stripping this beautiful dialect can start from as early as 5 years old in school. It’s enforced in education, work, and maybe even at a supermarket. This research reaffirmed what I thought and also brought me to new conclusions. I learned that Jamaica does have slight racism within the island although it’s not as big as America’s. I also learned that patois was used to organize and set up escape plans by slaves just like African American Vernacular English and Haitian Creole. However, I am not satisfied with this research. Even though I didn’t find anything on it, I still believe there is an Asian influence on the language of Jamaica. I also want to know which African languages primarily make up patois. It’s only because Jamaica is such a small island that has little research on it that I can’t find everything that I want to know overseas. That and the eBooks I found online were a dollar too many. In conclusion, this research gave me a new perspective on patois. It gave me a new sense of pride, stronger than the one I had before and it also made me more connected to my families’ origins and mine.