This undertaking seeks to discourse the moot “ Patois is non a linguistic communication ” . The ground for this subject is to help individuals in holding a better appreciation of the significance of linguistic communication, and to find after thorough research and logical thinking for and against if Patois falls into this class. Several pieces of plants from diaries, magazines and newspapers were read after which my ideas and places were expressed and integrated throughout. It was discovered that there are changing positions on this subject among international and Jamaicans bookmans, pedagogues and even the common adult male, therefore the demand for a meaningful treatment and a conclusive response. It was shown that linguistic communication is really complex, has set criterions, significances and is accepted and acknowledged widely. On the other manus the research found that Patois is a Creole or dialect, formed from different linguistic communications such as English, Gallic and those from legion African folks. While some individuals desire Patois to a linguistic communication of Jamaica, and for the most ambitious the first linguistic communication another set shuns its usage wholly. In visible radiation of all this information, I believe that Patois is excessively restrictive ; and it needs a batch more clip for smoothing and to germinate into uniformity and eloquence to be considered as a linguistic communication.
PATOIS IS NOT A LANGUAGE
Over the old ages many books have been written, legion surveies carried out, commentaries and research done on whether Patois is a linguistic communication or non. This paper will greatly help in doing it clearer to the reader what is the true place. I would wish to foremost set on record the definition for a linguistic communication and analyze the similarities and or discrepancies between that, and what is known as slang.
Definitions for linguistic communication harmonizing to the Merriam- Webster Dictionary ( 2010 ) :
The method of human communicating, either spoken or written, dwelling of the usage of in a structured and conventional manner.
Any method of look and communicating.
The system of communicating used by a peculiar community or state.
In add-on it is further stated by Morreale, Spitzberg & A ; Barge ( 2007 ) that linguistic communication is a complex phenomenon whose intending depends on where and when it is used. It besides defines as a verbal symbol system that allows us to take messages and vocalizations, in the signifier of words, and interpret them into intending. Competent communicators need to understand the regulations and resources that people use to construe the significance of words and expect the effects of their words on others.
Now that it is set up to some extent what a linguistic communication is, it will besides be made clearer what it is non, I will try to aline what is written about slang with what was antecedently said about linguistic communication. Harmonizing to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary ( 2010 ) , Patois is:
A idiom other than the criterion or literary idiom.
Uneducated or provincial address
The characteristic particular linguistic communication of an occupational or particular group.
And harmonizing to Cayol ( 2008 ) the term ‘Patois ‘ , of Gallic beginning, intending ‘rough address ‘ , by and large has negative intensions. Although most Jamaicans use the term ‘Patois ‘ to depict their linguistic communication, linguists refer to our idiom as Jamaican Creole. Equally enrapturing as the slang is or might be seen it is non to the full recognized, accepted, regarded or classified as a linguistic communication.
Harmonizing to Robertson ( 2010 ) where as I portion the love for the beat and niceties that come across in Patois, I am non blinded by this love to disregard its geographical restrictions. These remarks once more points to the narrowness of Patois and its use, and the obvious and at hand averments and counter averments and remarks that have been and will be made on the topic.
There is no concrete spelling format designed up to this clip to be associated with words spoken in Patois and there is no organized, streamlined or standardised signifier of communicating in it, one can reasonably conclude that it has a far manner to travel and quite a few hurdlings to travel over before one can justly mention to it as linguistic communication. In support of those statements are Cayol ( 2010 ) who states, there is no normally accepted standardised system of writing system. The Cassidy system is being purported by faculty members. However, the general public is unfamiliar with it and as such the lay individual writes the linguistic communication in a phonological mode as exemplified by Dunn ( 2008 ) Gleaner article on the issue in which he wrote ‘gal pon di corna ‘ . Furthermore, in my sentiment there is non adequate literature deepness or cognition stemming from Patois to catapult it to linguistic communication position.
In traveling forward it is good to cognize some history of Patois. Harmonizing to Pryce ( 1997 ) Language in Jamaica today reflects the history of the state ‘s interaction with a assortment of civilizations and linguistic communications from many cultural, lingual, and societal backgrounds. Aside from the Arawaks, the original dwellers of Jamaica, wholly people were expatriates or kids of expatriates. Over 90 % of the 2.5 million people populating in Jamaica today are posterities of slaves brought from western Africa by the British. The local Jamaican ( Patois ) is a contemplation of a history of contact overtime between assortments of talkers.
The most influential talkers were immigrants from Africa and Europe. Kwa, Manding, and Kru are amongst the assortment of outstanding African linguistic communications apparent in Jamaican history. Lalla & A ; D’Costa ( 1989 ) stated that Early Modern English was brought to the Caribbean by crewmans, soldiers, apprenticed retainers, inmates, and colonists ( low-class Whites ) in the signifier of regional and non-standard idioms. For the most portion Early Modern English was extremely conservative. Today the alterations are non excessively far from where they were at those times. Hence the attitude towards patois by the elite in our society, and those who are confronted with this type of communicating are about offended. In their heads, merely individuals of a certain moose should utilize it.
Patois can more right be labeled as a Creole ; and Creole can be defined as the simplified signifier of a linguistic communication, and the consequence of a coming together, cutting and gluing of legion linguistic communications. Jamaican Patois is clearly a mixture of English, a small Gallic, many African linguistic communications, Spanish and assorted other linguistic communications. It should be kept in 1s memory that the word “ Patois ” itself is of Gallic beginning, therefore strengthen the point made earlier that slang is truly in general a Creole and is non a full linguistic communication standing on its ain. Notwithstanding all the negativeness that has been said about some of Jamaica ‘s popular signifiers of amusement vocalizing, dee-jaying, dancing among several other countries, these are still used as channels through which our civilization is being disseminated to the universe. Include the mass media houses and plans geared towards touristry, in add-on to individuals sing Jamaica or migrating abroad to populate, work or survey and interacting with others through several agencies of communicating some of our ways of speech production and the type of conversations had are all factors which have played a significant function in the spread of the Jamaican civilization and ego styled linguistic communication known to most indigens as slang.
In revisiting one of the earlier definitions for slang, which states it is a “ characteristic particular linguistic communication ” , one can see where there is much energy being placed into the publicity of slang to derive greater position but slang it is considered a broken or debauched signifier of another linguistic communication in the universe. Patois is besides referred to as an “ uneducated or provincial address ” which does non reason good for it, nor does that tantrum in with the definition for any other linguistic communication. We should ne’er discontinue to remind ourselves that Creole linguistic communications are found all over the universe on every continent.
Hence it is my position that Patois is the Jamaican and on a wider graduated table West Indian signifiers of Creole. Harmonizing to Sebba ( 1996 ) it is when two or more linguistic communications come into contact to organize a new linguistic communication a Creole linguistic communication is born. Some type of human “ turbulence ” that forces people to happen a manner to pass on, without utilizing their ain linguistic communications, stimulates the creative activity of a Creole linguistic communication. In the instance of Creole linguistic communications in the Caribbean, of which Patois is one, the “ upheaval ” is the past history of bondage. In Jamaica the African slaves were thrown into a state of affairs where the lone common agencies of communicating was English, or at least broken English, hence Jamaican Creole has a bulk of its roots in English. The make-up words nevertheless were taken from a assortment of West African linguistic communications.
Although a really strong instance is being made out for Patois to be listed or identified as a linguistic communication, even in Jamaica Patois still poses all kinds of jobs and is a barrier to proper communicating when used or reference in some circles. Of class that is because some individuals merely will non hold to the changeless usage of it, or how it sounds, therefore tie ining the pattern of it as a mark of those from the lower category of the society. The truth is that right now Patois is truly really hard to to the full understand and the fluctuations are so legion that when talk it comes across really raw/rough in some instances and may even sound unusual to the listener.
The Government has brought the affair to the Parliament on legion occasions, but is yet to come to a consensus as to the true position of Patois. Until a steadfast place is reached, a battle continues on the subject cognizing full good that there are categories in the society who uses it much more, and much more effectual that they do with the official linguistic communication which is English. Patois from all indicants is being used more widely in recent times and in the more rural countries, foregrounding that it has its topographic point among us.
Decision
After a careful and in deepness survey of the old information which have been taken from discoveries in books, diaries, newspaper articles and cyberspace on the subject “ Patois is non a linguistic communication ” , I must hold with the point mooted. My grounds for coming to this decision is based on several fact, foremost linguistic communication in general is highly complex and has several foundations upon which it is based. Some of these are sentence structure, spelling, preparations, sounds, words, significance, symbols, rules and eloquence.
While Patois is called linguistic communication by some the huge bulk disagrees, and yes it has some similarities and fulfils some of these complexnesss but it is clear that there are countries in which it comes up missing. For illustration two points of major concerns are the spelling and the readings of Patois words used. There are excessively many ways of spelling the same slang words and reading them is besides a great challenge, non to advert the pronunciations these are besides really hard, I believe these facets every bit good as others non mentioned now will take clip to develop, germinate and come to proper eloquence. Bearing all these facts in head it is my low decision that Patois has a long manner to travel before it can be named as a linguistic communication.
