English language in Jamaica

Posted by Alicia MAY


Presentation 

Jamaica is the largest of the English-speaking West Indian islands, and the most populous English-speaking territory in the Caribbean area.

In 1655, the British took over the isle, the next years, more than 1000 English settlers and their slaves arrived from the Niévès isle. In the first half of the XIX century, the English language was distinguished and became a regional form characterized by Spanish, Irish, Scottish, Creole contribution. At the end of the XIX century, Near-East shopkeeper immigrated. The mixing of African, Europeans, Chineses, Indians gave to the Jamaicans their cultural ans physics diversities, although the British and African influences remain the dominant forces of the formation of the nation.


Linguistic policy

The English is the official language of the State in Jamaica. This English is called “standard English” or “Queen's English”. However, the majority of the Jamaican don't speak this normalized English, but a local English mixed of Jamaican slang, creole words, Spanish and African, all with a particular accent.

While the creole (“patwa”) is the language spoken commonly at home or among friends, the English remains a foreign language the children learn at school. Obviously, the English remains the prestige language and a Jamaican have to know it in the formal communications, for example in the cities: in the Administration, the banks or post offices. Nevertheless, a survey about the oral comprehension of English on news reveals that 40% of Jamaican don't understand clearly the messages in English on the radio.

The Linguistic policy of Jamaica is a non-intervention policy. “De facto”, the English isn't proclaimed, of a juridically point of view, as an official language. It has acquired this status “de facto” :

The Constitution of the 6th August 1962 (modified in 1999) contains two linguistic dispositions about courts and others organisms of justice:
Article 15
2. Any person who is arrested or detained shall be informed as soon as reasonably practicable, in a language which he understands, of the reasons for his arrest or detention.
( We suppose that this language can be the Creole)

Article 20

6) Every person who is charged with a criminal offense -


a) shall be informed as soon as reasonably practicable, in a language which he understands,of the nature of the offense charged;

e) shall be permitted to have without payment the assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand the English language.

The trial is in English, but the Constitution provide that, when a party in a judiciary procedure doesn't understand nor speak English, the defendant is informed in a language he understand ( the Creole), and receive the assistance of an interpret.

In the Article 2 of The Jury Act, 1999 a jury have to speak, read and write English:

Qualification of Jurors:
1) Subject to subsections (2), (3) and (4), every person not less than eighteen years and not more than sixty-five years of age, whose name is on any current official list of electors for elections to the House of Representatives and who resides in Jamaica, is qualified and liable to serve on juries.
2) No person who-
(a) is not a Commonwealth citizen; or
(b) cannot speak, read and write English; or

If the use of the Creole is tolerated at the oral, all the documents written, and the sentence have to be in English.

English is the official language of Jamaica, but Jamaican Patois (Patwah) is the spoken language of Jamaica . There are movements to utilize the Creole in Parliament and give it a status of co-officialism with the English because the “patwa” is a language spoken by everyone and the English is considerated as a foreign language. Many Jamaican (of the middle class) consider that it's an attack against the English because there are favorable at a anglophone world community.
As the majority of the Jamaican speaks Creole, some adaptations in oral communications are accepted in Creole to the citizens, especially in rural area. If the citizens have to deal with the State,they can speak Creole, but if the State communicate with all the citizens, it uses English.
For example :The Registration (Births and Deaths) Act , 1982 impose the use of the English in birth and death certificates and also in "plain English" in the case of the reason of the death.
Other example: the use of the English is obligatory to be elected as mayor (law about municipality 2003).
Also, the professions which have a link with the health, the English is an exigence:
The Professions Supplementary to Medicine Act, 1974:

Section 3.
Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of section 11 of the Act, no person shall be registered as a medical laboratory technologist, radiographer,physiotherapist,occupational therapist, a dietitian,a speech therapist, etc unless he has sufficient knowledge of the English language to enable him to practise his profession efficiently in Jamaica.

Education
At the university ( University of the West Indies founded in 1948), the classes are given in English language.

On media

All the written media (Jamaica Gleaner, Jamaica Observer, Jamaica Star,..) are in English. Radio ((Radio Jamaica, JBC-FM, FAM, KLAS..) and Television (CVM TV et Love-TV) broadcast especially in English but also in Jamaican Creole.

The section 13 in The Radio and Telegraph Control Act, 1973 clarifies :


Section 13.
4) Every amateur radio station shall identify itself at the end of each transmission in the English language, regardless of the language used during transmission.
5) The identifications required in this regulation shall be given on each frequency being utilized and shall be transmitted by telegraphy, using the International Morse code, or by telephony using the English language with which the use of a nationally or internationally recognized standard phonetic alphabet as an aid for correct telephony identification is encouraged.

Section 14.
4) Where communications are carried on in a language other than English, special entry shall be made in the radio log book in relation thereto which shall state-

(a) the language that was used in the communications;
(b) the name of each person at the licensee's station who was engaged in the communications; and
(c) the call sign of the station worked.


The linguistic policy of Jamaica is a non-intervention policy. The pubic affairs are in English, but the citizens speak their Creole. Some attempts are in process to use the Creole in Parliament, in the education and media.

Source: John C. Wells Accents of English