Dem fi stop tek Patois fi joke!

PON OCTOBER 11, 2018, Gleaner put out one article wid dis ya headline, ‘PEP in the universe of Patois’. Mi wonder if di smaddy weh write dat deh article know seh di ‘universe of Patois’ big an broad fi true. Fi wi Jamaican language a ongle one a di nuffnuff Creole language dem weh people all over di universe start fi learn from dem deh eena dem mumma belly. More dan 40 Creole language out deh!

Den Gleaner throw word pon Ronnie Thwaites inna di said same article. Inna 2012, wen Thwaites did a di minister a education eena PNP govament, im did seh, “The language of employment, of instruction, of professionalism, the language of world view is the English language, not anything else.” Dat sound like seh a diss im a diss fi wi Jamaican language. It a di “anything else”. An it cyaan use fi teach pikni nutten.

Now dat PNP eena Opposition, Thwaites a change im mouth. Pure politics! Look wa im write seh eena wan article, ‘Language is the problem’, weh Gleaner put out pon October 8: “In Jamaica, the fissure between the command of Standard English required for PEP and the familiarity of most students only in Jamaican Creole creates the huge difference in outcomes and explains much of what we are bemoaning in the exam results.” Di problem a no language. A di hypocrite politician dem!

BIG UP PROF DEVONISH!

A now Thwaites find out seh di pikni dem no understand English to dat? Look how long di people dem weh study language, all like Prof Hubert Devonish, a tell govament seh dem ha fi use di pikni dem yard language eena school! Dat a common sense. Pikni cyaan learn nutten if dem no understand wa teacher a seh.

A Prof Devonish start up di Jamaican Language Unit (JLU) inna di University of the West Indies (UWI). An di JLU change over nuff a di primary school book dem from English to Jamaican. Di pikni dem can learn fi read an write eena di two language. Proper-proper! Same like whole heap a odder pikni all over di world weh start off school a use dem yard language. Den dem learn one next language pon top a dat.

Gleaner a force PNP fi stand up fi principle: “Mr Thwaites has made a substantial political move, having, as his party’s spokesman on education, placed the matter squarely on the agenda. The PNP now has to make clear whether his statement was a declaration of policy.”

Next week Sunday, a International Creole Day. Me want know weh di PNP an di JLP a go do fi celebrate di day. Pon Thursday, Prof Devonish a go gi one lecture, ‘An Official Language Policy For Jamaica’, eena di Neville Hall Lecture Theatre (N1), 2:30 eena di afternoon. Di public can come. Prof Devonish a retire from UWI an fi im lecture a di highlight a one conference weh di Department of Language, Linguistics and Philosophy a put on pon Thursday an Friday fi big im up. Nuff rispek due!