I felt obligated as a citizen to write commending the policeman who was featured on the front page of Wednesday's Gleaner (June 18). This policeman managed to rescue an alleged phone thief from a group who probably would have killed him.

Yes, it's part of his job to protect, but the outstanding thing is he did not discharge his firearm. I am sure I speak on behalf of other Jamaicans when I say how proud I am of this policeman.

All is certainly not lost and I am praying that he will be an example to other police personnel.

- Linnette Reynolds, linreyn@hotmail.com

Patois is dialect, not language

Recently, I have noticed an enormous amount of interest in patois - that patois should be the language of Jamaica, that it should be taught in schools and the latest unbelievable suggestion that the Bible should be translated into patois.

Well, I have news for you! Patois is not a language at all, it is simply a dialect with a few (very few) foreign words thrown in.

Jamaican patois is 99 per cent English. What is different is the pronunciation, construction of a sentence and the grammar.

Dialects occur all across the world to the extent that one person may have great difficulty in understanding someone else from a different region of the same country.

Ever listened to someone from the Bronx? Thirty-three and a third becomes 'toyti tree and a turd'. Yes, we have different dialects all across the world and yes, we have one here too.

-James Snead sneadandsons@mail.infochan.com

School placements

I concur with the letter written on June 19 regarding GSAT. We continue to have elite schools and a placement in other schools is deemed as a fate worse than death.

Some schools (for example Campion College) continue to enjoy a great reputation based on the high academic skill level students they receive each year.

In order for Campion and other such schools to prove their worth, I think one year they should be assigned all the low-skill students. This way, their teachers can really show us their capabilities.

- Andrea Campbell, gravandy@hotmail.com, Via Go-Jamaica