Dennie Quill, Contributor

Several persons have been trying to get my take on the current debate about formalising Jamaican creole as a second language. I am wading into deep waters because I am listening to the voices and trying to assess the pros and cons. I have no doubt this is a topic to which I will return in the months ahead.

Creative expression

Let me declare upfront that, like most Jamaicans, I slip seamlessly into Jamaican dialect when I get mad or excited or in everyday exchanges with family and friends. It's such a creative way of expressing certain thoughts and ideas.

For example, I cannot think of an English language equivalent to communicate what a person who is big and 'so-so' may look like, or when someone describes something as 'chaka-chaka'. Yes, Jamaican Patois is creative and it is resourceful.

Jamaican Patois is our mother tongue. So I grew up speaking Jamaican and learning the English language at school.

Was this a setback for me? Far from it. Today, whenever I travel to a country where English is spoken, I can communicate with anyone, albeit in my distinctive Jamaican accent. Clearly, the ability of Jamaicans to speak English, which is considered the language of commerce and trade, has resulted in greater opportunities for advancement in their careers.

I have not heard any argument to convince me why we need to change the status quo and formally declare Jamaican creole a language.

Already, there is official state support for Jamaican creole, and we see Jamaican being celebrated at Festival time with rich outpourings in verse and song. They are loudly applauded and recognised as 'fi wi ting'.

Jamaican creole is alive and well, it is in no danger of dying. It is not an endangered species that needs protection.

If anything, the appeal of the Jamaican culture throughout the world has ensured that Jamaican talk is imitated by a whole lot of people, including the enigmatic English DJ Ali G or the charlatan seer Miss Cleo and even characters at Disney World.

Formalising creole

Language is a tool of communication, so can this new thrust to formalise Jamaican be seen as an acknowledgement that there are persons, even those now being educated in Jamaica, who will never be able to communicate in English? What is this saying about the value of schooling in modern day Jamaica?

I am anxious to hear the position of the Jamaica Teachers' Association on this matter. Already, the teachers face the challenge of trying to erase poor performances in English language at the CXC levels. Can we expect an improvement if instructions are conducted in Jamaican creole?

Then there are plans for the Patois Bible. This is not a novel idea by any means. And I would not frown on it as a waste of time especially since an audio version is contemplated. Already, the Bible has been translated into Haitian Creole and Gullah, which is a language spoken by African Americans in remote coastal areas of South Carolina and Georgia.

Here's the thing. It is practical to assume that persons, who now have difficulty reading and understanding English, have not attained a great level of book learning.

Is it conceivable that these persons will be transformed into literary miracles, who will now delve into their own Patois Bible?

For the diaspora

I can also see with those persons, who perceive some difficulty in the way such a text would be standardised, bearing in mind that there is no system of the harmony of nouns, verbs, pronouns and grammar within Jamaican creole.

Now, if someone suggests that the Jamaican creole ought to be introduced in the diaspora so that third and fourth-generation immigrants can truly understand the ethos and language of their ancestors, I would be the first to applaud. More anon.

Send feedback to denniequill@hotmail.com or columns@gleanerjm.com.