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Miss Lou seh: "...dem shoulda call English Language corruption of Norman French an' Latin an' all dem tarra language what dem seh dat English is derived from."
Caroline Cooper, Contributor
LISTEN NUH! A we a use language, a nuh language a use we. So fi wi language can do whatsoever wi want it fi do. So mek wi reason out how mi answer Eddie B exam question. It come een like English a di A side a di record, an Jamaican a di dub version. An when mi seh dat, a nuh diss mi a diss dub, an a nuh diss mi a diss fi mi language. Mi ha fi mek dat clear-clear. Cau plenty people feel seh Jamaican a so-so drum an bass. It naa nuh lyrics; it naa nuh melody; it naa seh nutten. A nuh dat me a seh. Cau yu done know seh drum an bass have nuff power an authority. Is a nex language. Yu all have artist specialise inna pure drum an bass. Dem nuh business wid nuh A side. Daddy U Roy big up im sound system an seh 'dis station rule di nation wid version.' An mi a add on pon dat an seh 'fi wi language rule di nation wid dub version.'
If me did have money yu see, mi woulda set up one so-so patwa radio station. PATWA FM. Unu know seh me rather call di language 'Jamaican'; but outa road a patwa everybody seh. Yu see dat deh PATWA FM. It woulda rootsy, hot, cool, irie, full a love an power - everything wrap up inna one. An mi woulda gi Radio Mona di bligh fi broadcast wi patwa programme dem from six to six, instead a di so-so A side, A class music dem a play whole night. One day, one day.
MISS LOU
So a so me see di switching over from English to Jamaican. A side/B side. But a nuh so English dweet. Dem use a next word picture: Tek something from me gi you. Or carry smaddy or sinting from ya so to deh so. Dat a di root a di meaning a di two English word 'transfer' an 'translate.' Den yu see dem deh word 'translate' an 'transfer', a nuh no real-real English word, yu know. A borrows. From Latin. Translatus. Same ting Miss Lou seh: ". . . dem shoulda call English Language corruption of Norman French an Latin an all dem tarra language what dem seh dat English is derived from."
ENGLISH WALK AN BORROW-BORROW
So di English word translate a corruption a di Latin word translatus. An di latus a di part a di verb transferre weh show seh di action done-done. Some a di Latin word dem change up-change up dem shape fi show di meaning a di different-different part a speech. Transferre: fi transfer; translatus: transfer done. Anyhow, to cut a long story short, the Latin word transferre, weh di English word transfer come from, it mek up outa two word: trans mean across and ferre mean fi carry. Like di ferryboat weh lickle most stop carry passenger from Kingston to Port Royal. But hear dis: English so walk an borrow-borrow other people word, dem all borrow when dem nuh got nuh need fi borrow. For all di ferry inna ferry boat, a good-good long-time English word weh mean di said same ting like di ferre inna Latin. Transferre. But just like how some a wi feel seh English higher dan Jamaican, a di said same way plenty a di tapanaaris dem inna England did feel seh Latin an French did higher dan fi dem owna language. Member 1066? Di Norman people dem beat down di English people dem, mek dem feel seh fi dem owna language nuh good fi nutten. An a it mek di English people dem borrow-borrow so much farin word a gi people problem fi learn dem corrupt language.
Inna dem ya time, Jamaica people find out di power an authority a fi wi language and nobody nuh fraid fi tell fi dem owna story, inna fi dem owna language. A it mek dem call CVM come video me. An people wi spend all one hour pon cell phone a wait fi talk pon talk show. Up to di host dem bruck out an a chat dem language broad-broad. Tony Laing tek over from Babatunde; an Miss Haughton she ketch her length. Me woulda love hear di two a dem, a run one show. Pure excitement. An a we same one inna di so-call "intellectual ghetto" a do di work fi explain wa a gwaan inna di society.
RADIO CHANGE UP
Dr Kathryn Brodber, she a di Head a di Department of Language, Linguistics and Philosophy, she a write one book bout how talk radio change up over di last 20 year. A nuh like first time: yu go pon radio an TV an ha fi a round up yu mout an try talk stush. An Professor Hubert Devonish get University fi set up one Unit fi di Jamaican language inna dat deh department fi mek wi language step up inna life. Lickle from now, Govament gwai ha fi mek sure seh all a dem important document gi out inna two language: English an Jamaican. Nuh so-so English. An nuff other language specialist inna disya University lay di foundation. Dr Pauline Christie book pon language inna Jamaica just come out. Dr Velma Pollard write one book pon Rasta language weh she call Dread Talk. An Dr Beverley Bryan inna di Department of Educational Studies a do work pon di language situation inna di primary school dem.
Inna fi mi Department, Literatures in English, we teach nuff literature inna Jamaican. Mervyn Morris start teach Miss Lou an di dub poet dem: Mikey Smith, Oku Onuora, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Mutabaruka. An plenty a di 'A' side writer dem use Jamaican same way. Lorna Goodison, Jean Breeze, Olive Senior, Erna Brodber, Mervyn Morris, Eddie Baugh, Vic Reid, Claude McKay, Herbert DeLisser. An me bring een di DJ dem. So mi a go draw Elephant Man an Spragga Benz big tune, Warrior Cause, fi salute all a di teacher dem a UWI fi di work wi a do fi honour wi language, an wi culture an wi history:
Well mi come fi big up every warrior from di present to di Past Hail all who know dem fight for a cause
So dat a di language, authority and power within the academy and without. An by di way 'without' is like inna dat Easter hymn, 'There is a green hill far away without a city wall.' It nuh mean seh di green hill naa no city wall. It mean seh di green hill outside a di city wall. Dat a first meaning a without di academy. But is next ting me a seh. If wi nuh mind sharp, di people dem outside a di academy a go gwaan without wi. So wi ha fi go step quick an ketch up wid dem. So mi come to di last part a di talk now. Soon done. Professing slackness
DEM SLACK!
Mi go down a di Senior Common Room bar pon campus and some a di man dem a tell me seh dem hope mi a profess tightness to. You see how dem slack! Me a profess slackness fi true. But a wha kind a slackness?: Language Authority an Power Within the Academy and Without. Bait an switch. See di dub version ya. An mi stretch it out: Mi a defend Slackness, when it come on to language, inna University an out a road. A we have di power an di authority fi free wi mind. Story done. Reasoning done. Tank unu fi listen mi.
