Jamaican Creole, like many other contact languages, has taken its ultimate shape through the course of multi-lingual and multi-cultural influences. From the perspective of contact linguistics , this meticulous study examines Jamaican Creole proverbs in a corpus of over 1090 recorded sayings; it presents a framework of cultural changes in Jamaica accompanied by corresponding linguistic changes in its creole. The analysis clearly demonstrates that despite three centuries of extreme dominance by the British empire, Jamaicans successfully preserved the traditions of their own ancestors. Not only that. The poly-layered stimulus of various factors: geographic, cultural and, most prominently, linguistic, helped create a unique phenomenon – Jamaican creole culture. The vibrant life of the Jamaican people and their African background is best encapsulated in their proverbs, proverbs which constitute generations of wisdom passed from the 16th century and on. John R. Rickford, J.E. Wallace Sterling Professor of Linguistics and the Humanities, Stanford University The research theme of the very publication entitled Jamaican Proverbs fromthe Perspective of Contact Linguistics is a successful analysis of both linguistic and cultural contacts between English and African cultures that have been shaping the vernacular language of Jamaica. The study material consists of 1092 proverbs, all of which can be regarded as a first-hand record of sociolinguistic events that have had important influence upon the formation of the Jamaican creole language and its registers. Dr. Knapik proves beyond any reasonable doubt that the Jamaican linguistic and cultural world is a great example of a thriving microcosm which continues to incorporate various elements and can also very well serve as the basis for future research on patterns of language and culture development. (…) prof. dr hab. dr h.c. (mult.) †Jacek Fisiak

Proverbs and sayings are a part of the fabric of life the world over, and that is no different in Jamaica. Featured in this book is patois, written not as broken English, but as patois based on the most recent authoritative works. Filled with colorful illustrations that are literal interpretations of the traditional proverbs and sayings, this book is a light-hearted exploration of the valuable lessons that some Jamaican proverbs have to offer.

“A rich and compelling collection that will make a significant contribution to the study of Jamaican/West Indian/black folklore and culture” –Daryl Cumber Dance, Virginia Commonwealth University “A fantastic collection from the rich storehouse of Jamaican traditional oral literature” –Rex Nettleford, University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica “A Wealth of Information…. The author carries the presentation of the proverbs/sayings to the level of socio-anthropological significance” –E. Valerie Smith, Florida A&M University In 1992, Jamaicans throughout the world celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of Jamaica’s formal independence from Britain this collection of Creole sayings contributes to the lively interest in cultural preservation which exists this year in anticipation of the event. The sayings, an archive of the wit and wisdom of many generations, aim to trigger reflection and thought. They are never fully explained, and, says the author, “in the most extreme situation one might well need an entire week to ponder and think seriously” about their meaning. They exert pressure to conform to community standards, and they influence conduct in much the same way as religion does. Strong in imagery and often poetic, the maxims draw upon a variety of well-known flora, fauna, and real or imaginary creatures the anansi, for example, famous for “playin’ de fool fe ketch wise” (playing foolish in order to catch the wise), is regarded as a favorite hero in folklore. Creole, initially constructed as a coded language, employs a number of West African linguistic traditions. These Creole sayings, a valuable addition to the literature and ethnography of the Caribbean region, link Jamaican culture to its African past. They offer delightful reading to Latin American scholars, to students of comparative sociology and anthropology, and to the general public. G. Llewellyn Watson is professor of sociology at the University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetowwn, Canada.

This guide indicates the ways in which Jamaican Creole differs from Standard Jamaican English. It is organized into four sections: words that look alike but mean different thing; words that are different but mean the same things; grammatical structures that are different but convey the same information; and idiomatic Speech or writing.

The language of Jamaican popular culture—its folklore, idioms, music, poetry, song—even when written is based on a tradition of sound, an orality that has often been denigrated as not worthy of serious study. In Noises in the Blood, Carolyn Cooper critically examines the dismissed discourse of Jamaica’s vibrant popular culture and reclaims these cultural forms, both oral and textual, from an undeserved neglect. Cooper’s exploration of Jamaican popular culture covers a wide range of topics, including Bob Marley’s lyrics, the performance poetry of Louise Bennett, Mikey Smith, and Jean Binta Breeze, Michael Thelwell’s novelization of The Harder They Come, the Sistren Theater Collective’s Lionheart Gal, and the vitality of the Jamaican DJ culture. Her analysis of this cultural "noise" conveys the powerful and evocative content of these writers and performers and emphasizes their contribution to an undervalued Caribbean identity. Making the connection between this orality, the feminized Jamaican "mother tongue," and the characterization of this culture as low or coarse or vulgar, she incorporates issues of gender into her postcolonial perspective. Cooper powerfully argues that these contemporary vernacular forms must be recognized as genuine expressions of Jamaican culture and as expressions of resistance to marginalization, racism, and sexism. With its focus on the continuum of oral/textual performance in Jamaican culture, Noises in the Blood, vividly and stylishly written, offers a distinctive approach to Caribbean cultural studies.

After it was known that Jamaican natives failed interviews that were conducted in patois, the writer decided that it was time to awaken Patois. This book was written to inform readers that Patois is a written language which can be learned and spoken like any other language. The words and phrases in this book, originated from English, African, and Creole, and can be heard wherever Jamaican natives reside.

Patois, patwah, patwa or whichever other way it is spelt, is a dialect, a mixture of a least four different languages, mainly English, French, Spanish and Dutch. It is the(de facto) national language of Jamaica, sometimes referred to as Jamaican English. Most of the words are not pure from any of these languages, but they are easily understood particularly by people and/or their descendants of Caribbean islands. Patwa originated in the early days of slavery in the region and served as the principal way of communication between the slaves. This communication was very essential as the islands had many small plantations, and the slaves were from different parts of Africa with multiple tribal languages. However, even before the Africans were brought to the islands, there were English, Irish, Spanish and Dutch slaves who became slave-drivers of the Africans and taught them enough of their respective languages to enable some form of communication.

A picture book biography of the Jamaican poet Miss Lou

The method and plan of this dictionary of Jamaican English are basically the same as those of the Oxford English Dictionary, but oral sources have been extensively tapped in addition to detailed coverage of literature published in or about Jamaica since 1655. It contains information about the Caribbean and its dialects, and about Creole languages and general linguistic processes. Entries give the pronounciation, part-of-speach and usage of labels, spelling variants, etymologies and dated citations, as well as definitions. Systematic indexing indicates the extent to which the lexis is shared with other Caribbean countries.

Creole Composition is a collection featuring essays by scholars and teachers-researchers working with students in/from the Anglophone Caribbean. Arising from a need to define what writing instruction in the Caribbean means, Creole Composition expands the existing body of research literature about the teaching of writing at the postsecondary level in the Caribbean region. To this end, it speaks to critical disciplinary conversations of rhetoric and composition and academic literacies while addressing specific issues with teaching academic writing to Anglophone Caribbean students. It features chapters addressing language, approaches to teaching, assessing writing, administration, and research in postsecondary education as well as professionalization of writing instructors in the region. Some chapters reflect traditional Caribbean attitudes to postsecondary writing instruction; other chapters seek to reform these traditional practices. Some chapters’ interventions emerge from discussions in writing studies while other chapters reflect their authors’ primary training in other fields, such as applied linguistics, education, and literary studies. Additionally, the chapters use a variety of styles and methods, ranging from highly personal reflective essays to theoretical pieces and empirical studies following IMRaD format. Creole Composition, the first of its kind in the region, provides much-needed knowledge to the community of teacher-researchers in the Anglophone Caribbean and elsewhere in the fields of rhetoric and composition, writing studies, and academic literacies. In suggesting frameworks around which to build and further institutionalize and professionalize writing studies in the region, the collection advances the broader field of writing studies beyond national boundaries. Contributors include Tyrone Ali, Annife Campbell, Tresecka Campbell-Dawes, Valerie Combie, Jacob Dyer Spiegel, Brianne Jaquette, Carmeneta Jones, Clover Jones McKenzie, Beverley Josephs, Christine E. Kozikowski, Vivette Milson-Whyte, Kendra L. Mitchell, Raymond Oenbring, Heather M. Robinson, Daidrah Smith, and Michelle Stewart-McKoy.