LANGUAGE AND COMMUNITY
LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY
teacherfrancis@[Link]
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OBJECTIVES - Students should:
Appreciate the nature, characteristics and roles of language in society
and, in particular, Caribbean society
Describe the influence of various factors (cultural, political, historical,
social) on language
Evaluate the role of language in Caribbean identity
Describe the Caribbean in relation to a range of languages
Discuss the various attitudes to language in the Caribbean
Identify some features of English Creole that make it different from
Standard English
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RESOURCES
COMMUNICATION STUDIES by Harold
McDermott
COMMUICATION STUDIES by Veronica Simon and
Sandra Osborne
ENGLISH AND JAMAICAN SPEECH by Peter
Maxwell
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THE MODERN LANGUAGE
SITUATION
A society where only one language is used is said to be
monolingual.
A society that uses more than one language may be bilingual
(using two languages) or even multilingual (using multiple
languages).
Many countries claim to be monolingual, and even recognize
one language officially, but the reality is that even in these
countries there are bilingual or multilingual communities
(especially where there are large numbers of immigrants).
Most countries have an official language. This language is given
unique legal status as the language used in the country’s
legislative bodies.
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FACTORS INFLUENCING
LANGUAGE
Historical – these are often linked directly to colonization or
migration
Social – the social dominance of a group ensures that its dialect
becomes the one that is considered the standard language of that
society
Cultural – as generations are born into a new culture, much of the
original language is lost. Often the language of the host country
also undergoes change as a result of the new cultural influences.
For example Spanish words have become a part of everyday
English language (taco, piñata, machismo).
Political – political influences on language can determine the
extent to which minority languages or dialects are accepted or
recognized in a society.
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LANGUAGE SITUATION IN THE
CARIBBEAN
The Caribbean is seen as a complex linguistic region,
largely because of its complicated history. This has resulted
in an array of languages, dialects and vernacular forms.
The original inhabitants of the region had their own range of
languages, some which are still used in Guyana and
Surinam. The arrival of the Europeans in the 15th and 16th
centuries saw the introduction of non-indigenous languages
in the society.
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Africans, primarily from the West Coast of Africa, were captured
to work on the plantations. Many of them were speakers of
various non-standard dialects of their own languages. These
slaves were mixed to avoid communication among the slaves.
After 1838, when the slaves gained emancipation, indentured
labourers were recruited from India, China and some Portuguese
territories. These people introduced an even greater assortment
of dialects.
The last major group to come to the Caribbean in the 21st century
were from Syria and Lebanon. They primarily went to Trinidad
and to a lesser extent, Jamaica and other islands in the south of
the region.
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LANGUAGE AS A SOURCE OF
IDENTITY
Language is an important means of creating and recognizing
identity.
Our sense of self and sense of community are closely tied in
with the language we speak.
Very often, when individuals are in foreign countries, the
moment they encounter someone from ‘home’ they
immediately revert to their original dialect or way of speech.
In this case, language creates a sense of ethnic community.
Or of belonging to a group and immediately relieves the
feeling of being an outsider in a foreign land.
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LANGUAGE = IDENTITY
A person’s language is an integral part of who the person is
and marginalizing that language can have damaging effects
on that person’s psyche.
The role of language as a vehicle for sharing culture is
indisputable.
Caribbean writers, singers and oral poets have played a
major part in fostering acceptance of the Creole languages
of the region, by incorporating them into their work and
exposing them to the world.
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ATTITUDES TO LANGUAGE
The most obvious role of language in society is social. That is,
allowing people to relate to each other in all facets of their lives:
share information, emotions, and ways of life.
Your speech immediately conveys specific impressions to an
audience. Impressions are formed of your personality, emotional
state, geographic origin, age or socioeconomic status from the
language you use and the way you use it.
These impressions are formed largely because of societal and
personal attitudes towards language. People adopt behaviours they
believe will make them more favourable to others (they will fit in
the crowd).
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ATTITUDES TO LANGUAGE…
In the Caribbean there are varying attitudes to language. Because
of our history, people of the region place a high premium on the
standard languages, or languages of power and economic might.
Many Caribbean writers have described scenarios of people who
went overseas, were expected to return with a new command of the
target language and often demonstrated their new found ‘status’ by
emphasizing their new foreign accent or ‘twang’.
Examine the following poems in the next two slides. Look at the
different attitudes towards adopting language characteristics that
are considered to be ‘foreign’.
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CREOLE AND PIDGIN
CREOLE – A creole is a language that comes into being
through contact between two or more languages.
PIDGIN – A pidgin is a language that is formed when
people who speak different languages find themselves in a
situation where they have to communicate with each other
for purposes such as trade, business or survival.
In some instances a pidgin becomes a native language
(acquiring a more complex grammar of a full language) and
is referred to as a Creole. Therefore, all Creole languages
start as pidgins.
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LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF
CARIBBEAN CREOLE ENGLISH
The features of Caribbean Creole English will be
examined in terms of the linguist components it
possesses in common with all other languages. They
are:-
PHONOLOGY
LEXICON
GRAMMAR
SYNTAX
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PHONOLOGICAL FEATURES
Phonology refers to the sound system of a language. The sound
system of Caribbean Creole English is not identical to that of
English.
The most distinct difference in sound combination in Creole
English is the ‘th sound. This is produced by placing the tip of
the tongue between the front teeth.
This sound does not exist in Creole English. It is however
replaced by either the ‘t’or ‘d’ or ‘f’ sound.
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EXAMPLES
Standard English Creole English
Brother Brodder/bredda
This Dis
There Dere/deh
Thing Ting/fing
Thief Tief
Mouth Mout
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Creole also replaces words that end in ‘ing’ with a ‘d’.
STANDARD ENGLISH CREOLE ENGLISH
Dancing Dancin
Going Goin/Gwine
Send Sen
Sending Sennin
Find fine
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Final consonant clusters tend to be devoiced (not sounded)
for some words in Caribbean Creole English. So ‘becomes’
is pronounced ‘become’ and ‘reduced’ is pronounced
‘reduce’.
In some instances the final consonant ending is deleted
altogether as with ‘child’ which is pronounced ‘chil’ or
‘wind’ which becomes ‘win’.
This omission is termed by Mervyn Alleyne (1980) as
colloquial aphesis.
In some cases, an English sound combination in not
dropped but reversed e.g. Ask becomes ‘aks’ and Film
becomes ‘flim’
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Other Phonological features include:
[Link] (the h sound)
[Link] (snake becomes ‘sinake’)
Consult the book English and Jamaican Speech by
Peter Maxwell for additional examples.
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LEXICAL FEATURES
Lexicon refers to the vocabulary of a language. In the
Caribbean the majority of our vocabulary items are derived
from English. Other lexical items are derived from other
languages (European, Amerindian, African, East Indian and
Chinese). Do you recognize any of the following words:
East Indian Amerindian Chinese African
Dhal Barbecue Chow mein Senseh
Sari Manatee Chop suey Dutty
Orni Cassava Wonton Nyam
Maticore Iguana Wok Bakra
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LEXICAL FEATURES…
There are some English words, where the usage and meanings are
inconsistent with traditional English usage. They are recognized as
English but they do not mean the same thing as they do in English. Do
these seem familiar?
Lexical Item English Meaning Creole English Meaning
Ignorant Lacking in knowledge or Irritable and lacking in self
information control
Miserable Wretched or unhappy Fussy or difficult to please
Salad A cold dish of raw vegetables Tomato
Tea A beverage or a drink made from Any hot beverage
dried leaves of an evergreen Asian
shrub
Belly A person’s stomach Pregnant
Dark With little or no light To be bashful and introverted
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LEXICAL FEATURES…
In Caribbean Creole English, some English words have been
compounded to create nouns, adjectives and verbs which do not exist
in English. These words mainly refer to body parts. For example:
Creole Compound English Equivalent
Eye-water Tears
Hand-middle palm
Nose-hole Nostril
Neck-back Nape
Head-top Crown
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LEXICAL FEATURES …
Some Creole words are formed by the process of
reduplication or iteration. This is where base words are
repeated to form new words.
As a result we see words such as ‘back back’ (to reverse) or
‘out out’ (to erase or put out in the case of a fire) being
formed.
Reduplication also allows for pluralization to occur in words
such as ‘fren-fren’ to represent many friends.
Adjectives such as ‘freni-freni’ (to be very friendly) and the
expression ‘chati chati’ (to talk excessively or out of turn)
are formed.
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LEXICAL FEATURES-
SOMETHING TO NOTE
The vocabulary of Creole English, like any other
language, is dynamic and reflects changes that arise out
of social movements such as Rastafari.
Words such as ital, irie, bashment and vibes have
entered our present vocabulary as a result.
Consult page 9 of Peter Maxwell’s book for additional
information.
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GRAMMATICAL FEATURES
While the Caribbean Creoles draw their lexical (word) base
from European languages, much of the syntax and grammar
comes from West African languages.
Here are some of the main grammatical features:
Possession Past Tense
Pluralization Habitual Action
Copula verb Construction Future Tense
Active/Passive verbs Gender Distinction
Indirect Speech
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GRAMMAR - PLURALIZATION
In English, plurals are formed by adding a suffix to regular
nouns or by changing the noun form (irregular verbs).
In Caribbean Creole English, the plural form is identified by
the addition of the word ‘dem’ to the noun.
The word dem is not restricted to marking plurals of count
nouns, it can also be used as a pronoun. It can mean ‘they’,
‘them’, and even possession.
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Examine the following table:
Singular Plural
Standard English Girl Girls
Creole Gyal/gal De gyal dem/dem gal
See Peter Maxwell’s book for additional information.
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GRAMMAR - POSSESSION
In English, possession is signaled by the addition of the
apostrophe ‘s’ to nouns. This is not so in Creole
English, instead the word ‘fi’ is used.
Creole English Standard English
A fi John mango It is John’s mango.
A fi mi mango It is my mango.
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GRAMMAR – COPULA VERB
CONSTRUCTION
In English, a copula (a linking verb used to connect
clauses) links the subject of a sentence to the predicate.
Creole English has a zero copula structure.
In English one would say “I am happy” while in
Creole English it would be expressed “mi happy” or “I
happy” .
The sentence “Jane is sick” therefore becomes “Jane
sick”
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SYNTACTICAL FEATURES
In Creole English the ordering and placement of
phrases and sentences are used to highlight and
emphasize different aspects of meaning. English on the
other hand uses verbal stresses to emphasize different
aspects of meaning in a sentence.
In the sentence ‘Is Pam eat de mango’ the focus is on
Pam, the doer of the action, but in the sentence ‘Is de
mango Pam eat’, the focus shifts to the object ‘mango’.
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ACTIVITY
1. List five compound words that exist in the Creole
English spoken in your territory which are derived
from English words but with non-English meaning.
2. Turn to page 335 and complete B in Exercise 12.2
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ACTIVITY #2
Find the meaning of the following West Indian proverbs.
How many are used in your territory?
De sea en’ got no back door
If yuh eye nah see, yuh mout nah must talk
If greedy wait, hot will cool
Bucket wid hole a battam have no business in riverside
Monkey know what tree to climb
Dog doh mek cyat
Yuh cyan suck cane and blow whistle
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ACTIVITY contd.
When trouble ketch you, pickney shut fit yuh
Chicken deh merry, hawk deh near
Hard ears mus’ feel
Wha doh kill, fatten
Too much a wan ting good fi nuttin’
Monkey see, monkey do
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