Tweet
Several of us on this forum have, for years, criticized the suggestion that patois be taught in Jamaican schools as the primary language, with English imparted in the context of a second language. In fact, just a couple of days ago poster Willi offered (in my view) an excellent input regarding this matter. Others, like HL and Reggaedoc, have added sensible voices, providing reasons why patois cannot be a logical first choice for our developing country! However, as usual, the “grassroots” throng of voices has saturated such threads with all kinds of excuses! (And in case you’re wondering about my use of subject-verb agreement in the preceding sentence, “throng” is the subject here, and not “grassroots”!)
My question is this: In their (hard-for-me-to-understand) efforts at promoting the Jamaican dialect over Standard English as the main focus of language instruction in Jamaican schools, are these “patois-first” proponents among the most dangerous enemies of Jamaica’s contribution to our increasingly globalized world? This is not a joke question!
(By the way, I make numerous errors in my posts, and this is partly because I don’t spend much time in reading my comments before posting. However, that is another matter.)
For full article below: The Sunday Gleaner, October 16, 2011.
Link: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/latest/article.php?id=32605
Severe stutter mars Jamaican's asylum case in US
Published: Sunday October 16, 2011 | 3:08 pm
Derrick Cotterel was a farm worker who came to the United States from Jamaica, picking citrus in Florida and apples in West Virginia for 10 years, before a pay dispute with a landscaping employer led to his arrest last year on robbery charges.
Given his long-expired visa, the arrest landed Cotterel in immigration custody in York, Pa. But judges there struggled for nearly a year to understand his request for political asylum.
Cotterel, 42, speaks a Jamaican patois, or Creole, that might alone be difficult for Americans to grasp. But his speech is further compromised by a severe stutter that makes him nearly impossible to understand.
Nor can he read or write. So many of his thoughts remain trapped inside of him.
"Me can, me can, me can ... " Cotterel once stammered to an immigration judge charged with deciding his case. "I said me can't say what (indiscernible). Please, sir, I say I can't tell you what I want to tell you about."
Unlike criminal defendants, immigration detainees like Cotterel have no right to free counsel. So Cotterel sat in the York County Prison, where about 700 detained immigrants are housed with 1,700 convicted or suspected criminals, from July 2010 until May while frustrated judges continued his bail and asylum hearings.
One judge tried to toss him only yes-or-no questions about his political asylum claim, and asked Cotterel to raise his left or right hand, depending on his response.
On May 18, Judge Andrew Arthur tried another tack. He asked two fellow inmates from Jamaica to translate. That worked to a point, though Arthur was not always sure whose answer was being relayed to him.
One inmate-translator told the judge that police had failed to investigate the killing of Cotterel's brother "because of the political activity."
"Did he say that or did you say that?" Arthur asked.
York immigration lawyer Craig R. Shagin is frequently asked to take cases pro bono, but can only take a few, and chooses those he thinks have merit. He recently agreed to help Cotterel — who lost his asylum bid — with his appeal. He believes his client could be killed if he returns to Jamaica.
My question is this: In their (hard-for-me-to-understand) efforts at promoting the Jamaican dialect over Standard English as the main focus of language instruction in Jamaican schools, are these “patois-first” proponents among the most dangerous enemies of Jamaica’s contribution to our increasingly globalized world? This is not a joke question!
(By the way, I make numerous errors in my posts, and this is partly because I don’t spend much time in reading my comments before posting. However, that is another matter.)
For full article below: The Sunday Gleaner, October 16, 2011.
Link: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/latest/article.php?id=32605
Severe stutter mars Jamaican's asylum case in US
Published: Sunday October 16, 2011 | 3:08 pm
Derrick Cotterel was a farm worker who came to the United States from Jamaica, picking citrus in Florida and apples in West Virginia for 10 years, before a pay dispute with a landscaping employer led to his arrest last year on robbery charges.
Given his long-expired visa, the arrest landed Cotterel in immigration custody in York, Pa. But judges there struggled for nearly a year to understand his request for political asylum.
Cotterel, 42, speaks a Jamaican patois, or Creole, that might alone be difficult for Americans to grasp. But his speech is further compromised by a severe stutter that makes him nearly impossible to understand.
Nor can he read or write. So many of his thoughts remain trapped inside of him.
"Me can, me can, me can ... " Cotterel once stammered to an immigration judge charged with deciding his case. "I said me can't say what (indiscernible). Please, sir, I say I can't tell you what I want to tell you about."
Unlike criminal defendants, immigration detainees like Cotterel have no right to free counsel. So Cotterel sat in the York County Prison, where about 700 detained immigrants are housed with 1,700 convicted or suspected criminals, from July 2010 until May while frustrated judges continued his bail and asylum hearings.
One judge tried to toss him only yes-or-no questions about his political asylum claim, and asked Cotterel to raise his left or right hand, depending on his response.
On May 18, Judge Andrew Arthur tried another tack. He asked two fellow inmates from Jamaica to translate. That worked to a point, though Arthur was not always sure whose answer was being relayed to him.
One inmate-translator told the judge that police had failed to investigate the killing of Cotterel's brother "because of the political activity."
"Did he say that or did you say that?" Arthur asked.
York immigration lawyer Craig R. Shagin is frequently asked to take cases pro bono, but can only take a few, and chooses those he thinks have merit. He recently agreed to help Cotterel — who lost his asylum bid — with his appeal. He believes his client could be killed if he returns to Jamaica.
Comment