The 1st time i met a Geechie , i thought she was Jamaican.

[Mosiah]

Yes, X, but look at the opposition and disdain towards the Jamaican equivalents! Gullah has a bible. How interesting! But how dare we feel we should have our own bad English bible!

Gullah culture - the language, history, songs, dance, way of life - is not much different from ours and from the place they probably all came from, my second home country of Sierra Leone But we don't speak about Gullah in the way we tear down our culture.

I bet if you search deep enough you will find the equivalent of dancehall in the Gullah culture!

[Sir X]

I use to agree with that but at present , patwa or dancehall rules or is comfortable in Jamaican society , look at VZ and Crawford,it might irk some but thats what politicians do associate with their electorate for votes , yes that culture represnts the electorate.Portia got voted in because the electorate didnt care about her speech or could identify with it , it was a none issue to most,except the dumb JLP PR arm making it a revolting issue.

Patwa is comfortable from uptown to downtown,politicians grab it and verse in it, in and out, Thank GOD fi MISS LOU !

Patwa is standard in Jamaica you use it like you do english(IF EDUCATED IN LITERACY ) , in the appropriate situation, I am sure you wouldnt go certain areas down town and verse in standard english as you wouldnt go uptown and verse in raw patwa.

We have an educational problem as it pertains to literacy.How we fix it is another debate.

[Mosiah]

We have an educational problem as it pertains to literacy.How we fix it is another debate.

It's more than just acknowledging that patois is the voice of the electorate and all that. We fix our English by acknowledging that English is not our first language and must not be taught as if it is!

You probably like the Gullah culture because they smoke ganja too, huh?

[Bricktop]

Nobody is tearing down anything...all we are saying is that patois has no place in the corporate world...just as standard english would be ridiculed in the dancehall

[Sir X]

lol....dis bredda ...ganja ..lol.. i agree with you but i see no reason to make patwa standard in our educational system,i believe we acknowledge it every day.We could definetly teach english differently.

[Sir X]

I dont get it Brick , Black americans have their own dialect , some work in the corporate world, I dont see them demanding that it be standard teaching practice ? They demand a better educational system.

[Bricktop]

Mosiah is just being silly...

[Sir X]

JFJ mentality..lol

[Islandman]

It is not about it having a place in the corporate world or being the standard language of instruction.

It is about evaluating it's place in teaching English and other subjects to those students who have too little exposure to using standard English as a primary language.

[Sir X]

Dont they do that every day through literacy test , or is this a patwa literacy test ?...I am seriously asking!

[Mosiah]

I-Man, yuh tink dem will eventually get it? I don't!

[Mosiah]

You are equating Black American dialect to Jamaican patois now?!?!

[Sir X]

Trying to get it , asking valid questions , we have a literacy test to evaluate your grasp of the english langauge, so this evaluation is testing patwa speakers ability to grasp other subjects ?

Then what ?

[Rockman]

Quite honestly,I have no problem speaking patois,only spelling the words is difficult for me,why? I want people to correct my spelling.
What we have here is somethong that is spreading globally ,and the only why we are guaranteed credit is if it is formalized.
Do you ever wonder why the english language tolerate the use of foreign word(as is) in an English essay? It is not lack of a suitable English word but a sign of being learned.

[Sir X]

Why not ? every city ,state and rural area has a different spin on black american slang, from the north, south, east to west, and they cry about the same educational and social issues as 3rd world nations...CC: Harlem & Bedstuy.