Overstanding and being Overstood in Accompong Town

[Marie]

Bnewb they say we Kingstonians speaky spokey... I sound like the News Reporters, we were not allowed to speak patois in our home.

[ackee]

you wont hear much patwa from the educated ones , in general. They will also speak patwa more amongst themselves if they recognnize yu as foreigners. Education has a lot to do with how bilingual yu are and how easy it is for a speaker to switch between both languages....namely patwa and english

[Bnewb]

Ackee...as Marie said...she's not even allowed to speak patois at home and we found it barely being spoken on the streets in Kingston either.
And, while I do understand what you're trying to say, the conversations I'm referring to have nothing to do with us or being foreign. My comments about Jamaicans talking amongst themselves were based on over hearing conversations in bars, restaurants, stores, government offices, cell yell etc.

Rob was mentioning that every time he's come to Kingston in the last 20 years he's heard less and less Patois.

It's an interesting topic...thanks Accompong

[VVHT]

Accompng,

Very very good. Brings back lots of memories.

1st time I bought a bag water on the road. I kept trying to take it from the vendor by the bottom of the bag! LOL I couldn't understand what he was saying, but he was both frustrated and annoyed that I wasn't listening to him!!! FINALLY I realized he wanted me to grab the top of the bag!! We both had a good laugh!!!

Thanks,

VVHT

[ackee]

Your take on hearing patwa in Kingston is interesting. I am not disputing what your or marie said or Rob's observation. It would depend on where you hang out in Kingston when you go and with whom you hang.Educated parents often tell their children to speak only english at home so they have lots of practice with the language. The same thing was also told to students in the schools.Its not the same in most homes,however. There is a great debate now amongst academics whether speaking patwa too much is is denying children the ability to compete because their english speaking abilities have decreased or in some cases ...non-existant.
here is a link to one such heated debate..
http://www.televisionjamaica.com/Pro...x/Videos/20626

[captaind]

Ackee. Thanks for posting that link. Very informative. I understand both viewpoints. After all, the Bible has just been translated into Patois (of course it's been translated into Klingon also)

I never heard much Patois when I first lived in Kingston and was working in the "corporate" world but I started to learn it from my crew on the ship. Proper English is spoken at most gatherings of educated people. When I attend Lodge meetings all our proceedings are in proper English. But you will here a bit of Patois in conversation more for emphasis than for communication. Some of the folksy sayings like " can't carry water in a basket" can really only be spoken in Patois.

On the whole I rather agree with Ronnie Thwaits.

I actually wish I could learn to write in Patois. When I write in the idiom I just use properly (most times) spelled words in the Patois idiom.

[ackee]

its basically written phonetically, Cap'n..

yu nuh haffi worry too much bout di spellin atall. Jus write it dung 'ow yuh 'ear it inna yuh hed.

[captaind]

alright den mea give it one try

[ackee]

[Bnewb]

Your take on hearing patwa in Kingston is interesting. I am not disputing what your or marie said or Rob's observation. It would depend on where you hang out in Kingston when you go and with whom you hang.Educated parents often tell their children to speak only english at home so they have lots of practice with the language. The same thing was also told to students in the schools.Its not the same in most homes,however. There is a great debate now amongst academics whether speaking patwa too much is is denying children the ability to compete because their english speaking abilities have decreased or in some cases ...non-existant.
here is a link to one such heated debate..
http://www.televisionjamaica.com/Pro...x/Videos/20626

Very interesting Ackee. Absolutely agree it's about location in Kingston & with whom we hang out with...but the English seems to get more prevalent each time. Many more observations...that was just a small one & the easiest to comment on...