|
Heather,
Anne and Faydene all grew up in Jamaica but, after travelling, have now
settled and met up by chance in the Midlands.
 |
| Andrew
and Peterjohn |
Heather saw
that many Jamaicans in the UK want to learn more about their roots so
she set up a course in Patois and Jamaican culture at City College in
Birmingham. One of the course teachers is Anne who also teaches science
in a secondary school.
The group
meet up at City College to take part in the Voices project. The interview
is interrupted occasionally by Andrew and Peterjohn, Heather's two boys,
aged 6 and 8.
The group
really enjoy talking about language and think their communication is enriched
by having different varieties of English to use. Find
out more about the group below. Click the links to listen to them talking
and hear the whole group in discussion in the 'best bits'.
Contributors
Faydene Gillings-Grant
Anne Morgan
Heather Reid
Best bits
Accents
'Pickaninny'
Describing relationships
Trashy women
Corrupted words
'Trash an' ready'
Pants
'Vex' and 'bex'
Gesturing
Contributors
Name: Faydene Gillings-Grant
Age: 40-something
Occupation: Librarian
Lives in: Solihull
Lived here: 5 - 10 years
Born: Darliston, Jamaica
Describes own accent as: "Influenced by American and English.
My voice still has traces of a sing-song lilt. I don't think my Jamaican
accent is very strong."
Languages: English (mother tongue), Jamaican, some Spanish
| Listen to Faydene |
| Faydene says she slows down her voice
to make sure other people at work can understand her. |
 Listen
to the clip |
Read
the transcript |
| One of Faydene's colleagues
loves her soothing lilting voice! |
| Listen
to the clip |
Ìý |
| Mmm, the Irish accent. Faydene
loves Pierce Brosnan's attractive drawl and wishes she could speak
like that. |
| Listen
to the clip |
Ìý |
| Faydene's husband is a doctor
who interprets for Jamaican patients. She also says that children
must be taught to talk and write correct English. |
| Listen
to the clip |
Ìý |
| Knowing Jamaican English
and 'Queen's English' gives people a choice of two languages, allowing
them to communicate better. |
| Listen
to the clip |
Ìý |
Name: Anne Morgan
Age: 30-something
Occupation: Secondary science teacher
Lives in: West Bromwich
Lived here: Less than four years
Born: Kingston, Jamaica
Describes own accent as: "Jamaican English"
Languages: English (mother tongue), Jamaican, some Spanish
| Listen to Anne |
| Anne says she generally
speaks English but when she's irritated or angry, she uses Jamaican. |
| Listen
to the clip |
Read
the transcript |
| There's been so much interest in Jamaican
English that City College in Handsworth now runs a Jamaican course.
Anne is one of the course teachers. Hear more about the course. |
| Listen
to the clip |
|
| Anne describes how her voice
changes depending on who she's talking to. |
| Listen
to the clip |
|
| The group laugh as Anne explains why
she luuuuurrrrves the French accent. Mr Thierry Henry has something
to do with it... |
| Listen
to the clip |
|
| "It's like nails down a chalk board."
Which accent does Anne really hate? |
| Listen
to the clip |
|
| Spelling is very important in science,
the subject Anne teaches. She feels it's important that children learn
to speak and spell properly. |
| Listen
to the clip |
|
| "Whaapn to yu? Yu grow wid yu granny?!"
Anne explains this Jamaican expression which roughly means, "Why
are you so miserable?!" |
| Listen
to the clip |
|
| It's not socially acceptable to be a
drinker in Jamaica - Anne talks about how the culture differs from
the UK. |
| Listen
to the clip |
|
| Jamaican is a creative way of speaking.
Anne recalls a book which said that Shakespeare would better understand
a Jamaican nowadays than an Englishman. |
| Listen
to the clip |
|
 |
Name: Heather Reid
Age: 30-something
Occupation: Full-time mum & runs own business
Lives in: Erdington
Lived here: 5 - 10 years
Born: St Andrew, Jamaica
Describes own accent as: "Jamaican"
Languages: English (mother tongue), Jamaican, some Spanish
| Listen to Heather |
| As a child at home, Heather was not
allowed to speak Patois. Now, she says it's an enlightened choice
to celebrate Jamaican culture. She also enjoys the humour of Patois. |
| Listen
to the clip |
Read
the transcript |
| Heather says people can
never guess where she is from, even though she thinks she has an authentic
Jamaican accent. |
| Listen
to the clip |
|
| Swearing is not acceptable to Heather
and she corrects her children's speech. She thinks people should be
taught in a language which aids understanding. |
| Listen
to the clip |
|
Best
bits
Best bit: Accents
Anne says there is no typical British accent despite the 'Hollywood' or
'Â鶹Éç' stereotypes. Heather says Jamaica is the
same - there are different dialects throughout the country.
Listen
to the clip
Best bit: 'Pickaninny'
The group discuss words for babies and young children. Faydene and Anne
discuss how the way you say the word conveys how affectionate you
are about the child.
Listen
to the clip
Best bit: Describing relationships
Patois words can sum up a relationship much more easily than Standard
English. The group discuss 'babyfather', 'babymother' and 'boops' - a
kind of sugar daddy!
Listen
to the clip
Best bit: Trashy women
In British English slang, 'Chav' or 'wannabe' mean someone who's wearing
over-the-top trendy clothes and jewellery. The group discuss the Jamaican
equivalents.
Listen
to clip 1
Listen
to clip 2
Best bit: Corrupted words
Faydene describes how Jamaican DJs make up alternative meanings for words
when they sing. Anne recalls how 'men' came to mean 'gay men' which got
confusing...
Listen
to the clip
Best bit: 'Trash an' ready'
Another word corrupted by Jamaican DJs is 'trash'. Which is different
to 'trashy'. The interviewer gets confused here...
Listen
to the clip
Best bit: Pants
Jamaicans - like Americans - call trousers 'pants' which can cause a little
embarassment...
Listen
to the clip
Best bit: 'Vex' and 'bex'
If you're a bit annoyed, you're 'vex' but if you're really angry, you're
'bex'. The group talk about how the first letter changes for emphasis.
Listen
to the clip
Best bit: Gesturing
Faydene thinks it's funny that British people can have a conversation
with their hands by their sides. Anne says Jamaicans are masters of body
language - using their hands, eyes and making non-word sounds.
Listen
to the clip
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