Broad Topic: Language Issues in Jamaica. Narrow Topic: The extent to which patois is valued and recognized.

Patois is defined as any language that is considered non-standard. It may refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects and other forms of native or local speech with the exception of jargons or slangs (Longman Active Study Dictionary,2004). Jamaica's native language came about during the time of slavery when all the slaves were forced to learn the language of the mother country, England. During this time the slaves communicated with the Europeans and others which led to the establishment of Creole. The Creole vernacular is used by the vast majority of persons in Jamaica at sometime or other and by a large number of them as their sole or principal means of communication. Creole is associated with the poorest members of the society, who are mostly black and with rural as contrasted with urban dwellers. Persons who speak patois are mainly laborers, small farmers, domestic helpers etc. while English is spoken by whites. Unlike English, the use of Creole is accepted at stage plays, joy, anger, surprise, excitement, pain etc. Nevertheless, regionally patois is considered a language and not worldwide which results in the numerous criticisms faced by the language. However, Patois is said to be a spoken language and not a written language which is a reason for it not being accepted as a language. Because the language is not accepted users are nervous to speak the language as sometimes they try to speak English to please they are speaking with and end up speaking patois which is referred to as code switching. Jamaica's native language is known for its high level of informality and as such is not recognized worldwide as a language because the language is viewed as unreceptive, language of the lower class and aggressive. Furthermore, there are a number of assumptions surrounding the reason for patois being unreceptive; among these are the poor grammar and syntax of the language. Patois unlike English has no prescribed rule for structuring a proper sentence which results in the sentence being jumbled and not making much sense. Patois is not recognized as a language as there are three different levels of speech which includes the mesolect which is a mixture of English and Creole, basilect which is only Creole and acrolect which consists of strictly English. In patois one word have more than one meaning as well as one that is different from the English meaning for example, homosexuals in English is termed as "batty bwoy or fish" in patois.

Another example is fast which means to move quickly or swiftly in English while it means to be inquisitive or nuff or fass in patois. All of these negations allows for the language to be unreceptive. On the other hand, there are persons who do believe that patois is indeed a language and it should be recognized. 'Patois is a language and should be taught in schools'(Christie, 2003). Christie is among the group of persons who believe that patois is a language and it should be taught in schools so that more Jamaicans can master their native language as it has the characteristics that make up a language and it can be used to enhance the learning process. Also, the language has its own right rather than just a form of English (The Jamaica Language Unit, 2009). They believe that patois is a language because it has its own unique features and rules as well as it has the characteristics that make up a language. Nonetheless, it is an assumption that the persons who speak patois are those from the lower class that are frequently labeled as poor and uneducated persons. It is a norm to say that persons who are poor are generally illiterate so they are unable to finance themselves to further their education to the tertiary level. It is believed that persons living in rural areas and the slums or inner city dominate the lower class as they are said to be uneducated and poor, thus, making up a vast amount of the society. These persons are frequently discriminated and frowned upon due to the fact that they are poor and financially unstable. In addition, persons who are poor do not get the opportunity to work in prestige business places where the use of English language is accepted and used on a daily basis so these individuals feel inferior and do not see the need to speak English as patois is the only language known. Despite the negative criticisms faced by the language patois, according to Virtue, (2012), an independent scholar based in Washington DC argued that patois is a language when compared to all the other languages such as English, Spanish, French, etc. and one should not be embarrassed to speak his or her native language. In addition, the high level of informality of patois contributes to the reason for the language being labeled as aggressive. The language is commonly spoken among Jamaicans and those of the Jamaican Diaspora at events such as local birthday parties and in conversations among peers. Due to this matter, individuals are taught etiquettes as it relates to the use of the language. The high level of informality of the language is a contributing factor for the language not being accepted worldwide. For example at a meeting with the prime minister it would be inappropriate to use patois. As a means of showing expressions individuals normally use patois and

gesticulations in an effort to highlight a point to his or her audience. Patois is also spoken among persons with whom one is comfortable and familiar with. Another reason for patois not being recognized worldwide as language is the fact that most of the local artists use very harsh, violent and derogatory lyrics thus portraying a violent nature to the listener. A song that could be deemed as such would be a Vybz Katel, 'a nuh likkle bit a people mi sen a hell'. This is a very outrageous song; the media is posing a threat to the learning of the English Language from as early as the early childhood stage (Lewin-Humphires, 2012).This is true because the lyrics are very catchy and so children gravitate to these negative lyrics quite easily not because of the lyrics but the rhythm which pose a threat to their learning ability for the English language. Nowadays, children hear a large number of Creole in the media which indeed have some effect on childrens performance in English. It is also a contributing factor to the high failure rate of English Language in the Caribbean mostly affecting Jamaica. Patois is also used in the performing arts to embrace the language and express themselves. Louise Bennett otherwise known as Miss Lou, a famous Jamaican playwright wrote a number of poems which were mostly written in Patois; an example of her poem is 'peal head joncrow'. (according to The media is posing a ) In spite of the numerous criticisms faced by the language there are numerous amount of positives associated with the language which its users find valuable enough for them to recognize it as a language. The language is a spoken language and not a written language. However, the poor structuring of the patois language and grammar are the fact that persons are said to be illiterate which results in the language not receiving the reception it deserves. The language is used mainly for informal pieces which is one way of highlighting major issues more vividly as well as to embrace the language thou the harsh and violent lyrics contributes to the reason for the language not being receptive and as such it has no set structure. Nonetheless, as the years go by, individuals worldwide continue to discriminate against the language, highlighting the high level of informality as well as labeling it as unreceptive, language of the lower class and aggressive. The Creole is getting widespread recognition as tourists want to be taught the language and can be heard speaking it regularly. This could use more background info on the Creole as a language but your points are ok.