Editorial | New front in Patois debate 

Nekeisha Burchell knew beforehand that opening her intervention in Parliament’s Sectoral Debate in Jamaican Patois (Jamiekan) would elicit a reminder from Speaker Juliet Holness that Patois was not the language of the House — which is exactly what happened. 

“Hold on, hold on, hold on,” Mrs Holness said. “Standing Orders! And I think you are fully aware. And if I have to stop you again, you will not get any more time.” 

Indeed, Standing Order 6 states: 
“(1) The proceedings and debates of the House shall be in the English language. 
(2) Every petition shall be in the English language.” 

There are two significant takeaways from the May 14 episode, including what may be construed from Standing Order 6 and Speaker Holness’s interpretation of it in the context of her ruling against Ms Burchell. 

Implicit in the Speaker’s action was a declaration that Jamaican Patois is not English, nor a ‘broken’ form of that language, as detractors often claim. Nor is it close to the jumbled syntax and grammatical incoherence in English that are sometimes heard in the House and its committees. 

This, coming from the Speaker — even if unintentionally — is a notable development and provides a basis for further action. 

More broadly, Ms Burchell’s parliamentary insurgency (which, unfathomably, some social media critics described as “gutter politics”) has reignited the debate on Patois’ place and status in Jamaica — a discussion that had become quite dormant. 

There remains an ambivalence in Jamaican society about Patois, which linguists, both locally and internationally, agree possesses all the characteristics of a fully developed language — including syntax, grammar, and vocabulary. Understood by most Jamaicans and the mother tongue of the majority, Patois enjoys wide embrace in cultural contexts and on specific occasions. 

The late Louise Bennett-Coverley (Miss Lou), the iconic cultural figure and storyteller, for example, is celebrated for her poetic use of Patois in affirming Jamaica’s and resisting colonial norms. Her acolytes and imitators continue to receive adulation at cultural festivals. 

Yet Patois struggles to gain acceptance in other spheres and remains without formal recognition. It carries a lower social status than English — a hierarchy that extends to the people whose primary language is Jamaican. 

This ambivalence — along with the narrative that proponents of Patois recognition seek to displace English — has negative implications for Jamaica’s social and economic development. Critics correctly argue that Jamaicans must be fluent in English not only to access, but also to participate effectively in, a global economy that largely functions in that language. 

However, the anti-Patois posture ignores a crucial fact: Patois is the mother tongue of the majority of Jamaicans in an education system where the language of instruction is English. The system assumes that students are natural English speakers, even though their primary language — the one they use at home and in their communities — is Patois. 

In this system, these students — who are also more likely to come from poorer households and disadvantaged communities — begin at a disadvantage. This is reflected in education outcomes. 

Each year, about one-third of students complete primary school functionally illiterate in English, a figure that understates the extent of their inability to comprehend the language. At the secondary level, between one-fifth and one-quarter of students fail English in the Caribbean Secondary Education examination, while most of those who pass do so with only a Grade III. This struggle is evident to lecturers in tertiary institutions and to employers in the workplace. 

Educators have consistently called not only for the recognition of Jamaican Patois, but also for English to be taught as a foreign language — in the same way that French or Spanish is taught. Accepting the first makes the second easier. 

Moreover, formally recognising the legitimacy of Patois does not undermine the value or importance of English. If supported by new approaches to teaching and learning, it is more likely to strengthen people’s command of English. 

Having opened a new front in the push for Patois — not its struggle for full acceptance in some of our most formal national spaces, including Parliament — Ms Burchell should go further. 

She should table a private member’s motion, and seek cross-party support, for a debate on the formal recognition of Patois and its use in the House.