The Caribbean Language Situation

Topic The Caribbean speech communication situation. The Caribbean language situation is rather multifaceted thence there is a lot of controversy surrounding it. This topic in the course is an interesting unitary because it has enriched my understanding of what the language situation is in Jamaica and other neighbouring islands as hygienic as its impact on education. concord to Kathryn Shields (1989), two ways in which Standard side in Jamaica is specify be through the traditional metropolitan norms and the educated Jamaicans.She identifies that the discrepancies found in defining Standard English in Jamaica often magazines go undocumented. However, this should non be as teachers would want to use it as they take to to monitor the concomitantors to which their students argon exposed by paralleling the discrepancy model with the congenial model. As a top of this, I do agree with the sentiment of teachers using Creole to teach students different aspects of the localise lan guage. This is because many students in Jamaica enter the classroom babbleing Creole or a confection of Creole and English.Often times this reflects the social background of the students as a result the teacher renders a facilitator and accommodate these language varieties, thus, introducing Standard English which interpretms opposed to them may make them feel uncomfortcapable. Therefore, it would be wise to immerse them into the target language by taking them from the known to the unknown. Shields uses the educated Jamaicans as she identifies features that play the de facto model of English for the learner in Jamaica, subsequently presenting evidence of a new form of English in Jamaica.Additionally, she compares the pre-independence and post-independence eras of Jamaican language history. In the pre-independence era she regards the language as mish mash and the language was referred to by the chimneypiece term Jamaican English, which hides the difference between standard and non-standard as well as Creole, thus, making the description of the language vague. In the post-independence era the conception of Creole being inferior seeps over although there perplex been some(prenominal) revisions of attitudes to the language.This is true as years after independence Creole speakers are still looked at and regarded as deep rural residences who have non been exposed to Standard English. In addition, many people including Creole speakers see Creole as a bad language and so should not be used in schools. It is seen as a waste of time to study or understand as it interferes with the learning of the target language. In some Jamaican schools especially city schools, teachers are not allowed to speak Creole and students are forced to speak the target language.I am in disagreement with the negative attitude that still exists against Creole in this sidereal day and age as to me Creole has evolved into a unique language that identifies us as Caribbean people as well as our respective territories. Fortunately, not all Caribbean countries are still showing prejudice against Creole as in Haiti French Creole has been legitimately accepted as an ex officio language. Another salient aspect of the language situation in Jamaica and the Caribbean is the fact that children from varying backgrounds are expected to communicate in a language they cannot write or speak.Therefore, a child from a Jamaican Creole speaking background is expected to write in Standard English and understand the language of educational books written in the target language. harmonize to Shields, the Ministry of Education endorses the notion that adoptive speakers of the target language allow have problems speaking the language precisely by reading, modelling and practice one will be able to write it. However they are not totally trying to eliminate the idea that one should be able to speak the target language as this is also an important divisor in communicating globally.This i s evident in many schools where some students are able to write to an extent in the target language but whenever they are to speak the language they develop severe pronunciation and grammatical problems. The implication this has for myself and other teachers is to approach our class as a teacher of a foreign language and use effective strategies and suitable models that will provide students with all the reading, writing and speaking practice necessary to become good users of the target language.