Jamaican Patwa: Defining Simplicity in Creole Languages

Introduction to Pidgin and Creole Terminology

In sociolinguistics there is often a need to define phases of language development that are neither discrete nor simple. Yet it is also clear that these same terms — the best example being pidgin and creole — were adopted from popular culture and are therefore loaded to some degree in usage. The degree to which these words are "loaded" depends a great deal on context. Sociolinguistics defines pidgin as a language of lingua franca, derived from the mixing of two languages by a group of people who have a need to communicate on some level but speak two varied languages. This work will explore the terminology and accepted internal and external definitions, including pidgin, creole, and linguistic simplicity, looking finally at a modern example of a creole language — Jamaican Patwa — in the context of the definition of simplicity.

The Development and Neutralization of Pidgin

The development of a pidgin language is often the result of massive immigration and/or trade, where one population has cause and need to speak and understand foreigners. There is also a sense that pidgin, in common usage, is a loaded term, supported in part by the fact that it usually has a very simple structure and, in a postcolonial sense, suggests that those who speak it are also "simple." To take the weight out of the term, one must more closely examine the development of such a language and eliminate the colonial ideation of superiority that dominates popular culture with regard to common usage of "pidgin" language.

One manner in which this phenomenon of "loading" pidgin with the ideation of simplicity relates to the fact that pidgin often develops in a situation where both language speakers must reduce their own language to its most basic level so the other might understand — making the language similar to the manner in which an adult would speak to a child, leaving out many modifiers and causing the language to lose a great deal of nuance. The issue is entirely mutual for both speakers, as each will find the other particularly odd-sounding when speaking the other's language in this manner. Yet the issue of "superiority" enters when one speaker believes that his or her language is superior to the other's, and treats the other's inability to speak it as proof of inferiority. This, to a large degree, is simply a product of social and political dominance and even xenophobia on the part of the usually dominant political player (Olade Aboh & Smith, 2009, p. 321).

Pidgins have often come into existence as a result of colonial conquest or situations where one culture must enter another's for economic reasons. Some have even used the analogy of pidgin resembling the way a foreigner would speak to a native speaker if he or she were not proficient in the native language (McWhorter, 2005, p. 168). Having said all of this, one must allow sociolinguistics to neutralize the term pidgin to simply mean a necessary form of communication that develops so that two individuals who speak different languages can communicate.

Creole Languages and Linguistic Independence

Second, the term creole — not to be confused with Creole (a term used to describe both a culture and individuals of foreign descent who are born in a foreign land and are therefore a sociocultural amalgam of two locales) — should be discussed. When used in reference to a language, creole is described by most as a language that has developed from a lingua franca or pidgin, then evolves into a language that is accepted as the regional language and becomes the language learned by native speakers from birth. Additionally, it must be clear that a creole language does not represent a simplification of another language, and though it may borrow from two or more languages in coming into existence, it becomes a language independent from all those it borrows from, with a complex syntax and grammar.

The defining difference between these two developmental stages in language formation is the level of complexity, and one must necessarily precede the other. It must also be noted that pidgin languages can take more than one developmental turn: they can evolve to become a creole language — often requiring isolation — or die out as one group is assimilated into the dominant culture or as the need for communication between the two linguistically distinct groups ends. Lastly, one must point out that the evolution of every human language was likely to have taken place through the development of a pidgin and then possibly a creole, as one can fully attest to the fact that English is a Germanic language whose main lexifier is a Romance language, probably Latin.

This example is important going into the next aspect of this discussion because, in the case of Jamaican Patwa, English is both the lexifier and the substrate — meaning the language receives its lexicon (vocabulary) from mostly English sources and that the grammar and usage rules (the substrate) are also derived from English. Having made these distinctions, one can move on to discuss the concepts in the context of a particular language, beginning by defining simplicity and constructing from that definition the comparison needed to better understand Jamaican Patwa, a complex creole vernacular language of Jamaica.

Defining Simplicity in Sociolinguistic Theory

Measuring simplicity can be relatively difficult when discussing pidgin and creole in the context of a particular language, partly because there is also a sense that creole, though developed to some degree, is a simpler language than its lexifier or its substrate. With this in mind, one must associate the concept of simplicity with a sociolinguistic theory. Though there are several variations on the theory of creole language development, this analysis finds the most agreement with the theoretical position claiming that creole language development is not a developed simplification of the lexifier or substrate languages but is instead a stage in the development of an independent linguistic identifier.

The other view of the origin of simplicity is articulated by Siegel, who argues that simplicity represents a lack of development of complexity rather than a reduction of complexity:

"This view holds that one cannot simplify what is not yet complex — and therefore, the simplicity found in child language and second language acquisition is not the result of any productive process, but rather a reflection of an early stage of linguistic development… I take the point of view that simplicity in pidgins and creoles reflects, for the most part, the lack of expansion rather than a reduction in complexity." (Siegel, 2008, p. 22)

Siegel is defending a theory that simplicity must be separated from any assumption that it is lesser than a comparative model. In other words, simplicity should be defined as a product of linguistic development and viewed through the lens of neutrality rather than superiority.

Jamaican Patwa: Origins and Cultural Context

Having better defined the terms associated with this analysis, this work now turns to the language known as Jamaican Patwa, or patois. The language is defined as a creole language, as it is the accepted (though not the official) first language of Jamaica and was developed from interactions between English-speaking colonizers and enslaved Africans (Cooper, 2009, p. 16). Though the social history of the language on the island will receive only brief discussion here, the basic premise is that the regional African dialects of the enslaved served as their native language until such time as British English speakers and the enslaved had greater reason to communicate in a lingua franca, mostly for the purpose of plantation agriculture and sugar production.

Jamaican Patwa is therefore a creole language associated with the development of a necessity by the dominant culture — the colonizers — to communicate with the workforce. Most assume that the greatest reason why English became the dominant source language in this creole is that the enslaved Africans came from different regions of Western Africa with varied languages and dialects, making English a necessary common ground. As a result, Jamaican Patwa is seen as a largely English-based language with some limited West African lexical influence.

Jamaican Patwa is an extremely interesting sociolinguistic case study, as it is a living and evolving example of language development. Yet, like most creole languages, it has not developed without controversy: many linguists believe it is a simplification of English, while others contend it is an independent language derived from English. Some claim that Jamaican Patwa will eventually disappear as the necessity to assimilate into Standard English — particularly on a professional level — begins to dominate Jamaican society.

One interesting dimension is that many individuals mark the permanence of a language — insofar as anything can be called permanent about language — by its written use and the development of a literary canon or a vernacular translation of dominant culture literature. In one sense, a form of postcolonial development with a significant impact on sociolinguistics is the idea of cultural identity and independence, which can be observed in a current attempt by some to produce a Jamaican Patwa version of the King James Bible.

Conclusion: Complexity, Identity, and Jamaican Patwa

Though this discussion may have appeared to be a diversion from the topic, the point of its inclusion is to serve as an example of the subjective nature of the terminology associated with sociolinguistics in a postcolonial society. The definition of linguistic simplicity collides with the definition of sociolinguistic simplicity as the four translations above differ considerably in complexity, tone, length, and, most importantly, meaning.

Having said this, one can also argue that the Jamaican Patwa example offers a notably personal association with God. For the sake of thoroughness, it is worth noting that the International Children's Bible translates Luke 1:28 as: "The angel came to her and said, 'Greetings! The Lord has blessed you and is with you.'" Once again, the hope that the Patwa translation might be a simplified, childlike example of meaning is not borne out. The now five translations are clearly divergent, with the most distinctive and individual being the Jamaican Patwa translation.

If surface structure and nuance are used to define simplicity, then Jamaican Patwa is — at least in this example — not simple at all. And if Jamaican cultural identity has anything to say about it, this language will continue to be translated, codified, and recognized as a viable and complex creole of English.

References

(2010, December 21). Wel api, the Jamaicans with a Bible in patois. Daily Mail, p. 24.

Cooper, K. J. (2009). Parts of speech. Crisis, 116(3), 16.

Green, J. (2008). Translation tiff. Christianity Today, 52(9), 15.

McWhorter, J. H. (2005). Defining creole. Oxford University Press.

Olade Aboh, E., & Smith, N. (2009). Complex processes in new languages. John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Siegel, J. (2008). The emergence of pidgin and creole languages. Oxford University Press.