Paul H. Williams, Gleaner Writer

Ever since it was reported in the media recently that The Bible, the book which forms the basis of the belief in Jesus Christ, is to be translated into what I prefer to call Jamaican language (JL), the arguments for and against the use of JL in official documents are back on the front burner, and they are filled with passion. For some, to translate the Bible to JL is sacrosanct, while others believe the opposition to the idea is simply an elitist reaction. Much fuss about nothing.

However, we cannot help but appreciate the dynamism of JL, the greatest exponent of our cultural identity. This dynamism manifests itself, among other ways, in the birth and death of words nearly on an annual basis. Some of the new words will forever be etched in the annals of our linguistic history, while the great majority will die a natural death for various reasons, and will be sent into linguistic oblivion. The repertoire is great, but a few words - such as buttu, skettel, boops, punani, hutipek, squidel - are standouts.

indigenous language

Then put into the midst the 'Queen of Patois', the late Dr The Honourable Louise Bennett-Coverley, who defied those who turned up their noses at her indigenous language. And when she was invited into the studios - of all places - of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the hallowed grounds of 'prim' and 'proper' English, speaking this 'bad' language, the language elitists were stunned. It was sacrilegious! To use her term, it was 'colonisation in reverse'. The English language was hijacked, in the BBC! But, the world listened, and Jamaican language was now on top of the world.

Now, imagine a Jamaica Cultural Development Commission speech festival without verses and prose written by this cultural icon. Without Miss Lou, we would not have had the joy of, among much more, hearing Uriah speak his mind the Sunday when it rained and Pastor could not leave his yard. Bennett-Coverley showed that for certain messages to be sent effectively to a mass audience, the language of the mass is the most appropriate. This was significant in 'Uriah Preach' when "him teck on Butcher Jones, who noted/Fe sell scrapses meat/Him say 'Thou shalt not give thy neighbours/Flooloops to eat!'" No word in Standard English can replace 'flooloops', not one.

characteristic

The use of words that sound just like the idea that the speaker wants to convey, or to make a certain emphasis, is characteristic of Jamaica language. They are repetitive in their structures, or simply onomatopoeic, such as chaka-chaka, buguyaga, yagayaga, pyaan-pyaan, fenkeh-fenkeh, nyami-nyami, licky-licky, wetty-wetty, muck-muck, buduffbuff and jingbang. Armed with these words, some, perhaps her own coinage, Miss Lou was a master storyteller.

Remember those Aesop fables with animals as the main characters? We have long dispensed with them, and have developed our own proverbs. In one sentence only. No need to send a message by way of story. We are succinct and colourful in telling it as we see it, as demonstrated by the following Jamaican proverbs.

Alligator shouldn't call hog long mouth. Alligator lay egg, but him noh fowl. Frog never gargle him throat till him taste fresh water. Hog say the first water him ketch him walla. Monkey must know weh him gwine put him tail, before him order trousers. Nanny goat never scratch him back till him see wall. Rat belly full, potato have skin. Cow no dead him wi shake him tail. Lilly billy goat hab beard, but big bull cow no hab none. Every dog got him day, every puss him 4 o'clock. Do you know what they mean?

The Rastafarians, a colourful thread in our cultural fabric, have also made their contribution to the lexicon of JL with, iman, ilaloo, ital, irie, iditation, aidrin, et cetera. They have abandoned 'The Queen's English', the language of the 'oppressors' and the 'imperialists', and have come up with words that are 'spiritual' and personal in nature. They 'overstand' the role that language plays in alienating themselves from 'Babylon'.

pronunciation

When it comes to pronunciation, we also have own inimitable sound system. For, we have changed, inter alia, scallion to skellion/eskellion, curmudgeon to kumoochin/kumoogin, accoutrements to kunchuments, avaricious to grabalishus, beverage to bebbage, victuals to bickle, Reverend Grant to Revrent Grant. The preacher on a bus from Montego Bay to Kingston asked God to protect the passengers from the hapstickles (obstacles) along the way. Mama always prizes her pirate (Pyrex) dishes. Right now, the baggaboos (bugaboos) are wreaking havoc in the society. And whose desire was it to drop a "boom pan Tivaali"?

But, it is with the body parts that we are most creative. Where else in the world could you have heard the follow narrative, but in Jamaica: "Wan day, im madda ketch im a pin pan im ed tap (head top). Shi kawl to im, but im soh ayzehard (ears hard), im kiss im teet an tart slide pan im backside. Shi bex an grab im inna him neck back an pull im affa de grung. Shi opin har an miggle (hand middle) an bax im pan im jaw. Shi den use har an back (hand back) an slap im pan de adda jaw. When de lick dem bun im, im opin im troat ole (throat hole) an im tart bawl, an deh tamp im foot battam (foot bottom) dem.

"Im madda jus tep pan im foot tap (foot top), an a deh soh im tart fi halla. Yuh shudda si im face, faybah rollin kyawf. Im yiye dem tun red an a run yiye wata (eye water). Nose nawt run outta im nose hole dem inna im mout, an de bway soh naasy tuh, becausen sey im jus lick im tung an mout wata a drain outta im mout. Mi tumuk sick, and mi kin kraawl."

All the words in parentheses have their Standard English equivalents, but their use would have been a cardinal sin in the JL context.

And who can accuse international star, Shaggy, of being bombastic, when he says in 'Mr Boombastic', "Don't you tickle my foot bottom, ha, ha, baby please?" The self-proclaimed Mr Lover Lover could have included some of our more expressive terms of endearment, such as putus, boonunoonus, and gizada, in his piece. Another line, 'Naw go laba laba and a chat pure phart', reinforces how expressive the language is, and that's why Jamaican language 'a boom'.

paul.williams@gleanerjm.com.