Language is an ever-controversial subject here. Specifically, the use of Patois versus the “Queen’s English.” Needless to say, this debate is heavily weighted by the past and the horrific legacy left by the slave trade. The current dialogue centres around the use of Patois in schools. I am not well-educated enough on this topic to provide any insight. But I do know of one anecdote that illustrates the issue: A young family (a husband, wife, five-year-old daughter and two-year-old daughter) has decided to home school the children. This is because they want the formative years of their children’s education to occur without exposure to Patois in the classroom. In other words, they want their children’s first language to be English.

This is because they fear the effects of having Patois in their daughters’ vocabulary. Both parents have graduate degrees and highly paying jobs. I think this story shows the tension between the acceptance of the country’s heritage and its desire to assimilate with the rest of the developed world. It also shows, I suggest, a degree of ambivalence, and even negativity, towards Patois.

So I find this story of translating the Bible into Patois fascinating. Religious leaders feel this effort will allow them to spread the message of the New Testament more easily. Many Jamaicans do not read or speak traditional English. But they do, of course, understand Patois. This dialect is not even an official language in Jamaica, although there are efforts to make it so. In addition, the University of the West Indies has produced a book formalizing Patois.

This issue is more than a matter of language, however. It is a matter of national identity. Of pride and heritage and the truth. And the debate continues to rage.