So ah wha we fi do now?

Uhm, ahem, at the risk of being stoned, villified and accused of all kinda bad things, let me ask what ah know dat plenty parents want to ask but not saying anything.

Ah just wondering, you know with this new surge of nationalism and renewed appreciation for de local vernacular in the wake of the passing of the iconic Miss Lou, uhm, when de pickney dem chat bad (beg pardon, ah mean use the local dialect), we nuffi badda correct dem and tell dem fi chat proper Henglish?

Not dat ah don't agree wid what everybody seh, ah tink dere really is a place for we dialect. When me was inna England studying fi mi Masters and haffi chat the Queen's English day in, day out, without a break because the english people and the student dem whose native language wasn't english wouldn't understand, mi happiest time was when mi sistren dem call and bawl out pon de phone "Gal, yu a study? Mek sure yu nuh fail, yu nuh!" What a nice reprieve me get when dem call. Yu wouldn't undastan how good that felt.


But ah just wondering now if we nuffi correct de pickney dem becausen seh ah notice how everybady, from uppa class to middle class to bottom ah de class, all de people dem who usually reprimand de pickney dem (er, ahm, ah kinda including meself in that bunch) to "speak properly", is wha wi mus tell dem seh now? especially the sensible-ish one whe hear we a laud we dialect?


Mi ago feel kinda cute, not to mention hypocritical telling mi God son (as ah usually do) dat him must speak proper when last week me and everybady in Jamaica and de diaspara was saying how is bi-lingual we bi-lingual. Me haffi go whispa tell him to chat good, cause mi nuh waan nubady tek mi hawn.

Jus' kinda wondering still how to proceed hence forth..........

What unnno tink?