Sylvia Wynter's Dream

Our motto says Out of Many One People and our neighbors are here as proof. We look different but we are one of the same, speaking our tongue, transporting our culture, we are Jamaica.

So many try to be like us as our language is so influential. But when was the last time you entered a Chinese owned supermarket and greeted them in Chinese? How do you speak to your neighbors child who was born deaf?

You see, so many of us do not recognize the culture around us and acknowledge that we indeed are out of many one people. It should not sound outrageous to suggest we be able to speak the Chinese we hear every month since we were born. Nor should it be to promote learning sign language so we are able to at least say hello to our deaf population. Many of us do not even know that there are deaf signs for the Jamaican language.

Our country is multi-cultural, with diverse ethnic backgrounds but we seem to believe that ignoring others and forcing the narrative that only standard English is deemed ‘proper’. We need to let go of narratives that suggest that the Jamaican Patois is reserved for lower class, darker complexion citizens or even that our language cannot be inclusive of others.

Look around you at how many Jamaican people are of different ethnic backgrounds. Imagine a Jamaica where language is not shamed but embarrassed and you will open your mind to numerous possibilities.