Jamaican+Sexual+Identity-Language

= Introduction =

Anthropological linguistics is a field of study dedicated to uncovering the relationship between language and culture. Specifically, the field of sociolinguistics studies how language used in society, how it interacts within the social and political sphere, and how language differs among social variables. The central argument is that language provides context and insight as to what are socially accepted norms within a culture, and how language can reveal cultural attitudes, beliefs, and reactions toward phenomena.

In Jamaica, LGBTQ individuals regularly face discrimination and violence. Reports from Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) indicated that many LGBTQ individuals were victims of verbal abuse, beatings by police, relatives, and community members, some followed by death. Others are forced into homelessness. Within the Jamaican Creole-based language, Patois, words denoting homosexual statuses have mostly derogatory meanings and are used in verbally aggressive ways within culture and music.

 = History =

=Language = A pidgin language exists within a culture as a second language. When the pidgin language becomes a native or shared language among all members of a culture, it is Creole. Patois is significant to Jamaican culture in that it echoes the history of slavery, African ancestry, and the mark of English colonization. In a way, Patois is reflective of Jamaican culture, and the struggles of its people.

The word, Patois is derived from the French language and generally means “rough speech.” Contrasting with Jamaican Standard English, which is used by those of high social class, privilege, achievement, and potential, Jamaican Patois is an indicator of a lower socioeconomic status, which tends to be spoken only in informal contexts.

Because Patois is a mostly spoken language, when it is written, variations in spelling can become confusing, and even more so when students begin writing English for the first time. Bes’—best Helt’—health || Dem walk—they walked Him belly—his belly Mi kick—I kicked || Fi—to Pan—for <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">T’ief—to steal || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Patois is considered to be socially acceptable when used in talking about literature, in the telling of stories, and within song lyrics. For this reason, many Jamaican artists will use Patois to convey local meanings, double entendres, in ways that English may not accomplish. =<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">LGBT = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Around the time of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in Jamaica and during the time of slavery, Jamaica was “Christianized,” by the Church of England and the Spanish Catholics. Christians worked to spread the Gospel to African slaves so that they could be “saved.” European ideologies and homophobic attitudes were injected into Jamaican church soil, which later became a foundational cultural institution and central aspect of Jamaican culture. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">LGBTQ Language in Jamaica =
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">SOUND || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">GRAMMAR || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">VOCABULARY ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Deze—these

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">One of the most common terms to describe a gay, bisexual, or effeminate male is battybwoy. Batty is a Patois word that means “backside” or “anus,” and bwoy is Patois for “boy,” which basically translates to “butt boy” in English. Other words include mauma man, fassy hole, mr. burn, pussyhole, faggot, vegeta man, fishman, buju man, freaky man, goku, poop man, bugger man, batty man, and chi chi man. Words used to describe LGBT identities are described as deviant, disguising, “un-Jamaican” and indicate an intolerance toward homosexuality. Lesbians can be referred to as sodomite, chi chi gal, or just “lesbian.” <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">In Music and Culture

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Within Jamaican culture, music has been a tool for self-expression, a source of liberation, an illustration of cultural tradition, and loyalty, among many things. Because of the importance placed on music within Jamaican culture, the words used in lyrics are significant in that they provide cultural context to the messages and attitudes that are promoted. As music is a realm in which it is considered socially acceptable to use the mother-tongue, the meaning of the language used in the lyrics is of substantial importance in that it reveals attitudes about LGBT individuals that might not otherwise be understood in English.For example, the artist, Buju Banton, in the song, “Boom bye bye,” asserts his thoughts about homosexuality in the chorus: //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Me say Boom bye bye (I say gunshot gunshot) // //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Inna batty bwoy head (in a gay boy's head) // //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Rude bwoy no promote the nasty man (Gangsters don't promote nasty men) // //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Dem haffi dead (They have to die) //

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Banton promotes the idea that gay men should die because they are nasty, and even gangsters don’t endorse it.The song, “Log On,” by Elephant Man reveals similar attitudes about homosexuality:

//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Log on, and step pon chi chi man (Log on and step on gay men) // //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Log on fiom yu know seh yu nuh ickie man (Log on because you don't kiss men's body) // //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Log on and step pon chi chi man (Log on and step on gay men) // //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Dance wi a dance and a bun out afieaky man (We are dancing and burning freaky men) //

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Elephant Man was essentially saying that gay men should be destroyed because gay man cannot reproduce, and thus goes against God.

= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Present Perspectives =

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">At this time, homosexuality is punishable by law. Though at times, lesbians are able to retain their invisibility, gay and bisexual males, at the very least continue to be recipients of verbal aggression. Though trans* individuals are not formally recognized with a Patois term, they, too, are victims of violence.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">More recently, trans* women are working with the We are Jamaicans campaign to combat social-alienation and promote more accepting attitudes toward “non-normative” gender identities by advocating for programs that address gender violence. = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">References =

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Charles, A.D. (2011). Representations of homosexuality in Jamaica. //Social and// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">//Economic Studies//, 60(1), 3-29. Retrieved from http://0- <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> web.b.ebscohost.com.libcat.widener.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">sid=4311cbbf-ebf7-498e-9061-3c6cd08a7290%40sessionmgr112&vid=4&hid=112.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Hymes, D. (2013). //Foundations in sociolinguistics: An ethnographic approach.// NewYork, NY: Routledge.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Lewis, D. (2013, March 20). //Jamaican trans women call for equality.// Retrieved from http://www.thefword.org.uk/blog/2013/03/jamaican_trans_equality.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Madden, R. (2009, December 1). //Historical and culture aspects of Jamaican patois.// Retrieved from http://debate.uvm.edu/dreadlibrary/Madden.html.