Halliday, McIntosh, and Strevens (1964) examined varieties of English in a number of decolonizing contexts. They argue that the English used by educated people in Britain was the considered as the only model to use abroad. However, in the 1960s things have changed.
English is no longer the possession of the British, or even the British and the Americans, but ... exists in an increasingly large number of different varieties ... But the most important development of all is seen in the emergence of varieties that are identified with and are specific to particular countries from among the former British colonies. In West Africa, in the West Indies, and in Pakistan and India ... it is no longer accepted by the majority that the English of England, with RP as its accent, are the only possible models of English to be set before the young. (p. 293-294)
Standard Jamaican English is the official language of Jamaica and used in all domains of public life. It is not only the language of the government, the law and the media but also used for education and for almost all kinds of written communication (Sand, 1999, p. 70).
Standard English has been present in Jamaica for a long time. However, it started to be established in the 21th century, because of the decolonization process, which began before independence and lasted long after it. For many in Jamaica, Standard Jamaican English (SJE) is associated with the Standard English of the educated British, as it bears resemblance to Received Pronunciation. In addition to the British influence, SJE has been influenced by American English since the 1990s (Mair , 2002).
"In the Commonwealth West Indies standard American English is competing with southern British Received Pronunciation in influencing the emerging standard West Indian English and its regional varieties” (Holm, 1994. p. 354).
According to Antje Bernstein (2006), unlike Jamaican Creole, Standard Jamaican English is considered to be prestigious. The reason is not clear though, it could be because of the official status it has, or because of the status it was given in the past being the language of the settlers.
"In the Commonwealth West Indies standard American English is competing with southern British Received Pronunciation in influencing the emerging standard West Indian English and its regional varieties” (Holm, 1994. p. 354).
According to Antje Bernstein (2006), unlike Jamaican Creole, Standard Jamaican English is considered to be prestigious. The reason is not clear though, it could be because of the official status it has, or because of the status it was given in the past being the language of the settlers.
Phonemic level
The pronunciation of Jamaican Standard English is resembles to some extent the Irish pronunciation, the Irish ‘accent’- in particular the accent of County Cork (in Ireland) -which influences Jamaican Standard English ‘accent’ today, probably because of a remnant reminiscence of former colonial ties to Ireland and to a lesser extent, America.
These are some of the main features of Jamaican Standard English in regards to the pronunciation of vowels:
Jamaican Standard English spelling is not very different from British spelling, and so there is not any feature worth mentioning.
Lexemic level
Jamaican Standard English shares most of its lexicon with Standard English. People tend to use British vocabulary, but there is also an obvious American influence on the lexicon, given the constant interaction with the United States of America mainly through mass media. The creation of new words along with the borrowing process has led to an enriched lexis.
An interesting use of mixed British and American vocabulary is with automobiles, where the American term ‘trunk’ is almost universally used instead of the British term, while the British ‘sleeping policeman’ is used instead of the American ‘Speed Bump’.
Naturally, Jamaican Standard English also uses many local words borrowed from Jamaican Creole, such as ‘duppy’ for ‘ghost’, ‘haggler’ for ‘street vendor’; and of course lots of other words referring to local produce and food items such as ‘ackee’, ‘callaloo’, ‘guinep’, and ‘bammy’.
Syntactic level
Jamaican Standard English is grammatically similar to British Standard English. Syntax is the linguistic level that has had small changes. However, the relationship between Jamaica and the United States has increased the influence of American English, due to close economic ties and the high percentage of migration, and also to the cultural exchange. As a result, structures like "I don't have" or "you don't need" are almost universally preferred over "I haven't got" or "you needn't”.
The pronunciation of Jamaican Standard English is resembles to some extent the Irish pronunciation, the Irish ‘accent’- in particular the accent of County Cork (in Ireland) -which influences Jamaican Standard English ‘accent’ today, probably because of a remnant reminiscence of former colonial ties to Ireland and to a lesser extent, America.
These are some of the main features of Jamaican Standard English in regards to the pronunciation of vowels:
- The short /a/ sound, in words such as ‘man’ and ‘hat’, is very open, similar to its Irish realization.
- The high front vowels /i/ and /I/ have a clear opposition in /si:t/ “seat” vs /sit/ “sit”, this may depend more on vowel length than vowel quality.
- The high back vowels, the distinction between /u/ in “pool” and / ʊ/ in “pull” is maintained.
- The mid central vowel of English, unstressed /ə/, becomes /a/ in Standard Jamaican English, for example: /bita/ for the word “bitter”.
- The low English vowels /æ, ɑ, ɔ/ are different as in /hat/ ‘hat, hot’.
- The diphthong /au/ in Jamaican corresponds to / ə u/, as in the word ‘house’.
- The Standard English / ʒ/ of ‘pleasure’ vs /dʒ/ of the Standard Jamaican English.
- The dropping of the /r/ in words like ‘water’ (at the end of unstressed syllables) and in words like ‘market’ (before a consonant); but not in words like ‘car’ or ‘dare’ (stressed syllables at the end of the word).
Jamaican Standard English spelling is not very different from British spelling, and so there is not any feature worth mentioning.
Lexemic level
Jamaican Standard English shares most of its lexicon with Standard English. People tend to use British vocabulary, but there is also an obvious American influence on the lexicon, given the constant interaction with the United States of America mainly through mass media. The creation of new words along with the borrowing process has led to an enriched lexis.
An interesting use of mixed British and American vocabulary is with automobiles, where the American term ‘trunk’ is almost universally used instead of the British term, while the British ‘sleeping policeman’ is used instead of the American ‘Speed Bump’.
Naturally, Jamaican Standard English also uses many local words borrowed from Jamaican Creole, such as ‘duppy’ for ‘ghost’, ‘haggler’ for ‘street vendor’; and of course lots of other words referring to local produce and food items such as ‘ackee’, ‘callaloo’, ‘guinep’, and ‘bammy’.
Syntactic level
Jamaican Standard English is grammatically similar to British Standard English. Syntax is the linguistic level that has had small changes. However, the relationship between Jamaica and the United States has increased the influence of American English, due to close economic ties and the high percentage of migration, and also to the cultural exchange. As a result, structures like "I don't have" or "you don't need" are almost universally preferred over "I haven't got" or "you needn't”.
As Mair (2007) states, Standard English is almost foreign to the majority of the Jamaican population, as it carries associations with formal education, literacy, and the former colonial administration. While Jamaican Creole is associated with the demographic majority and the region's rich folk culture. "In such a situation, it was Standard English which - apart from a few experiments - was the default language of literary expression until well into the 20th century" (p. 5).