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“Me wanna a capocofee. A very ha copocoffi; wit two sugar, plIz”....You wanna a capocofi too?, veri ha tu? Wit how many suga?

Regular or diet suga?”

(I want a cup of coffee. A very hot cup of coffee; with two sugar, please). (Do you want a cup of coffee too? With how many sugars? Regular or diet sugar?)

This is an example of a common expression of the everyday words and phrases spoken in the Jamaican and the English Creole Caribbean. In this presentation some phonological considerations will be considered as basic differences of American English and Jamaican-Caribbean English Creoles, in terms of word (sound) grouping, proximity of sounds and omissions of initial /h/ sounds as well as final consonant sounds /s, r, and t/.

By Pablo Fernandez Colon English 6499 Dr. Y. Rivera

University of Puerto Rico

Jamaican English Creole: a phonological view

12/04/2023By Pablo Fernandez Colon English 6499 Dr. Y. Rivera

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Jamaican English Creole: a phonological view

: “[MI wanna E kapo kofI, E very hƆtʰ kopokofI, E very jƆtʰ kopokofI, wI tʰ tU ʃugaʴ, plIz…]”

It is a vivid linguistic illustration of how proximity of vocalic sounds, tend to omit final consonant sounds /s, r, and t/.(A.E.: “I want a cup of coffee, a…, please…”)

12/04/2023By Pablo Fernandez Colon English 6499 Dr. Y. Rivera

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Jamaican and American English Soundwaves and Time Comparison

(I want a cup of coffee. A very hot cup of coffee; with two sugar, please).

“[MI wanna E kapo kofI, E very hƆtʰ kopokofI, E very jƆtʰ kopokofI, wI tʰ tU ʃugaʴ, plIz…]”

12/04/2023By Pablo Fernandez Colon English 6499 Dr. Y. Rivera

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Jamaican and American English Soundwaves and Time Comparison (cont.)

In JEC Example both time and soudwaves are shorter (4.721 secs.)

In AE Example both time and soudwaves are longer than JEC (5.544 secs.)

12/04/2023By Pablo Fernandez Colon English 6499 Dr. Y. Rivera

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A BBC interview with a Jamaicanso with me having, getting that bit of knowledge, things comes easy to me they were in the process of, uhm, finding homes for people that just arriving, new arrival in this country and, uh, helping them settle down and finding jobs I start working as a conductor — I was one of the first black person to, uhm, start it on the Sheffield Tramwayand then you just automatic, automatically got into the swing and accept what you've seen here my relative_, they were involve in this Community Association business

12/04/2023By Pablo Fernandez Colon English 6499 Dr. Y. Rivera

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feature explanation sound file TH-stopping <th> in words such as think and three is

pronounced using a <t> sound and in words such as this and that using a <d> sound

so with me having, getting that bit of knowledge, things comes easy to me

Jamaican - Caribbean English Phonology

12/04/2023By Pablo Fernandez Colon English 6499 Dr. Y. Rivera

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feature explanation sound file H-dropping <th> in words such as think and three is

pronounced using a <t> sound and in words such as this and that using a <d> sound

so with me having, getting that bit of knowledge, things comes easy to me

initial <h> is deleted in words such as happy and house

they were in the process of, uhm, finding homes for people that just arriving, new arrival in this country and, uh, helping them settle down and finding jobs

Jamaican - Caribbean English Phonology

12/04/2023By Pablo Fernandez Colon English 6499 Dr. Y. Rivera

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feature explanation sound file rhoticity the <r> sound is pronounced after a vowel

in words like hard, corn and nurse I start working as a c

onductor — I was one of the first black person to, uhm, start it on the Sheffield Tramway

Jamaican - Caribbean English Phonology (Cont.)

12/04/2023By Pablo Fernandez Colon English 6499 Dr. Y. Rivera

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feature explanation sound file unreduced vowel in weak syllables vowels in unstressed syllables are not reduced,

so that speakers use a comparatively strong vowel on words such as about, bacon or arrival and on grammatical function words, such as in the phrases lot of work, in a few days and in the kitchen - a very subtle feature that contributes to the characteristic rhythm or ‘lilt’ of Jamaican - Caribbean English

and then you just automatic, automatically got into the swing and accept what you've seen here

Jamaican - Caribbean English Phonology (Cont.)

12/04/2023By Pablo Fernandez Colon English 6499 Dr. Y. Rivera

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feature explanation sound file zero plural marker nouns are left unmarked for plurality my relative_

, they were involve in this Community Association business

Jamaican - Caribbean English Phonology (Cont.)

12/04/2023By Pablo Fernandez Colon English 6499 Dr. Y. Rivera

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Aditional examples of Jamaican-Caribbean Phonology of English based Creoles at:

http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/case-studies/minority-ethnic/caribbean/.

In this link, there appear voice recordings from BBC studios (sound files), of interviews taking place within spontaneous conversations.

Jamaican - Caribbean English Phonology (Final).

12/04/2023By Pablo Fernandez Colon English 6499 Dr. Y. Rivera

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Alleyne, M.C. (2005): Caribbean Popular Vernaculars in CARIBBEAN COMMUNICATION: Vol. II Language in Caribbean Communication

British Library, UK: http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/regional-voices/

Eckman, Fred R. (2008): Typological markedness and second language phonology. In Jette G. Hansen Edwards & Mary L. Zampini (eds.). Phonology and second language acquisition, 95-116. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: Benjamins.

Labov, Ash, & Boberg (2006),in The Atlas of North American English: Phonetics, Phonology and sound change (Chapter 22).

Sound files: BBC Studios sound files: (recorded interviews) http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/case-studies/minority-ethnic/caribbean/.

Wavepad Sound Editor Resource: http://www.nchsoftware.com/es/index.html

References