When Will the Government Hear?

Recently, and out of interest, I visited the website for the Jamaica’s Association for the Deaf (JAD), a government based organisation. I visited their schools page and I was most facinated by what I read under “Programmes and Curriculum.” It reads:

“Instruction is delivered in academic and vocational subjects and the curriculum pursued is based on the Ministry of Education's guidelines/curriculum with additional components to address language and speech development, these being the areas most affected by deafness. A special feature of our programme is the current thrust for a multilingual approach to instruction. The approach embodies the use of both Jamaican Sign Language and English in communication with students allowing the student to utilize the communication mode most comfortable to him/her. Research efforts are further seeking to develop a clearer understanding of the structure and usage of Jamaican Sign Language by the Deaf population as a means of aiding their development of English as a second language” (emphasis mine).

It is my conviction that the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture (MOEYC) is blameworthy of double standard here! How so? The Ministry allows for full implementation of Jamaican Sign Languag (JSL) in deaf education - from pre-school to continuining education - whilst, at the same time, it practically disregard to the use of Jamaican Ceole (JamC) in the education of the hearing population, even at the primary level. True, societal attitudes toward JamC are (???) more negative than those toward JSL (I’m not certain as to the veracity of this claim as I have no corroborating evidence, save my limited experience). And we are all aware that a the status of a speech variety has much to do with its use in both informal and formal domains. The MOEYC acknowledges the problem of societal attitudes in its Language Education Policy where it states its decision to adopt “transitional bilingualism.” Besides financial and orthographic constraints, states the ministry, transitional bilingualism was favoured above full bilingualism (its ideal choice) because of “political and social attitudes to Creole as a medium of instruction.” It goes on to say that these social attitudes “could present obstacles that are difficult to overcome” (MOEYC, 2001:24). My opinion: the government hasn’t yet got (there’s hope here!) the backbone to do what’s in the best interest of the majority of the nation’s aural/oral population.

Also, by not accomodating Jamaican Creole in the classroom as a vialble medium of instruction, the MOEYC repudiates its claim that it’s best to move from the known to the known. That the government expouses this principle is stated in the sentence “Research efforts are further seeking to develop a clearer understanding of the structure and usage of Jamaican Sign Language by the Deaf population as a means of aiding their development of English as a second language.” But what are we to conclude when the ministry’s approach to instruction in aural/oral schools is anything but “multilingual”?

JCTP Update: July to September 09

July to September 2009 Report

Language Use & Sin

Recently, I sent out a ministry update to persons on my mailing list. One of the things I said in my news is, "Most recently, I've been reflecting on the extent to which language use bears witness to humanity's constant problem – sin." Unsurprisingly, someone responded, expressing an interest in my reflections. Now, I'm not entirely sure the respondent understood precisely what I was referring to, so, I sought to clarify what exactly my reflections relate to, by writing the following:

"In terms of my reference to languages bearing witness to humanity's constant problem, sin, I had in mind issues such as 1) the deliberate marginalisation (social, educational, legal, financial, political, etc) of persons of "minority" language varieties and 2) the fact that (some) language policies and language planning measures reflect broader/deeper societal problems both on the macro and micro levels, eg. hatred of another race, or territory, or speech community due to unsavoury historical relations, political interests, etc.  I'm of the opinion that many of these things could be considered a violation of one of the greatest commandments: "Love your neighbour as yourself" (Matt 22:39).  So, what factors contribute to Hindi and Urdu being recognised as discrete languages both popularly and in the law, even though they may be identical at the level of grammar?

I'm particularly interested in finding out how BT agencies have dealt with these issues (particularly 2) over the years.  For, in some cases, deciding to translate into a speech variety attracts various societal attitudes and could suggest the translation agency is supporting not only the language but all it represents to its speakers (and non speakers!).

I'm yet to refine my thoughts on the issue....  Do let me know what you think and of any material on the subject...."

Back to Blogging SOON

I do apologise for having fallen short lately in terms of blogging. I usually type my blogs at home and publish them when I arrive at work; however, my laptop has crashed, and I’ve not been able to replace it as yet. Just to let you know that I do have a number of topics that I would like to blog on.

Our 1st Brochure

Print and distribute as many as you are able to!

JCTP Brochure

April to June Project Report

q3 09 Jctp Report

Jamaican Project Standee

I designed this...do you think it makes for a good standee?