Jamaica Proverbs PDF Download

Author: Martha Warren Beckwith
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : African American proverbs
Languages : en
Pages : 146

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Author: G. Llewellyn Watson
Publisher: Tallahassee : Florida A & M University Press ; Gainsville, Fla. : University Presses of Florida
ISBN: 9780813010533
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
“A rich and compelling collection that will make a significant contribution to the study of Jamaican/West Indian/black folklore and culture” –Daryl Cumber Dance, Virginia Commonwealth University “A fantastic collection from the rich storehouse of Jamaican traditional oral literature” –Rex Nettleford, University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica “A Wealth of Information…. The author carries the presentation of the proverbs/sayings to the level of socio-anthropological significance” –E. Valerie Smith, Florida A&M University In 1992, Jamaicans throughout the world celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of Jamaica’s formal independence from Britain this collection of Creole sayings contributes to the lively interest in cultural preservation which exists this year in anticipation of the event. The sayings, an archive of the wit and wisdom of many generations, aim to trigger reflection and thought. They are never fully explained, and, says the author, “in the most extreme situation one might well need an entire week to ponder and think seriously” about their meaning. They exert pressure to conform to community standards, and they influence conduct in much the same way as religion does. Strong in imagery and often poetic, the maxims draw upon a variety of well-known flora, fauna, and real or imaginary creatures the anansi, for example, famous for “playin’ de fool fe ketch wise” (playing foolish in order to catch the wise), is regarded as a favorite hero in folklore. Creole, initially constructed as a coded language, employs a number of West African linguistic traditions. These Creole sayings, a valuable addition to the literature and ethnography of the Caribbean region, link Jamaican culture to its African past. They offer delightful reading to Latin American scholars, to students of comparative sociology and anthropology, and to the general public. G. Llewellyn Watson is professor of sociology at the University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetowwn, Canada.

Author: Anand Prahlad
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN: 9781604736595
Category : Proverbs, Jamaican
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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In "Reggae Wisdom: Proverbs in Jamaican Music" Swami Anand Prahlad looks at the contexts and origins of these proverbs, using them as a cultural sheet music toward understanding the history of Jamaican culture, Rastafari religion, and the music that isthat culture's worldwide voice.

Author: Aleksandra R. Knapik
Publisher: Æ Academic Publishing
ISBN: 1683461541
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Jamaican Creole, like many other contact languages, has taken its ultimate shape through the course of multi-lingual and multi-cultural influences. From the perspective of contact linguistics , this meticulous study examines Jamaican Creole proverbs in a corpus of over 1090 recorded sayings; it presents a framework of cultural changes in Jamaica accompanied by corresponding linguistic changes in its creole. The analysis clearly demonstrates that despite three centuries of extreme dominance by the British empire, Jamaicans successfully preserved the traditions of their own ancestors. Not only that. The poly-layered stimulus of various factors: geographic, cultural and, most prominently, linguistic, helped create a unique phenomenon – Jamaican creole culture. The vibrant life of the Jamaican people and their African background is best encapsulated in their proverbs, proverbs which constitute generations of wisdom passed from the 16th century and on. John R. Rickford, J.E. Wallace Sterling Professor of Linguistics and the Humanities, Stanford University The research theme of the very publication entitled Jamaican Proverbs fromthe Perspective of Contact Linguistics is a successful analysis of both linguistic and cultural contacts between English and African cultures that have been shaping the vernacular language of Jamaica. The study material consists of 1092 proverbs, all of which can be regarded as a first-hand record of sociolinguistic events that have had important influence upon the formation of the Jamaican creole language and its registers. Dr. Knapik proves beyond any reasonable doubt that the Jamaican linguistic and cultural world is a great example of a thriving microcosm which continues to incorporate various elements and can also very well serve as the basis for future research on patterns of language and culture development. (…) prof. dr hab. dr h.c. (mult.) †Jacek Fisiak

Author: Izett Anderson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 146

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Author: Everal McKenzie
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Folk literature, Jamaican
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Author: Aeron Cargill
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781792897672
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 54

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Proverbs and sayings are a part of the fabric of life the world over, and that is no different in Jamaica. Featured in this book is patois, written not as broken English, but as patois based on the most recent authoritative works. Filled with colorful illustrations that are literal interpretations of the traditional proverbs and sayings, this book is a light-hearted exploration of the valuable lessons that some Jamaican proverbs have to offer.

Author: Carolyn Cooper
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISBN: 9780822315957
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
The language of Jamaican popular culture—its folklore, idioms, music, poetry, song—even when written is based on a tradition of sound, an orality that has often been denigrated as not worthy of serious study. In Noises in the Blood, Carolyn Cooper critically examines the dismissed discourse of Jamaica’s vibrant popular culture and reclaims these cultural forms, both oral and textual, from an undeserved neglect. Cooper’s exploration of Jamaican popular culture covers a wide range of topics, including Bob Marley’s lyrics, the performance poetry of Louise Bennett, Mikey Smith, and Jean Binta Breeze, Michael Thelwell’s novelization of The Harder They Come, the Sistren Theater Collective’s Lionheart Gal, and the vitality of the Jamaican DJ culture. Her analysis of this cultural "noise" conveys the powerful and evocative content of these writers and performers and emphasizes their contribution to an undervalued Caribbean identity. Making the connection between this orality, the feminized Jamaican "mother tongue," and the characterization of this culture as low or coarse or vulgar, she incorporates issues of gender into her postcolonial perspective. Cooper powerfully argues that these contemporary vernacular forms must be recognized as genuine expressions of Jamaican culture and as expressions of resistance to marginalization, racism, and sexism. With its focus on the continuum of oral/textual performance in Jamaican culture, Noises in the Blood, vividly and stylishly written, offers a distinctive approach to Caribbean cultural studies.

Author: Frederic G. Cassidy
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789766401276
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 578

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Book Description
The method and plan of this dictionary of Jamaican English are basically the same as those of the Oxford English Dictionary, but oral sources have been extensively tapped in addition to detailed coverage of literature published in or about Jamaica since 1655. It contains information about the Caribbean and its dialects, and about Creole languages and general linguistic processes. Entries give the pronounciation, part-of-speach and usage of labels, spelling variants, etymologies and dated citations, as well as definitions. Systematic indexing indicates the extent to which the lexis is shared with other Caribbean countries.

Author: Edna Bennett
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 1426945469
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 143

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Book Description
Jamaicans, like others around the world, often experience a tugging at the heart that can only be assuaged by pleasant memories. In her collection of old Jamaican proverbs, Edna Bennett shares the powerful messages and folk wisdom of the Jamaican people, conveying not only the mellowness of nostalgia, but also the gentleness of the island culture. Led by a desire to keep her culture alive, Bennett urges others to take five, cock up yu foot, and 'member what yu old people used to say as she offers collective wisdom presented in Jamaican dialect with English translations. Unforgettable sayings gathered from over three hundred years of Jamaican history include ban' yu belly (be prepared for hardships), cotton tree fall dung, nanny goat jump over it (when the mighty falls, the humblest may take advantage of him), and yu se' man face, yu nuh se' 'im heart (you cannot tell a man's true feelings by the look on his face). More Jamaica Old-Time Sayings will spur memories, transport Jamaicans back to the roots of their culture, and encourage others to not live their lives like a kitchen without a knife, but to focus on the whetstone of Jamaican wisdom.