“Bans O’ Killing” . . . by Miss Lou
Posted: under "Jamaica Labrish ~ Louise Bennett".
Tags: age, beauty, British, culture, custom, dialect, English, era, eyes, feeling, feelings, heritage, history, honor, humor, Irish, Jamaica, Jamaican, labrish, language, laughter, lifestyle, man, Mathematics, Miss Lou, music, originality, others, patois, period, pride, respect, scotch, smiles, spring, time, understanding, vernacular, woman, words
.
Louise Bennett (Miss Lou) 1919-2006
.
“Bans O’ Killing” , 1944
.
So yuh a de man, me hear bout!
Ah yuh dem sey dah-teck
Whole heap o’ English oat sey dat
Yuh gwine kill dialect!
..
Meck me get it straight Mass Charlie
For me noh quite undastan,
Yuh gwine kill all English dialect
Or jus Jamaica one?
..
Ef yuh dah-equal up wid English
Language, den wha meck
Yuh gwine go feel inferior, wen
It come to dialect?
..
Ef yuh kean sing “Linstead Market”
An “Wata come a me y’eye”,
Yuh wi haffi tap sing “Auld lang syne”
An “Comin thru de rye”.
..
Dah language weh yuh proad o’,
Weh yuh honour and respeck,
Po’ Mass Charlie! Yuh noh know sey
Dat it spring from dialect!
..
Dat dem start fe try tun language,
From de fourteen century,
Five hundred years gawn an dem got
More dialect dan we!
..
Yuh wi haffe kill de Lancashire
De Yorkshire, de Cockney
Read More
Comments (0)
Oct 07 2010
Comments (0)
Oct 07 2010