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Lexical and Grammatical Features of Jamaican Patois in Reggae Music

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Puljan, Dora. (2014). Lexical and Grammatical Features of Jamaican Patois in Reggae Music. Diploma Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of English Language and Literature. [mentor Josipović Smojver, Višnja].

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Abstract

Creole languages show the variable nature of language. They provide evidence of universal sociolinguistic reality of language contact and economy. This work observes such nature of one of the most significant creole languages, Jamaican Creole, or Jamaican Patois (Patwa). The aim of this thesis is to provide an overview of lexical and grammatical features of Jamaican Creole in reggae music, to establish the importance of language in the formation of Jamaican culture and identity, and to indicate the role of historical language stereotypes in the formation of negative language attitudes. The first part of the thesis contains a diachronically-oriented theoretical research. Referring mostly to secondary literature, the emphasis is on the importance of the historical aspect in the creation of the current social condition of Patois and its role in the formation of the Jamaican culture and identity. The second part contains qualitative investigation of lexical and grammatical features, conducted on a randomly selected corpus of 53 modern reggae lyrics, in order to establish the difference between Standard English, Standard Jamaican English, and the overall Jamaican Creole continuum, as well as to confirm the linguistic autonomy of Jamaican Creole in relation to the British and Jamaican Standard.

Item Type: Diploma Thesis
Uncontrolled Keywords: colonialism, language attitudes, creolization, linguistic continuum, reggae music
Subjects: English language and literature
Departments: Department of English Language and Literature
Supervisor: Josipović Smojver, Višnja
Date Deposited: 24 Jun 2014 21:37
Last Modified: 09 Jul 2014 23:23
URI: http://darhiv.ffzg.unizg.hr/id/eprint/4416

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