jaylar
The importance of differentiating between a language which allows intricate expression and one which has severe limitations, is that if you don’t have the words you can’t describe your world.
When one has a limited vocabulary they can not express complex thoughts.
Citizens of nations which were colonised by speakers of standard languages would, upon Independence, tumble into the introduction of a kind of slop speak which soon replaced that language.
Haiti is an excellent example.
The very rich, and there are very rich Haitians, speak perfect French. They can communicate with any French speaker.
The poor, the majority of the population, speak Creole, which no one else in the world speaks.
Haiti has been one of the poorest nations on Earth from the day it gained its Independence.
Jamaica was a British colony where the speaking of proper English was demanded. For almost twenty years after becoming Independent, English was still maintained.
Then, the push ‘patwa fi wi langwij’ (patois is our language) began.
It is not an English speaker dipping into patwa to make a point. Nearly half of the population does not speak nor fully understand standard English.
It is easy to ‘segregate’ the poor and control them by limiting their comprehension.
The manipulation of language was first exposed to me, in Nineteen Eighty Four
