UWI To Launch Discussion On Making Jamaican Language Official

The Jamaican Language Unit at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, with be leading the national conversation on the appropriate positioning of the Jamaican language in official spaces.
The discussion, under the slogan “Make Jamaican Official… Just Do it”, is the unit’s contribution to the100 days of activities planned to celebrate the centenary anniversary of the birth of a cultural icon, Dr. the Hon. Louise Bennett-Coverley, popularly known as “Miss Lou”.

Speaking at a recent JIS Think Tank, Professor Emeritus, Jamaican Language Unit, Hubert Devonish, said that a meeting will be held with “friends” of the Jamaican language on September 26, to plan the public discussion, which is scheduled to begin October 1.

“We want to go to all the parish capitals, churches, community groups, and so on, where we would be having discussion about whether the Jamaican language should be made official and what does that mean,” he said.

Professor Devonish said that the meeting will also identify the needs at government entities “so that when people visit [public officers]can provide the service in any of the languages that people feel that they want to use, offering respectful and efficient service”.