Heather, Anne and Faydene all grew up in Jamaica but, after travelling, have now settled and met up by chance in the Midlands.  | | Andrew and Peterjohn |
Heather saw that many Jamaicans in the UK want to learn more about their roots so she set up a course in Patois and Jamaican culture at City College in Birmingham. One of the course teachers is Anne who also teaches science in a secondary school. The group meet up at City College to take part in the Voices project. The interview is interrupted occasionally by Andrew and Peterjohn, Heather's two boys, aged 6 and 8. The group really enjoy talking about language and think their communication is enriched by having different varieties of English to use. Find out more about the group below. Click the links to listen to them talking and hear the whole group in discussion in the 'best bits'. Contributors
Faydene Gillings-Grant
Anne Morgan
Heather Reid Best bits
Accents
'Pickaninny'
Describing relationships
Trashy women
Corrupted words
'Trash an' ready'
Pants
'Vex' and 'bex'
Gesturing 
Contributors Name: Faydene Gillings-Grant
Age: 40-something
Occupation: Librarian
Lives in: Solihull
Lived here: 5 - 10 years
Born: Darliston, Jamaica
Describes own accent as: "Influenced by American and English. My voice still has traces of a sing-song lilt. I don't think my Jamaican accent is very strong."
Languages: English (mother tongue), Jamaican, some Spanish | Listen to Faydene | | Faydene says she slows down her voice to make sure other people at work can understand her. |  Listen to the clip | Read the transcript | | One of Faydene's colleagues loves her soothing lilting voice! | | Listen to the clip | | | Mmm, the Irish accent. Faydene loves Pierce Brosnan's attractive drawl and wishes she could speak like that. | | Listen to the clip | | | Faydene's husband is a doctor who interprets for Jamaican patients. She also says that children must be taught to talk and write correct English. | | Listen to the clip | | | Knowing Jamaican English and 'Queen's English' gives people a choice of two languages, allowing them to communicate better. | | Listen to the clip | |
Name: Anne Morgan
Age: 30-something
Occupation: Secondary science teacher
Lives in: West Bromwich
Lived here: Less than four years
Born: Kingston, Jamaica
Describes own accent as: "Jamaican English"
Languages: English (mother tongue), Jamaican, some Spanish | Listen to Anne | | Anne says she generally speaks English but when she's irritated or angry, she uses Jamaican. | | Listen to the clip | Read the transcript | | There's been so much interest in Jamaican English that City College in Handsworth now runs a Jamaican course. Anne is one of the course teachers. Hear more about the course. | | Listen to the clip | | | Anne describes how her voice changes depending on who she's talking to. | | Listen to the clip | | | The group laugh as Anne explains why she luuuuurrrrves the French accent. Mr Thierry Henry has something to do with it... | | Listen to the clip | | | "It's like nails down a chalk board." Which accent does Anne really hate? | | Listen to the clip | | | Spelling is very important in science, the subject Anne teaches. She feels it's important that children learn to speak and spell properly. | | Listen to the clip | | | "Whaapn to yu? Yu grow wid yu granny?!" Anne explains this Jamaican expression which roughly means, "Why are you so miserable?!" | | Listen to the clip | | | It's not socially acceptable to be a drinker in Jamaica - Anne talks about how the culture differs from the UK. | | Listen to the clip | | | Jamaican is a creative way of speaking. Anne recalls a book which said that Shakespeare would better understand a Jamaican nowadays than an Englishman. | | Listen to the clip | |
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Name: Heather Reid
Age: 30-something
Occupation: Full-time mum & runs own business
Lives in: Erdington
Lived here: 5 - 10 years
Born: St Andrew, Jamaica
Describes own accent as: "Jamaican"
Languages: English (mother tongue), Jamaican, some Spanish | Listen to Heather | | As a child at home, Heather was not allowed to speak Patois. Now, she says it's an enlightened choice to celebrate Jamaican culture. She also enjoys the humour of Patois. | | Listen to the clip | Read the transcript | | Heather says people can never guess where she is from, even though she thinks she has an authentic Jamaican accent. | | Listen to the clip | | | Swearing is not acceptable to Heather and she corrects her children's speech. She thinks people should be taught in a language which aids understanding. | | Listen to the clip | |
Best bits Best bit: Accents
Anne says there is no typical British accent despite the 'Hollywood' or 'BBC' stereotypes. Heather says Jamaica is the same - there are different dialects throughout the country.
Listen to the clip
Best bit: 'Pickaninny'
The group discuss words for babies and young children. Faydene and Anne discuss how the way you say the word conveys how affectionate you are about the child.
Listen to the clip
Best bit: Describing relationships
Patois words can sum up a relationship much more easily than Standard English. The group discuss 'babyfather', 'babymother' and 'boops' - a kind of sugar daddy!
Listen to the clip
Best bit: Trashy women
In British English slang, 'Chav' or 'wannabe' mean someone who's wearing over-the-top trendy clothes and jewellery. The group discuss the Jamaican equivalents.
Listen to clip 1
Listen to clip 2
Best bit: Corrupted words
Faydene describes how Jamaican DJs make up alternative meanings for words when they sing. Anne recalls how 'men' came to mean 'gay men' which got confusing...
Listen to the clip
Best bit: 'Trash an' ready'
Another word corrupted by Jamaican DJs is 'trash'. Which is different to 'trashy'. The interviewer gets confused here...
Listen to the clip
Best bit: Pants
Jamaicans - like Americans - call trousers 'pants' which can cause a little embarassment...
Listen to the clip
Best bit: 'Vex' and 'bex'
If you're a bit annoyed, you're 'vex' but if you're really angry, you're 'bex'. The group talk about how the first letter changes for emphasis.
Listen to the clip
Best bit: Gesturing
Faydene thinks it's funny that British people can have a conversation with their hands by their sides. Anne says Jamaicans are masters of body language - using their hands, eyes and making non-word sounds.
Listen to the clip
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