CAPE'S Characteristics of English Creole Languages - PART 3 (VOCABULARY)

English Creole (EC) has words that do not resemble words in Caribbean Standard English (CSE) even though they share the same meaning. For example:

1. Pickney and Child

2. Nyam and Eat

3. Bazodi and Confused

4. Nose-hole and Nostril

5. Eye-water and Tears

EC and CSE has shared words that signify different parts of speech. For example"

1. Stink ( adj.) and Stink (n, v)

2. Over (v, prep, adv.) and Over (prep, adv)

3. Sweet (adj., v, n) and Sweet (adj., n)

EC and CSE share words that though they resemble, have different meanings. For example:

1. Miserable = Ill-tempered and  Miserable = Wretched

2. Ignorant = Ill-tempered and Ignorant = lacking in knowledge

CAPE'S Characteristics of English Creole Languages - PART 2 (PHONOLOGY)

Characteristics of Phonology (English Creole vs Caribbean Standard English)

English Creole uses:

1. No voiced consonant clusters at the end of words, for example, -nd  is replaced by -n, as in han, san . Whereas CSE uses voiced clusters at the end of words, for example, -nd, as in hand, sand.

2. No voiceless consonant clusters at the end of words, for example, -st is replaced by -s, as in tes, wris; similarly -ft is replaced by -f, for example as in lef. Whereas in CSE, voiceless consonant clusters occur at the end of words, for example, -st, as in test, wrist; -ft, as in left.

3. No voiceless-voiced consonant clusters at the end of words, for example, -sed is replaced by -s as in miss; -ghed becomes gh in words like laugh; -ped > p, as in leap. Whereas CSE makes use of voiceless-voiced consonant cluster at the end of words, for example, -st, as in test, wrist, -ft, as in left.

4. No voiced 'th' sound at the beginning of words or syllables; a 'd' sound instead, for example in dey, dem, la.der. Whereas CSE uses the voiced 'th' sound at the beginning of words or syllables, for example, in they, them and la.ther.

5. No voiceless 'th' sound at the end of words or syllables; a 't'; or 'f' sound instead, for example, in fift/fif, wit/wif. Whereas in CSE the voiceless 'th' sound occurs at the end of words or syllables, for example in fifth and with.

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CAPE'S Characteristics of English Creole Languages - PART 1 (GRAMMAR)

Characteristics of Grammar (English Creoles vs. Caribbean Standard English)

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English Creole uses:

1. Unlimited count nouns with generic meaning, for example, woman sweet. Whereas Caribbean Standard English (CSE) pluralizes count nouns with generic meaning, for example, women are sweet.

2. Unmarked action verbs with past time reference, for example, him kiss mi and run weh. Whereas in CSE action verbs with past time reference are marked, for example, he kissed me and ran away.

3. Preverbal markers to indicate time for example, ben/bin/wen/did (past marker), go (future marker), a (marker of continuous and habitual), does (marker of habitual). Whereas CSE uses auxiliaries and suffixes, for example did/-ed (past), will/shall (future), -ing (continuous), simple present tense forms (cook, cooks)

4. Subject- adjective structures, for example, mi nice, di street wet. Whereas CSE uses Subject- copula-adjective structures, for example, I am nice, the street is wet.

5. Subject-verb word order in question formation, together with rising intonation, for example, you done wash di clothes? Whereas CSE inverts the subject and auxiliary in question formation together with rising intonation, for example, have you finished washing the clothes?

6. Front-focusing of different parts of the sentence for emphasis, tired a tired, is di chicken he burn. Whereas CSE has pitch-emphasized parts, for example, I am tired, he burned the chicken.

Facilitators & Barriers of Communication

Selecting appropriate mediums, channels and technologies
This takes place at the level of conceptualization.
When a sender decides to encode a message, he or she must take two main things into consideration during this stage – the context and the audience (receiver). These factors influence both choice of medium and choice of channel. The key word here is appropriateness. Choice of medium and channel are directly influenced by the purpose of the message and the intended audience. Ask yourself the following questions when determining levels of appropriateness:

i. Who is my receiver?
ii. How best can my message be conveyed?
iii. Where is the communication act taking place?
iv. What is the situation surrounding the communication act?
v. Is my audience one person or several?
vi. What medium should I use, oral or written?
vii. Should I use technology? If so, which technology would most appropriate?

 Scenario 1
Read the scenario below and answer the questions that follow.
Greg is ill and has to be away from school for two weeks. His mother encodes a letter to the school principal and sends it out in the mail.

In the above situation,
1. How else could Greg’s mother have gotten the message to the Principal?
2. Why do you think she chose to write a letter?

Answer: The telephone or email could have been used. She chose the letter because a letter is a more formal medium of communication and can serve as a permanent record.

Facilitators &; Barriers to Communication
Noise is anything that interrupts or blocks the flow of information. Whenever the understanding of a message is affected, the obstruction is considered a barrier to communication.
Some common barriers to communication are:
i. A language barrier
ii. A channel that is inaccessible to the receiver
iii. The message is ineffectively encoded or the meaning is ambiguous
iv. The medium is inappropriate to the message

Some common facilitators to communication are:
i. Choosing a familiar language
ii. Using an accessible channel
iii. Ensuring that the medium is appropriate to the message
iv. Using audio/visual aids to enhance the encoding of the message