What is Mesolect in language?
What is Mesolect in language?
The variety of language in a POST-CREOLE CONTINUUM intermediate between BASILECT and ACROLECT, often retaining semantic and syntactic features not found in the acrolect and tending to vary from speaker to speaker, such as between standard Jamaican English and Jamaican Creole. See DIALECT, LECT.
What is Jamaican Creole syntax?
Jamaican Creole is considered a language based on two reasons. Lexicon is the vocabulary of the language. Grammar is the correct use of the language. And syntax is the proper arrangements of the words in a sentence within a language.
Do all Jamaicans speak patois?
It is spoken by the majority of Jamaicans as a native language. Patois developed in the 17th century when slaves from West and Central Africa were exposed to, learned, and nativized the vernacular and dialectal forms of English spoken by the slaveholders: British English, Scots, and Hiberno-English.
Why is Jamaican English so different?
Slaves were forced to speak English in everyday situations, and because of this, a dialect of broken English came into fruition. This exact situation was mirrored on nearly every other Caribbean island as well, creating an un official dialect of the Caribbean, and Jamaica in general.
What is basilect mesolect and acrolect?
basilect, mesolect, acrolect Terms from creole studies to refer to the varieties furthest away from, in the middle and nearest to the standard of the lexifier language respectively.
What is mesolect and basilect?
As nouns the difference between mesolect and basilect is that mesolect is (linguistics) a variety of speech that is midway between the acrolect and the basilect while basilect is (linguistics) a variety of a language that has diverged greatly from the standard form.
What does fi mean Jamaican?
fi (Conjunction) Meaning/Description: to, for.
What is example of Creole?
Creole languages include varieties that are based on French, such as Haitian Creole, Louisiana Creole, and Mauritian Creole; English, such as Gullah (on the Sea Islands of the southeastern United States), Jamaican Creole, Guyanese Creole, and Hawaiian Creole; and Portuguese, such as Papiamentu (in Aruba, Bonaire, and …
What is the meaning of Mi Deh Yah?
everything is ok
‘Mi deh yah, yuh know’ While the literal translation is ‘I am here’, the implied meaning is ‘everything is ok’, or ‘I’m doing well’.
How do you say friend in Jamaican?
Below is a list of 18 Jamaican Patois phrases translated to English.
- I Will Be Right Back – Mi Soon Come.
- To Eat – Nyam.
- Jamaica – Jamrock, Jamdown, Yard.
- Jamaican – Yardie, Yard man.
- Friend – Bredren (male), Sistren (female)
- Well Done – Big up, Respect.
- Excellent – Sell off, Tun up, Wicked.
- What’s up?
What are the basilect and the mesolect?
‘There exist a basilect (concentration of stigmatized forms), an acrolect (the maximum occurrence of prestige variants), and the mesolect (the actual performance).’
What is the difference between acrolect and mesolect?
Adjective: acrolectal. Contrast with basilect, a language variety that is significantly different from the standard variety. The term mesolect refers to intermediate points in the post-creole continuum.
What is the meaning of mesolect?
MESOLECT. The variety of language in a POST-CREOLE CONTINUUM intermediate between BASILECT and ACROLECT, often retaining semantic and syntactic features not found in the acrolect and tending to vary from speaker to speaker, such as between standard Jamaican English and Jamaican Creole. See DIALECT, LECT.
What is an example of a basilectal variety of speech?
Basilectal:The variety of speech that is most remote from the prestige variety, especially in an area where a creole is spoken. For example, in Jamaica, Jamaican Creole is the basilect whereas Standard Jamaican English is the acrolect or prestige language.