41
Unknown Author (1828)
Anecdotal; Biography; Courtship; Inheritance / Identity; Political; Jamaica;
Dialect Speakers
Dialect Features:Grammar, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
Extract #1 dialect features: Grammar, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
My belobed brederen : -- Dere's Gor Amighty at de top, and de Debble at de bottom. Gor Amighty make all de world, and all de folks in it; him negers , and him buckras . Gor Amighty make de first man, and him called Adam. After dat , him make him Adam, him's wife, and him called Ebe ; and from him Adam, and him Ebe , all, ebery one of de folks , him negers and him buckras , hab be pickeninies . Him Adam and him Ebe , hab lib upon an estate, and it called Paradise. It hab be a grandy big estate, much grandy better dan Paradise to leeward ; and dere was dere , ebery ting good for nyamn , and all de fruit on it, him Adam and him Ebe , could nyamn but de forbidden fruit. Now him forbidden fruit good for him neger to nyamn , and him Ebe wanted to nyamn it, but him hab be feared, till a grandy big serpent, as grandy big as de yellow serpent, opened him's mout and spoke, as if him serpent, hab be him neger or him buckra ; and told him Ebe , to pull some of it and nyamn it, and it would make him Ebe much grandy savey . Him Ebe took some of him forbidden fruit, and it good for nyamn , and him Ebe gib some of it to him Adam, and de bot nyamned it. Gor Amighty hab be grandy much angry, and him turn off him Adam and him Ebe from de estate of Paradise, in de same way, as massa de attorney, sends away de buckras , when dey do much bad. After him Adam and him Ebe hab be turned off Paradise, dey went to de mountains, and him Ebe hab two pickeninies , him Cain and him Abel. Him Cain hab be a field neger , and him Abel kept de penn. [...]
42
Unknown Author (1828)
Anecdotal; Biography; Courtship; Inheritance / Identity; Political; Jamaica;
Dialect Speakers
Dialect Features:Grammar, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
[...] Him Cain hab be grandy much angry at him's working in de field, while him Abel hab only be keeping de cows and de oxen, de horses and de mules, and de sheep and de pigs; and him Cain killed him Abel to get de penn, and be no more de field neger . Gor Amighty hab be grandy much angry at him Cain, and him Cain hab so grandy much fear, dat hims face hab become white, and him hab be de pappa of de buckras . After dat much lang time, all de folks in de world become much bad, and Gor Amighty much angry; and him hab sent a grandy big shower of rain water, for forty days and forty nights, and drownded all de folks , but him Noah, and him's wifes , and him's pickeninies . Him Noah hab be a sailor, and savey dat de great rain hab to come, and him made him a much grandy big boat to sail in, and to hold him, and him's wifes , and him's pickeninies , and him's beasts; and all de oder folks , and de oder beasts, hab all, ebery one, been drownded . -- Dere hab be him oder man, and him called Joseph. Him's puppa hab a grandy big penn, and grandy much sheeps , and cows, and oxen, and horses. Him hab be a grandy rich man. Him Joseph hab be de youngest of all him's pickeninies , and him's puppa hab much lobe for him, Joseph . Him Joseph's broders hab be much angry at dis , and him Joseph habing be on de penn, and much far away from him's puppa's house him's broders catch him Joseph, and sell him to de buckras who hab be in de want of neger ; for de house neger . [...].
43
Unknown Author (1828)
Anecdotal; Biography; Courtship; Inheritance / Identity; Political; Jamaica;
Dialect Speakers
Dialect Features:Grammar, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
[...] After dat , him Joseph hab dead , and him's puppa ; and de folks of Egypt, hab made him's broders , and deir wifes , and deir pickeninies , negers , and hab make dem work in de field. Dey hab be grandy big, and hab for deir massa him oder man, and him called Pharoah. Him hab make de negers work all too much, and him hab not be de good massa , but him hab be much bad to him poor negers . After dat , him negers hab become grandy much angry at deir massa , and dey all, ebery one, hab run away from de estate on which dey hab be working. Him Pharoah hab be grandy much angry at him's negers , for dem habing run away; and him , and him's folks , hunt after dem , to make dem come back and work de field. But him negers hab get much far away, and when him Pharoah and him's folks hab be hunting after dem , grandy big water hab come and drownded him and him's folks , all, ebery one. After dat , him negers hab become free, and dey hab be de puppas and de mummas of de folks called Jews, and hab neber more become field negers . -- Dere hab be him oder man, and him called Samson. Him Samson hab be a grandy much strong man, and him hab killed of de folks called Fillystones , five hunderd men, wid de jaw-bone of a him Jackamarass. And after dat , when all de folks hab be dancing in de house like him buckra-house , him Samson pulled down de house, and him hab be killed, and all de folks at de ball. Him Samson grandy much strong man; de grandy much strong man of all de mans in de world. -- [...]
44
Unknown Author (1828)
Anecdotal; Biography; Courtship; Inheritance / Identity; Political; Jamaica;
Dialect Speakers
2.
narrator
Dialect Features:Grammar, Metalanguage, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
They considered themselves as a superior race to the blacks, for when any quarrel took place between the two colours, the browns never failed to make use of the word neger in a reproachful sense. The blacks, however, were not backward in retorting , " You brown man hab no country.-- Only de neger and de buckra hab country," meaning, that the brown people were of a mixed race, and had not a particular country from which they were descended, such as the whites and the blacks.
45
Unknown Author (1828)
Anecdotal; Biography; Courtship; Inheritance / Identity; Political; Jamaica;
Dialect Speakers
2.
narrator
Dialect Features:Grammar, Metalanguage, Orthographical Respelling
Marly, being left alone among the negroes, carefully examined the premises, and the process by which the now absolutely necessary article of sugar, in all civilized countries, was prepared. While doing so, he was greeted by every one of the negroes in the house, with "Happy to see him Massa , and him hopes that Massa will lib long on Water Melon Valley." Such a salutation was reiterated again and again, commencing with Cudjoe, who had charge of the filling and empying of the receivers, in which the juice of the cane flowed, on being expressed in the mill,-- afterwards by Rodney, by Cataline, and by Quashie, till it terminated with a similar compliment from Brutus, who emptied the coolers and carried the sugar from thence into the curing house, where it was deposited in the hogsheads.Nay, even Titus left his fire, to state how happy he was at seeing Massa on Water Melon Valley . Before the day was passed, he was completely sick of acknowledging bows and curtsies, and hearing the same cuckoo song of, "Happy to see him Massa , and him hopes that Massa will lib long on Water Melon Valley." It was repeated nearly two hundred times, and he believes that not a single Negro, whether male or female, upon the property, except those who were watchmen, but called to see and compliment their new book-keeper. It was repetition with a vengeance, and put all of the patience of his good nature to a severe test; but on reflecting for a moment that each of these people though slaves, naturally attached some consideration to himself or herself, he felt he would be acting ungratefully, if he did not acknowledge each greeting, in as cordial a manner as the compliment was tendered to him, even though repeated as a parrot would have done.
46
Unknown Author (1828)
Anecdotal; Biography; Courtship; Inheritance / Identity; Political; Jamaica;
Dialect Speakers
Dialect Features:Grammar, Metalanguage, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
Extract #1 dialect features: Grammar, Metalanguage, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
"The very negroes," continued he, "so well understand his predilection for the language of his clan, that when they see a walking buckra seeking employment on any of the estates under his charge, they accost him with the question, 'Can you talk Gaelic? for, if you can't , massa no employ you.'"
47
Unknown Author (1828)
Anecdotal; Biography; Courtship; Inheritance / Identity; Political; Jamaica;
Dialect Speakers
2.
narrator
Dialect Features:Grammar, Metalanguage, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
This induced him to persevere in his attentions to his partner throughout the night; and he found her a lively good-tempered girl, though only half educated, and rather too much of the negro. Once, on his putting a question to her, when she was off guard, she returned for an answer, " Him no savey , massa ." She caught herself in a moment, and endeavoured to laugh it off, but it would not do. Her island education had shown itself too broadly in this, and a few previous slips, to be so easily effaced. When, however, on her guard, she avoided her apparently customary mode of speaking, tolerably well; far better than most of those so educated would have done. This lapsus linguae, however, caused no alteration in his attentions to his fair partner.
48
Unknown Author (1828)
Anecdotal; Biography; Courtship; Inheritance / Identity; Political; Jamaica;
Dialect Speakers
2.
interlocutor
Dialect Features:Grammar, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
Trajan began: -- " Massa , Obeah bad for him poor neger , massa -- him kill poor neger , massa . -- All massa's negers , want massa , to hab him buckra priest, kirsten him negers, dat Obeah no more him kill , massa . Ebery one neger , massa want to be kirstened in de buckra fashion, massa ." Samuels hesitated a little, and then said, -- "If I should do, you will be great thieves afterwards." Trajan answered, "No massa , him neger , after him be buckra Christian, him no tief neber more, massa ;" and as an additional effort, to prove successful in his mission, he added: -- " Ebery one of him Babylon negers , massa ; him Lilliput negers , massa ; him Joppa negers , massa ; all, ebery one of him negers kirstened in de buckra fashion, massa ."
49
Unknown Author (1828)
Anecdotal; Biography; Courtship; Inheritance / Identity; Political; Jamaica;
Dialect Speakers
Dialect Features:Grammar, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
Afterwards, on entering the hot-house, he found Cato had gotten a bilboe mate along with him in the stocks, of the name of Gulliver. On enquiring at Rambler what meritorious action had entitled him to this situation, the black Doctor said, " massa , him , Gulliver, kill and nyamn him buckra house big white cat." "What, eat a cat?" exclaimed Marly, "Yes, massa , him , Gulliver, kill and nyamn all hims buckra's cats, but him black Tommy."
50
Unknown Author (1828)
Anecdotal; Biography; Courtship; Inheritance / Identity; Political; Jamaica;
Dialect Speakers
3.
narrator
Dialect Features:Grammar, Metalanguage, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
The negroes are so polite, not only towards white people, but among themselves, that no two of them can meet without the most ceremonious bows and curtsies, and shaking of hands, with "good morning Missa Dolly," and "good morning, Massa Quashie, and him hopes him hab good sleep." Quashie, not to be behind hand makes the same enquiry at Missa Dolly, and asks, "How do Massa Jupiter, and young Missa Venus, and young Missa Quasheba, and young Massa Captain, and de pickeniny?" Missa Dolly answers. " dat him all, ebery one well, him dank him ," and then " him hopes dat Missa Daphne is bery well, and dat young Massa Shakespeare, and young Missa Clementina, and de pickeniny are all, ebery one well." After these mutual salutations, a long thread of enquiries follow, which require time to be made and answered, and much news have they to tell, and to be told, that in the hearing and the telling, great part of the day would be lost to their own hurt.