Is a patois Bible 'dumming down' the bible?
It's an interesting question
check out the conversation on radio 4 here
Racism and discourse is a long standing issue
Language used as a tool to divide and conquer...to support hierarchies... for some nations/cultures to maintain dominance over another...
I remember back in the day as a child born in the UK if any of us (my siblings) spoke in a Caribbean dialect, we were told off and told to speak correctly.. and so... being the good ahem non- mischievous children we were .. lol we'd do it anyway and more..
Seriously.. back then, in order to assimilate (for many)it was important to try not to stand out too much.. 'black dialects' were often seen as ‘less than’ or ‘less intelligent’, and parents who wanted their children to get along and do well, would not encourage such blatant displays of 'blackness'
When you think about it... we haven't really moved on that much.. have we?
What else do minority cultures suppress in order to assimilate, what else could be perceived as a blatant expression of 'blackness'
Yet, surely multiculturalism is about being able to express your differences in an environment that welcomes and benefits from such cultural diversity.
Or is the way forward..as many now believe... assimilation?
Much of the un-surety I believe now resides deep within our psyches’
Like a dialectical cultural turmoil
I've strayed off point a bit I know
I'll be honest and say that the patois Bible makes me laugh.. I can't help it..( I have a silly sense of humour!) I find it comical, expressive yes, but I feel like I'm listening to an Oliver Samuel's play..
Gosh I'm just so British sometimes
Still not sure?.. well listen again here
Like most things.. it's not really about the Bible at all... is it?
:) Luke's Gospel gets a lingo makeover ey? Gwan!
ReplyDeleteYears back in Nigeria the Lord's prayer was published in pidgin English, to great uproar with the Academics lining up to condemn, the religious lot invoking brimstone blah blah. those damn ivory tower people, hate it when the natives co-opt and enrich their precious Queen's English *smh*
*I did have a giggle:)*
ReplyDeleteYes messing with the queens english tends to provoke a reaction.. sad thing is one aspect of what one teacher in teh interview said was true in that in this 'Globalised world' the kids will be better off if they 'master' the queens english..
yet these dialects etc.. are part of 'our' culture however, and should be preserved/ and not be treated as substandard