The Lumpen is the Problem!
I noticed an article in The Jamaica Gleaner online where a popular pastor in Jamaica was castigating Don Robotham for things he had written in an article in said newspaper. “He is calling the Jamaican people ‘lumpen’!”, the pastor wrote indignantly, or at least, words very closely to that effect.
Well, this week, Don Robotham as defined the term lumpen, (here is a dictionary dot com definition) and I don’t have an issue with it. Whats more, he raises many good points in his article. I think it is good reading, especially for the Education minister, and for anyone who can influence Gov’t. spending decisions. As such, I will furnish you all the link to Don Robotham’s article.
Since I know that many of you don’t follow links, and since I think the point is important, I will give you the essential point here. We need to work very hard to improve our people’s command of English and to embark upon a massive program of skills training. It is going to be difficult, but it must be done!
Hey, I have written a post at both the Tower of Babel and at El Toro Loco, so make sure you go read them. In addition, I have included in my sidebar a RSS feed from both those blogs, so you can glance over there at any time and see the titles of the last two posts from both sites. That ought to make it easy for you to determine whether there is something new there for you to read or not. Its a nice tool. Use it nuh?
I gone for now. Just got back from the gym (see Marangand, I is keepin u up ta date :smile:) and I am now about to go do my usual “Sunday stuff”… TTYL.
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Ok,yes to the skills programme..I find even though the schools would do well on cxc’s etc a lot of graduates cannot do use their hands to fix a broken pipe etc. English but not at the expense of dialect..
I’ve been lamenting for ages about the poor command of English, both in the written as well as the spoken form. It is alarming, even at the level of tertiary education, how poor sentence construction, grammar, syntax and spelling is. The problem I find with with some of these who fall into the ‘lumpen’ is that when the errors are pointed out to them, many feel its no biggie. Out in the world of employment, many ‘graduates’ are unable to write a basic letter…….in some ways, IM chat, e-mail etc. I feel is partially to blame for the decay.
I have no problem with dialect, I use it myself, but one must be able to be flexible and know when it is appropriate to use standard English, or bruck out inna patwah!…..you nuh seeit?
Have a good week. Nuff rain since Friday gone.
@ Kami - Uh… What?
@ Doc : I disagree with you re the email / IM stuff affecting English. I think the problem with the English pre-existed all these online tools we now have. Its basically just poor education, and very few being educated, IMHO.
@ Kami - I don’t think you really need to teach dialect. That will come naturally. Teach English in schools, and at schools, in class, talk in English! Thats what I think, anyway.
I forgot to mention that part of the problem is some of the teachers themselves have their own deficiencies…..sad but true.
I hate that word. Lumpen. It’s so condescending.
Say wah…I was saying along with academics you need to teach life skills.
I think Don Robottom was spot on this time. I do agree with Dr. D somewhat, when I lecture I am tired of getting academic work from students with “thru, “gonna”, “i” and you better believe I once got “l8″. These were from UK university students. I thiink it is a global issue as online use and text messaging increase.
Very good with the gym? so…tell me, show much weight have you lost????????