| Patois Pentecost |
 A Jamaican Creole Bible hits the streets of Hackney, writes Richard Franklin Elsa Palmer listens intently as a new audio version of Luke’s Gospel is played over the speakers at Christian Life City Church in Hackney in East London. Elsa is hearing the Bible in Jamaican Patois, the language spoken by five million people around the world, but until now never used for the Bible. Forty-eight-year-old Elsa is a nurse who lives in Hackney, but is determined to stay in touch with her Jamaican roots. “It was uplifting to hear the word of God in Patois,” she tells me and adds that she will go home and share what she has heard with her children. “Your language is you,” she says. “I speak Patois to my children so they will know where they come from and embrace my culture.” Elsa can now download the Gospel of Luke in Patois for free from Bible Society’s website for all her family to hear. Lisa Marie Carr, 37, a social worker from Brixton, has already listened online and says she too will be using the new Gospel. “The black community is experiencing a crisis and I think it’s wonderful to see Patois used in such a beautiful way,” she says. “It will draw young people and will start a lot of conversations.” The church is packed this morning. Some 250 people are here to celebrate Pentecost; the day God’s Holy Spirit, like a strong wind and tongues of fire, swept through a room where Jesus’ followers were gathered. The Bible says that they found themselves speaking in foreign languages. “What better day could there be to launch the scriptures in Jamaican Patois than on Pentecost Sunday?” says Courtney Stewart, general secretary of the Bible Society of the West Indies. “The Bible,” he tells the congregation, “should not be relegated to English alone. It is for all people. Jamaican Patois has always been regarded as the language to communicate music and folklore, but it’s never been used to translate anything serious. So this is of great significance. It’s history in the making.” In fact, this translation has been more than half a century in the making and is the result of one woman’s absolute determination to see it happen. Faith Linton first suggested that Jamaicans should have a Bible in their own language in the late 1950s, after studying as a linguist in London. But she met with, at best, indifference and, at worst, vehement opposition to her assertion that Patois speakers should have a Bible in their mother tongue. It was 1993 before translation work even began and still today some traditionalists say putting the Bible into Patois distorts and dilutes its message. Now 78 years old, Faith is back in London, where the seeds of this project were first sown in her mind. She is now a board member of the Bible Society of the West Indies and says “I am trying to take all this in. It is overwhelming. I could not have dreamt we would reach this point at this stage.” It has been a complex project. Linguistics experts at The University of the West Indies have helped with the process, checking scripts and conducting field tests. Bible Society language consultants have also been working with the team to ensure quality and accuracy of the translation; groundbreaking work which will see the whole New Testament in Patois by August 2012, as part of celebrations for Jamaica’s 50th year of independence. Courtney Stewart says, “Having a portion of the Bible in Patois, communicates the Word of God at a much deeper level and gives Jamaicans a greater sense of self-worth.” “But,” he adds, “the impact of this goes far beyond simply Bible translation. It has implications for Jamaican culture, the perception we have of ourselves, our educational system, linguistics, tourism and other areas.” The worship ends and people make their way home. I ask Courtney how he feels about the future. He says he’s hopeful of real change because of this Bible translation. “The translation is music to liberate and attract,” he says, “‘Once you hear it, you can’t turn away, that’s the nature of this language.” The Angel Gabriel appears to Mary – in Patois ‘Di ienjel go tu Mieri an se tu ar se, “Mieri, mi av nyuuz we a go mek yu wel api. Gad riili riili bles yu an im a waak wid yu aal di taim.” ‘Wa Gabriel se kanfyuuz Mieri an shi staat fi wanda wa im miin. So di ienjel se tu ar se, “No fried Mieri, kaaz Ga riili riili bles yu. Yu a go get prignant an av wan bwai pikni, an yu fi kaal im Jiizas. Im a go ton wan griet man an dem a go se im a di pikni fi di Muos Ai Gad. Di Laad Gad gwain gi im di chruon wa im faada Dievid did av. An im aalwiez a go ruul uova Jiekob piipl, Izrel; an im a go ruul fi eva an eva.”’ Luke’s Gospel in Patois can be downloaded for free at www.biblesociety.org.uk/jamaicanbible |
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