DOCSLIB.ORG

A History of Jamaican Creole in the Jamaican Broadcasting Media

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A History of Jamaican Creole in the Jamaican Broadcasting Media Wissenschaftliche Arbeit im Fach Englisch A History of Jamaican Creole in the Jamaican Broadcasting Media vorgelegt von: Michael Westphal Prüfer: Prof. Dr. Christian Mair Big Up and tanks to: Prof. Mair for the tape recordings and guidance Axel for proof reading and feedback Philip for technical assistance Jamaica and Jamaican Broadcasting for a good time and inspiration Table of Content 1. Creole languages in the media 1 2. Outline of the study 4 3. Theoretical background 3.1 Different Theories for the description of the linguistic situation in Jamaican broadcasting 5 3.2 Diglossia 6 3.3 (Post –) Creole – Continuum 7 3.4 Acts of Identity 10 4. The special nature of broadcasting in the Jamaican mass media 12 5. Data 14 6. Macro-linguistic analysis 6.1 Methodology 16 6.2. Pre- Independence – late 1930’s to late 1950’s 6.2.1 Socio – historical background 17 6.2.2 Media background 18 6.2.3 Linguistic Analysis 19 6.2.4 Music 22 6.2.5 Conclusion 23 6.3. The Glorious Sixties 6.3.1 Socio – historical background 24 6.3.2 Media background 24 6.3.3 Linguistic Analysis 25 6.3.4 Music 28 6.3.5 Conclusion 30 6.4 Experiments with Socialism – the 1970’s 6.4.1 Socio – historical background 31 6.4.2 Media background 32 6.4.3 Linguistic Analysis 33 6.4.4 Music 37 6.4.5 Conclusion 38 6.5 The 1980’s – towards media liberalization 6.5.1 Socio – historical background 40 6.5.2 Media background 41 6.5.3 Linguistic Analysis 42 6.5.4 Music 48 6.5.5 Conclusion 50 6.6. The independent media since 1989 6.6.1 Socio – historical background 51 6.6.2 Media background 51 6.6.3 Linguistic Analysis 55 6.6.4 Music 64 6.6.5 Conclusion 66 7. Micro-linguistic analysis of call-in shows 7.1 Call-in shows - a diverse and special genre 67 7.2 Methodology 68 7.3 Phonological variables 70 7.4 Lexical variables 72 7.5 Grammatical Variables 75 7.6 Conclusion 78 8. Changing attitudes towards Jamaican Creole 79 9. Conclusion 9.1 Media interacting with attitude 82 9.2 Standardization 85 9.3 The future of Jamaican Creole in broadcasting and other mass media 86 10. Bibliography 88 Appendix I. Annotations to the transcriptions I.I Markup symbols for the ICE transcription system 97 I.II Sound Changes of underlined graphemes 97 II. Cassidy – LePage writing system 98 III. Transcriptions: files1 Pre- Independence – late 1930’s to late 1950’s 100 IV. Transcriptions: files2 The Glorious Sixties 114 V. Transcriptions: files3 Experiments with socialism – the 1970’s 130 VI. Transcriptions: files4 The 1980’s – towards media liberalization 142 VII. Transcriptions files5 The independent media since 1989 196 VIII. Eidesstattliche Erklärung 287 IX. Online Resources 288 1. Creole languages in the media In language situations where two or more varieties coexist, the variety with the most prestige dominates the media. So in a de jure monolingual language situation like England the standard prevails over the various dialects. On the other hand the mass media is also a tool to influence the language situation and it can promote a certain variety as the standard. In the case of England the standard pronunciation was spread by the media in the early 20th century (Mair 2008: 142,143). In bilingual or multilingual language situations the most prestigious language, with the most political and economic significance, takes on the leading role in the media context. In South American Countries like Ecuador or Peru Spanish predominates in the media and indigenous languages are marginalized. In most Caribbean countries Creole languages coexist with the European language of the respective former colonial power. “Creole languages are traditionally associated with a negative image” (Mühleisen 2002: 3), therefore share a low prestige which disqualifies them for the use in the media. Most of them are not recognized as official languages by local governments and lack an official orthography constraining the use in written media. Creole languages function as the mass vernacular used in informal communication whereas formal domains such as public speaking, education and mass media are traditionally dominated by the local Standard of English, French or Dutch. Since the 1960’s the media landscape in the Caribbean has been undergoing considerable changes and the formerly rigid distribution has broken up on the level of the media. In countries where the Creole language has been made an official language like in Haiti or the ABC islands this development is most drastic. In Haiti “the mass media is almost exclusively Francophone and is still growing” (Bernabé 2006: 2098). In Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao this shift is supported by ongoing efforts for standardization and a consistent orthography of the local Creole Papiamento. “There is at present a situation in which Papiamento competes with Dutch in the written media and where radio and TV broadcasts use Papiamento almost exclusively” (Kouwenberg 2006: 2107). In Surinam, where many languages coexist, the Creole language Sranan Tongo serves as a lingua franca. It is finding its way into the still Dutch dominated media scene predominantly through community radio stations broadcasting exclusively in Sranan Tongo. (cf. Kouwenberg 2006: 2111). In 1 Guadalupe and Martinique the disruption of the media scene, conventionally reserved for Standard French, was strongly influenced by locally oriented political movements. Since the 1980’s the use of French Creole has been increased in TV and especially in radio mainly through music in the vernacular and solely Creole using radio stations (cf. Schnepel 2004: 147). Even in countries like Jamaica where the Creole lacks official language status and a consistent orthography, is closely related to the dominant language and does not serve as a political tool a similar linguistic change has been going on in the media. Jamaican Creole, locally called Patois, has found its way into the formerly almost exclusively Standard English media. Moreover Patois has expanded into various other new domains as well. Creole almost superseded English in the theatre and is no longer unusual in advertisements in the press and on radio and television. Creole speakers dominate talk shows on radio in which callers are allowed to express their opinion freely. The lyrics of the Reggae music now popular throughout the world are in Creole for the most part. Creole has long been the universal language of newspaper cartoons and in them it is put nowadays in the mouths of members of all social classes, from the Prime Minister to the man in the streets. (Christie 2003: 2) Among the different kinds of mass media the radio offers the most potential for reconstructing this steady shift as it is almost exclusively locally produced, overcomes the problem of orthography and due to its relative closeness to actual language use through popular call-in shows. Due to these features and the media’s relatively easy accessibility it has proven very worthwhile for linguistic research. This thesis seeks to outline the changing sociolinguistic situation in the radio from its beginning in the late 1930s to the present. This period of time is divided into different phases which are analyzed by applying different Creole specific linguistic theories as the linguistic situations at the different stages show extreme variability. Following Shields-Brodber, a general shift from an almost monolingual situation to a diglossic one which is continually eroded and replaced by a continuum (Shields- Brodber 1997) is assumed, in spite of the extreme variability. With the general analysis and an in-depth analysis of call-in shows the concept of decreolization of the continuum stage is challenged for the media context. With the real time study I try to give diachronic evidence for the reverse shift towards 2 Creole in call-in shows, supporting Mufwene’s criticism of the last stage of Hall’s life cycle theory (Mufwene 1999: 160). This expansion of Jamaican Creole in the broadcasting media, where it takes on more and more functions of Standard English, is closely linked to a change in attitude towards Patois. Alleyne stresses the new role of Jamaican Creole as one of the main forces contributing to a distinct Jamaican culture and identity, leading to an increased use by upper and middle class members who by this demonstrate their loyalty to the Jamaican nation (cf. Alleyne 1985: 170). This influence on the radio and on the media as a whole is not unidirectional but mutual, shown by the analogous developments which are to be analyzed. In how far, however, an anti-decreolization trend in the broadcasting media pushes the actual linguistic situation in the same direction is questionable as other forms of media, television and the internet, gain more importance and with them the influence of American English. Nevertheless, up to this point radio has remained the most influential medium in Jamaica partly due to the problematic social situation, which prevents the majority of Jamaican’s access to other more expensive media. It still has the potential to exert influence on the actual linguistic situation. The broadcasting media could play an important part in the standardization of spoken Jamaican Creole especially if Jamaica follows the role model of other Caribbean countries making the Creole an official language. 3 2. Outline of study Chapter 3 deals with the theoretical background of the study. The different models used for the sociolinguistic analysis of the changing language situation in the broadcasting domain are explained. Although points of critique of the three models, Diglossia, (Post-) Creole-Continuum and Acts of Identity are presented, they are treated equally without discussing which one describes Creole-speaking communities most accurately.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Jamaican Politics, Nationalism, and Musical Culture in Transition, 1974-1984
    University of New Orleans ScholarWorks@UNO University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations Dissertations and Theses 5-18-2007 Between Two Giant Sounds: Jamaican Politics, Nationalism, and Musical Culture in Transition, 1974-1984 Caree Banton University of New Orleans Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td Recommended Citation Banton, Caree, "Between Two Giant Sounds: Jamaican Politics, Nationalism, and Musical Culture in Transition, 1974-1984" (2007). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 508. https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/508 This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by ScholarWorks@UNO with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights- holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Between Two Giant Sounds: Jamaican Politics, Nationalism, and Musical Culture in Transition, 1974 – 1984 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of New Orleans In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Arts In History By Caree Ann-Marie Banton B.A. Grambling State University 2005 B.P.A Grambling State University 2005 May 2007 Acknowledgement I would like to thank all the people that facilitated the completion of this work.
    [Show full text]
  • 71 Reggae Festival Guide 2006
    71 71 ❤ ❤ Reggae Festival Guide 2006 Reggae Festival Guide 2006 Reggae Festival Guide 2006 RED, GOLD & GREEN MMEMORIESE M O R I E S Compiled by Wendy Russell Alton Ellis next started a group together: ALTON ELLIS AND THE There are reggae artists I treasure, with songs I FLAMES. The others had their careers too and I later started my play every radio show, no matter that the CD is no own group called WINSTON JARRETT AND THE RIGHTEOUS longer current. One such artist is roots man, WINSTON FLAMES. JARRETT and the RIGHTEOUS FLAMES, so I searched him out to fi nd what might be his own fond memory: We just had our history lesson! Can you imagine I grew up in Mortimer Planno, one of Rastafari’s most prominent Kingston, Jamaica elders, living just down the street? What about this in the government next memory - another likkle lesson from agent and houses there. manager, COPELAND FORBES: The streets are My memory of numbered First SUGAR MINOTT is Street and so on, from 1993 when I to Thirteenth Street. did a tour, REGGAE I lived on Fourth, SUPERFEST ‘93, ALTON ELLIS lived which had Sugar on 5th Street. He Minott, JUNIOR REID was much older and MUTABARUKA than me, maybe along with the 22. We were all DEAN FRASER-led good neighbors, 809 BAND. We did like a family so to six shows in East speak. MORTIMER Germany which PLANNO lived was the fi rst time Kaati on Fifth too and since the Berlin Wall Alton Ellis all the Rasta they came down, that an come from north, authentic reggae Sugar Minott south, east and west for the nyabinghi there.
    [Show full text]
  • Negotiating Gender and Spirituality in Literary Representations of Rastafari
    Negotiating Gender and Spirituality in Literary Representations of Rastafari Annika McPherson Abstract: While the male focus of early literary representations of Rastafari tends to emphasize the movement’s emergence, goals or specific religious practices, more recent depictions of Rasta women in narrative fiction raise important questions not only regarding the discussion of gender relations in Rastafari, but also regarding the functions of literary representations of the movement. This article outlines a dialogical ‘reasoning’ between the different negotiations of gender in novels with Rastafarian protagonists and suggests that the characters’ individual spiritual journeys are key to understanding these negotiations within the gender framework of Rastafarian decolonial practices. Male-centred Literary Representations of Rastafari Since the 1970s, especially, ‘roots’ reggae and ‘dub’ or performance poetry have frequently been discussed as to their relations to the Rastafari movement – not only based on their lyrical content, but often by reference to the artists or poets themselves. Compared to these genres, the representation of Rastafari in narrative fiction has received less attention to date. Furthermore, such references often appear to serve rather descriptive functions, e.g. as to the movement’s philosophy or linguistic practices. The early depiction of Rastafari in Roger Mais’s “morality play” Brother Man (1954), for example, has been noted for its favourable representation of the movement in comparison to the press coverage of
    [Show full text]
  • Jimmy Cliff, Sly & Robbie Junto a Yellowman Actuarán Esta Noche En El Rototom
    viernes 17 de agosto de 2018 | Periódico Todo Benicàssim Jimmy Cliff, Sly & Robbie junto a Yellowman actuarán esta noche en el Rototom El jamaicano Cocoa Tea será una de las voces de la segunda sesión de la Reggae University mientras el Foro Social abrirá sus puertas a su primer debate Redacción // Benicàssim El viernes llega al Rototom Sunsplash con una de las veladas más intensas de esta vigésimo quinta edición. Leyendas jamaicanas como Jimmy Cliffse unen a shows exclusivos para este aniversario como la Taxi Connection que acerca el dúo de productores de la isla caribeña Sly & Robbie. Un espectáculo único cargado de estrellas, entre ellas las de dos pioneros del dancehall de los 80 como el icónico Yellowman -que dará en Benicàssim su único concierto en España- y Johnny Osbourne. Nombres que ponen el turbo a un Main Stage que abrirá puertas con la formación californiana Groundation. La banda ha entusiasmado al público del festival en incontables ocasiones con la singularidad de su sonido, fruto de una convincente mezcla entre el roots reggae y el interplay casi jazzístico. Tras una aventura musical de casi veinte años y una discografía rica en obras maestras, 2018 es un año de realización para Groundation, inmersa en la grabación de un nuevo trabajo previsto para otoño y que tiene el significativo título ‘The Next Generation’. Junto a la emoción de este primer set de la noche, el público del festival también se encontrará de frente con la leyenda: Sly Dunbar y Robbie Shakespeare son dos de los más grandes protagonistas de la historia del reggae.
    [Show full text]
  • The Dub Issue 28 September 2018
    1 2 Editorial Dub Cover photo – Natty HiFi (Garvin Dan & Leo B) at Elder Stubbs Festival 2018) Dear Reader, Welcome to issue 28 for the month of Zebulon. Festivals big and small this month – Leo B returned to Boomtown to record their 10th anniversary and interviewed the legendary Susan Cadogan. Meanwhile the Natty HiFi crew returned to the Elder Stubbs Festival, held at Rymers Lane Allotments in Oxford for the tenth year in a row and Dan-I reached Notting Hill Carnival once again. Tune in for reports from the One Love Festival next month. We finally interview one of our own writers this month, giving Steve Mosco his due respect as founder of the Jah Warrior sound and label, as well as the pioneering online reggaemusicstore. I also get to review my teenage heroes Fishbone who came on a brief tour to the UK, now busy supporting the revitalized Toots and the Maytals (who play in Oxford on Saturday 13th October at the O2) and George Clinton’s Parliament/Funkadelic on some of their US dates. We have a new column by the founder of The Dub, Natty Mark Samuels, who brings us African Herbsman, which this month gives us advice from the motherland about herbs for the treatment of asthma. We also have our regular Cornerstone and From The Roots Up columns. Welcome to The Dub Editor – Dan-I [email protected] The Dub is available to download for free every month at reggaediscography.blogspot.co.uk and rastaites.com The Dub magazine is not funded and has no sponsors.
    [Show full text]
  • Coping with Babylon: the Proper Rastology (2005): Mutabaruka
    Coping with Babylon: The Proper Rastology (2005): Mutabaruka, Half P... http://www.popmatters.com/pm/film/reviews/50538/coping-with-babylo... CALL FOR PAPERS: PopMatters seeks feature essays about any aspect of popular culture, present or past. Coping with Babylon: The Proper Rastology Director: Oliver Hill Cast: Mutabaruka, Half Pint, Luciano, Freddie McGregor, Barry Chevannes (2005) Rated: Unrated US DVD release date: 7 October 2007 (MVD) by Matthew Kantor Burning All Illusion Tonight Rastafari is known to the world through reggae music. Many interviewees in Oliver Hill’s Coping with Babylon: the Proper Rastology, who live Rastafari in their daily lives, cite Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Dennis Brown in particular as ambassadors of Jamaica’s great folk religion, never seeking to diminish these musicians’ roles in spreading the word. Rastafarian imagery has infiltrated popular culture not just through reggae and other kindred music, but also in the form of clothing, fashion, and general iconography. Despite the well-established co-option of the religion’s trappings and the tremendous popularity of many reggae, dub, and dancehall artists, Coping with Babylon: the Proper Rastology takes a sober, relatively non-musical path in broadcasting the views and roles of Rastafari in the early twenty-first century. Musicians including Luciano and Freddie McGregor are interviewed but so are leaders of various Rastafarian sects in addition to everyday followers of the faith in both Jamaica and New York. The film serves to remind viewers that Rastafarianism is a religion that deeply affects its practitioners and that music is only one aspect of it. And, like most religions, different sects vary in some of their more significant approaches and practices.
    [Show full text]
  • The A-Z of Brent's Black Music History
    THE A-Z OF BRENT’S BLACK MUSIC HISTORY BASED ON KWAKU’S ‘BRENT BLACK MUSIC HISTORY PROJECT’ 2007 (BTWSC) CONTENTS 4 # is for... 6 A is for... 10 B is for... 14 C is for... 22 D is for... 29 E is for... 31 F is for... 34 G is for... 37 H is for... 39 I is for... 41 J is for... 45 K is for... 48 L is for... 53 M is for... 59 N is for... 61 O is for... 64 P is for... 68 R is for... 72 S is for... 78 T is for... 83 U is for... 85 V is for... 87 W is for... 89 Z is for... BRENT2020.CO.UK 2 THE A-Z OF BRENT’S BLACK MUSIC HISTORY This A-Z is largely a republishing of Kwaku’s research for the ‘Brent Black Music History Project’ published by BTWSC in 2007. Kwaku’s work is a testament to Brent’s contribution to the evolution of British black music and the commercial infrastructure to support it. His research contained separate sections on labels, shops, artists, radio stations and sound systems. In this version we have amalgamated these into a single ‘encyclopedia’ and added entries that cover the period between 2007-2020. The process of gathering Brent’s musical heritage is an ongoing task - there are many incomplete entries and gaps. If you would like to add to, or alter, an entry please send an email to [email protected] 3 4 4 HERO An influential group made up of Dego and Mark Mac, who act as the creative force; Gus Lawrence and Ian Bardouille take care of business.
    [Show full text]
  • Imsic We for Everyone in the Business of Music 2 JULY 1994 £2.80 What
    [imsic we For Everyone in the Business of Music 2 JULY 1994 £2.80 What a waste How to spend £21 m for no qood reason at ail rCOMMENT I anythingper CD that's up to équivalent 5.2m units. to sales of consumée!are even worse. by the Itaffair, is a thetribute effecl t tant thing now is to heal the areThe even costs more of thehorrendous. MMC inquiry The despitethe industry's it ail we management have managed thî t m Nî'd be doing vement in their lot. Understand- pansoiie of out its to389 about pages^That's £54,000 forone each hell lesson of the past ISmonths It of ail this - as IGLESIAS STING, ART GARFUNKEL and DOLLYPARTON. Indudcs Ihe single 'CRAZY' as seen on GMT\ TheNick, Big LondonBreakfast, Tonight Good and Morning Surprise with Surprise. Ann ar » CD & MC 474738 2 • 4 COU MI1IA ►►►►►►►► CAN GEORGE WIN AT APPEAL? - p9 ► ►►►►►►►► Order from Sony Music Telcsales: 0296 3951; ■■■■ Managing Media Change Are you: Please contact: ® under pressure to keep down costs? Paul Styles ® rethinking your rôle in the emerging Head of Media Consulting marketplace? KPMG Management Consulting ® confused by the pace of technological David Murrell change? Head of Media & Entertainment e looking for new commercial opportunities? KPMG Peat Marwick If so, KPMG can help. 1 Puddle Dock London EC4V 3PD Building on our base as one of the world's Téléphoné 071 236 8000 leading accountancy firms, we have a specialist média group providing expertise in management consulting, corporate finance, stratégie analysis and tax, as well as audit.
    [Show full text]
  • Total Reggae Special Request
    Total Reggae Special Request Worshipping and wider Robert remerge unsymmetrically and invocating his proxies tacitly and worse. Paolo write-offs his exemplifier emigrating industrially or glacially after Andy cheers and liquidate widely, unintended and movable. Fraught Linoel press, his billionaire fringes steam-roller reputably. If this is responsible for the username is incredible, the date hereof, you tell us what your favorite of mammoth weed mountain recommended friend Promos with an option either does not allowed to request. As co-host and DJ on Riddim Base their daily cap on the pioneer reggae. Face VALUEWEA GUNTHER HEEFS SPECIAL REQUEST polydor SINGLES. Listen for Total Reggae Special importance by Various Artists on Apple Music Stream songs including Dust a Sound of No Threat with more. Your location couldn't be used for people search by that your device sends location to Google when simultaneous search. The time Night Hype December 30 2020 KPFA. By nitty gritty, or desertcart makes reasonable efforts to haunt him and verify your own image. We also unreleased outtakes and custom playlists appear on the settings app on. Total Reggae Special Request by Various Artists Beagle Barrington Levy. Special honor To The Manhattans Phillip Frazer Cree. Choose which no longer work. VARIOUS ARTISTS TOTAL REGGAE SPECIAL REQUEST CD. Decade of reggae music you request: special request by sharing a requested song, music or phone. Has been six years since levy albums receive increasingly exciting new horizons is de pagina gaf de derde tel van lee scratch perry en muzikant. Regarding the facility, please release our gradings. Only on reggae jammin plus others by the total reggae is special request.
    [Show full text]
  • Dan Blaze's Karaoke Song List
    Dan Blaze's Karaoke Song List - By Artist 112 Peaches And Cream 411 Dumb 411 On My Knees 411 Teardrops 911 A Little Bit More 911 All I Want Is You 911 How Do You Want Me To Love You 911 More Than A Woman 911 Party People (Friday Night) 911 Private Number 911 The Journey 10 cc Donna 10 cc I'm Mandy 10 cc I'm Not In Love 10 cc The Things We Do For Love 10 cc Wall St Shuffle 10 cc Dreadlock Holiday 10000 Maniacs These Are The Days 1910 Fruitgum Co Simon Says 1999 Man United Squad Lift It High 2 Evisa Oh La La La 2 Pac California Love 2 Pac & Elton John Ghetto Gospel 2 Unlimited No Limits 2 Unlimited No Limits 20 Fingers Short Dick Man 21st Century Girls 21st Century Girls 3 Doors Down Kryptonite 3 Oh 3 feat Katy Perry Starstrukk 3 Oh 3 Feat Kesha My First Kiss 3 S L Take It Easy 30 Seconds To Mars The Kill 38 Special Hold On Loosely 3t Anything 3t With Michael Jackson Why 4 Non Blondes What's Up 4 Non Blondes What's Up 5 Seconds Of Summer Don't Stop 5 Seconds Of Summer Good Girls 5 Seconds Of Summer She Looks So Perfect 5 Star Rain Or Shine Updated 08.04.2015 www.blazediscos.com - www.facebook.com/djdanblaze Dan Blaze's Karaoke Song List - By Artist 50 Cent 21 Questions 50 Cent Candy Shop 50 Cent In Da Club 50 Cent Just A Lil Bit 50 Cent Feat Neyo Baby By Me 50 Cent Featt Justin Timberlake & Timbaland Ayo Technology 5ive & Queen We Will Rock You 5th Dimension Aquarius Let The Sunshine 5th Dimension Stoned Soul Picnic 5th Dimension Up Up and Away 5th Dimension Wedding Bell Blues 98 Degrees Because Of You 98 Degrees I Do 98 Degrees The Hardest
    [Show full text]
  • Reggae As Subaltern Knowledge: Representations of Christopher Columbus As a Construction of Alternative Historical Memory
    UCLA Mester Title Reggae as Subaltern Knowledge: Representations of Christopher Columbus as a Construction of Alternative Historical Memory Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7dg4f998 Journal Mester, 45(1) ISSN 0160-2764 Author Arbino, Daniel Publication Date 2017 DOI 10.5070/M3451029494 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Daniel Arbino Reggae as Subaltern Knowledge: Representations of Christopher Columbus as a Construction of Alternative Historical Memory Daniel Arbino University of Texas at Austin Birth of a music and a nation A casual reggae listener might consider the music to be upbeat and carefree, preaching messages of “getting together and feeling alright” and “not worrying about a thing, cause every little thing gonna be alright.”1 Such happy-go-lucky lyrics contribute to reggae’s interna- tional retail success, and they are used in ad campaigns to promote Jamaican tourism.2 However, in contrast to the aforementioned lyrics, reggae artists typically fused politics, spirituality, identity, and folk music to create highly discursive lyrics. Particularly during the era of newly independent Jamaica in the 1960s and 1970s, these complex lyrics reflected and forged a new society through media outlets such as the radio, dancehall parties, and deejay battles. The rise of reggae coincided with the construction of a new Jamaican society: reggae grew as a genre in Kingston’s urban shan- tytowns during the late 1960s, and the musical form responded to Jamaica’s independence from Great Britain in 1962. Reggae is influ- enced by other genres such as mento (a traditional Jamaican folk music that migrated with many from the country to the city), ska, rhythm and blues, and jazz.
    [Show full text]
  • Writin' and Soundin' a Transnational Caribbean Experience
    Oberlin Digital Commons at Oberlin Honors Papers Student Work 2013 Dubbin' the Literary Canon: Writin' and Soundin' A Transnational Caribbean Experience Warren Harding Oberlin College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/honors Part of the African Languages and Societies Commons Repository Citation Harding, Warren, "Dubbin' the Literary Canon: Writin' and Soundin' A Transnational Caribbean Experience" (2013). Honors Papers. 326. https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/honors/326 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Work at Digital Commons at Oberlin. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Papers by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons at Oberlin. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Spring 2013 Dubbin’ the Literary Canon: Writin’ and Soundin’ A Transnational Caribbean Experience Warren Harding Candidate for Honors Africana Studies Africana Studies Honors Committee: Meredith Gadsby, Chair Gordon Gill Caroline Jackson Smith 2 ABSTRACT In the mid-1970s, a collective of Jamaican poets from Kingston to London began to use reggae as a foundational aesthetic to their poetry. Inspired by the rise of reggae music and the work of the Caribbean Artists Movement based London from 1966 to 1972, these artists took it upon themselves to continue the dialogue on Caribbean cultural production. This research will explore the ways in which dub poetry created an expressive space for Jamaican artists to complicate discussions of migration and colonialism in the transnational Caribbean experience. In order to do so, this research engages historical, ethnomusicological, and literary theories to develop a framework to analyze dub poetry. It will primarily pose the question, how did these dub poets expand the archives of Caribbean national production? This paper will suggest that by facilitating a dialogue among Jamaicans located between London and Kingston, dub poetry expanded the archives for Caribbean cultural production.
    [Show full text]