Language as Society: Change and Transition

In response to: The language of world communication (http://www.nationnews.com/editorial/306156905562860.php)

The term Bajan refers to both the people and the street language of Barbados. The word originated from a heavily accented pronunciation of "Barbadian", "Barbajan", which later became shortened. The term grew to become a label for at first the uneducated, but eventually all of the people of Barbados.

Although there official language of Barbados is English, Bajan, a dialect of English, prevails among Barbadians in daily life.
Felicia C, a poster on Yahoo Answers explains it thus:
"As a Bajan (Barbadian), I have to say that we will try to speak proper English
(ie what we call "the Queen's English") when speaking to tourists or formal
situations but we have little use for it otherwise, and most conversations
between Bajans take place in the dialect."
(http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006060114358)

The author of the article objects to this proliferation improper English. Part of the cause, in their mind, is a negative social stigma about those who speak properly. The article comes in support of the statements of Chief Education Officer Wendy Griffith-Watson, who is trying to undo this stereotype, and encourage the everyday use of formal English.

The author of the article goes on to connect this everyday use of an informal tongue with general decline of society and all the shady morals demonstrating "increasing disrespect for law and order". If the people speak slang in the street, the whole world will fall apart?!
In particular they cite the ZR (Route Taxi) Culture and kids opting for use of privately run Public Service Vehicles over government sponsored Buses. These alternate modes of transportation are bastions of a Bajan counter culture. Since the government has kept the prices on Transport Board Buses fixed for the past 15 years, PSV operators must keep their prices low to compete. The crews running such conveyances, necessary for commuters in Barbados, are kept in a lower earning bracket, meaning only the less educated take on these jobs. The term ZR culture stems from the perceived looseness and illicit actions of some crews or patrons of PSV's. (Check out "http://barbadosfreepress.wordpress.com/2007/07/17/public-service-vehicles-in-barbados-we-love-them-but/")

But is there necessarily a relationship between what may be seen as the crumbling of society and slang language? This author, like many others we have encountered in our news stories for BBC language advisers and government controlled standards to preserve language integrity, is of the conservative mindset that languages need to be preserved in its current, 'proper' form. This is dramatically apparent in their opening sentence, quoting Shakespeare. It is common in this mindset to relate changes in language to negative changes in society.

Here is an interesting fact: No one talks like Shakespeare anymore! Languages change. This is not to say that languages should have no standards whatsoever, but in the case of Bajan, which has taken root throughout Barbados, maybe it is the solution to, rather than the cause of, societal problems.

As with many dialects with origins among slave populations, there is a lingering external association between foolishness or stupidity and Bajan. This can be seen in the case of the Jamaican dialects in any number of ads for the latest spiced rum. By insisting on the use of proper English these stereotypes are reinforced.

Why not, rather, embrace and institutionalize Bajan? If its deficiencies preventing it from being a "formal language" are grammar and structure, create them. There is a risk that this would not be acceptable to speakers of Bajan, which is known for its constant fluidity and adaptation, but it could create a positive cultural self-identity, that the Bajan is truly valid in culture and language.