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adapted from a Linguistics class at Stanford University |
Study the passage below from Jan Carew's novel Black Midas (1958) and sleuth out the rules and vocabulary of this "Creole" dialect of English as a linguist would. The scene is a village in Guyana, South America.
1. Underline every occurrence of the first person singular and third person feminine pronoun in the old woman's Creole speech. Next to it put the standard English equivalent (i.e., Me = I, line 2). On the basis of this examination, see if you can say what general grammatical features distinguish her usage from that of Standard English.
2. The doctor varies between Creole usage when speaking to the old woman (whom he calls My from Hindi ma:i -- mother, an old woman) and Standard English when he is speaking to the nurse (named Aron). Cite examples from his personal pronoun use to show that this is true. The speakers are abbreviated on the left as (ow) for old woman, (d) for doctor, and (n) for the nurse.
3. Identify any other grammatical feature (other than pronoun usage) in which the Creole speech in this text differs from that of Standard English.
4. The different ways in which the doctor and the old woman address each other in this passage are characteristic of verbal interaction in asymmetric power relationsips in many communities. Briefly characterize these differences.
A doctor’s conversation with an old woman whose daughter is in labor
(Mocha, East Bank Demerara).
An old Indian woman stood in the doorway blinking at the torchlight. 1
(ow) “Me glad you come, Doctor,” she said, shading her eyes. 2
(d) “You is the girl mama?” The doctor spoke in dialect and his voice took 3
on the sing-song lilt of an Indian villager. 4
(ow) “Yes, Doctor. You is a good man; you lef’ you house this time . . .” 5
(d) “Tell me ‘bout the girl.” The doctor cut her short. 6
(ow) “She is me one-chile, Doctor; all the rest dead . . .” 7
(d) “Yes, yes. How much year she got?” 8
(ow) “She got fifteen year, Doctor.” 9
(d) “This is the first pick’ny?” 10
(ow) “Second time she having pick’ny, Doctor; first one dead in she belly. Other 11
doctor tell she ‘No more pick’ny, Teena,’ but she husband is a no-good man, 12
get drunk, beat she, now he go ‘way lef’ she.” 13
(d) “How long the girl got pain?” 14
(ow) “Two day, Doctor; pick’ny should come July month; now September.” 15
The doctor felt for her pulse and turned round. 16
(d) “Me want plenty water, My, plenty boiling water,” he said, and the old 17
woman’s bare feet slapped the mud floor as she ran out with an iron pot in each 18
hand. The nurse stuck a thermometer into the girl’s mouth. 19
(n) “Don’t bite it,” she said close to her ear. 20
(d to n)“What’s her temperature?” the doctor asked her when she held the 21
thermometer up to the light. 22
(d to n)“I’m going to puncture the outer membrane, and if that doesn’t work, 23
we'll have to use an anaesthetic and forceps. Aron!” 24
(d to ow) “The nurse going to visit the girl and the pick’ny every day,” the doctor 25
said, and he handed her a bottle of liver extract. “Give the girl this three 26
times a day and keep the pick’ny clean. If you rub cow-dung on the pick’ny it 27
will die, you hearing me?” 28
(ow) “Yes, doctor.” 29
(d) “You got milk, My?” 30
(ow) “Yes, doctor, me got two cow.” 31
(d) “You must boil the milk before you give it to the pick’ny. You understand?” 32
(ow) “Yes, Doctor.” 33
(d) “You got money, My?” 34
(ow) “How much, Doctor?” 35
(d) “Five dollar.” 36
(ow) “Ow, me God! Me nah got five dollar, Doctor.” 37
(d) “All right. Bring chicken and egg to me house; me got to live too, you know.” 38
(ow) “Yes, Doctor.” 39
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