Jamaica MP's Use of Creole in Parliament Sparks Debate on Colonial Legacy

On May 12, opposition MP Nekeisha Burchell, responsible for culture, creative industries and information, stood to deliver her first speech in Jamaica's Parliament. When she began in Jamaican Creole—"Madam speaka, mi git up dis afta noon fi mek mi fuss sectoral speech, pan me portfolio…"—the presiding officer, Juliet Holness, immediately cut her off. "Hold on, hold on, hold on! Standing orders, and I think you know them well," Holness, wife of Jamaica's Prime Minister, said, warning that if Burchell continued to violate the rules she would not be granted extra time.

The rule Holness cited is Jamaica's parliamentary standing order that only English may be used, rejecting Jamaican Creole or any other language. When protests erupted in the chamber, some disparaged Creole as "broken English." The incident instantly triggered a heated domestic and international debate about the enduring legacy of British colonialism and whether such rituals as wigs, prayers for the British monarch and "the king's English" remain appropriate for Jamaica more than sixty years after independence.

After being interrupted, Burchell continued her speech in standard English. She said: "Madam Speaker, perhaps I should abandon my attempt to use our vernacular because I have been reminded of the linguistic conventions of this honourable House. Because perhaps there is no more fitting way to begin a presentation on culture than to speak briefly in the language understood by the vast majority of Jamaicans—even if that language still struggles for full acceptance in some of our most formal national spaces, including this Parliament."

In an interview with The Guardian afterward, Burchell shared: "That moment truly exposed the unresolved tensions around language, legitimacy and post-colonial identity." She stressed her action was not intended to disrespect Parliament or cause disruption. "For me, the question is not whether Parliament should have rules. Of course it should. My intention was to break the comfort zone we have placed ourselves in. We have become comfortable with maintaining things like prayers before every weekly parliamentary session… We say words we don't understand. We still wear wigs and robes in a hot climate like Jamaica because we still hold these patterns." She emphasized that her intervention was not "anti-British" or "anti-English," but about Jamaica's cultural confidence.

Burchell explained: "Jamaican Creole has become one of the most globally recognized cultural expressions coming out of the Caribbean. Through reggae, dancehall, sports, pop culture, people around the world recognize the rhythm, energy, boldness, humour and emotional texture of our language. And I think that is part of why this conversation resonates internationally."

However, Marlon Morgan, parliamentary secretary in Jamaica's Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, argued the issue is not disrespect toward Jamaican Creole. "There may be people who confuse what happened in Parliament with a lack of appreciation for the Jamaican language, and that should not be the case," he said. Morgan noted Burchell could have sought a suspension of the English-only rule, adding that any permanent change to allow Jamaican Creole in Parliament should be approached "with caution and consultation."

On the streets of Kingston, public opinion is divided. Lawyer Juliette Blake said "rules should be followed," while event project manager Danea Dunkley pointed out that legislatures in Wales and New Zealand allow indigenous languages. She said the matter "raises a question every post-colonial society faces at some point: whose languages are legitimate and in what spaces may they be used?"

Professor Carolyn Cooper, a literary scholar, is among many Jamaican academics supporting Burchell's action. She described the language as "Jamaican, not Jamaican Patois, not Jamaican Creole, not dialect… Jamaican! Just like French, Spanish, English, German and any other language." She argued the problem is that many do not recognize Jamaican as a language, still regarding it as "a broken version of English, a distortion."

Dr. Joseph Farquharson, coordinator of the Jamaican Language Unit (JLU) at the University of the West Indies (UWI), said Jamaican Creole "has all the features, all the properties of a language." The language has a complex history, rooted not only in "European imperial expansion and colonialism" but also in other languages and dialects. He noted a 2005 language attitude survey showed most Jamaicans recognize "Patwa" as a language and believe it should be co-official with English. "Nobody is proposing to remove English. What is proposed is to create a space for the language most Jamaicans use and understand."

Sonjah Stanley Niaah, Director of UWI's Centre for Reparation Research, described the English-only parliamentary rule as "a direct legacy of slavery." She said: "It is astonishing that, in a parliament that intends to petition the king of England to respond on whether the enslavement of Africans was a crime against humanity, in a country whose culture ministry outlines a reparations agenda, there is such a negative reaction to the use of Jamaican Creole."