Language and football - use of different varieties of English
Monday, 13 Dec 2021, 12:28
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I sometimes play walking football with two groups in Bristol and each of these groups has a WhatsApp group. One of the group has a strong representations of people who came to Bristol from Jamaica or who are of Jamaican heritage. They mostly speak and write Standard British English (often with a Bristol accent) but there is some use of Jamaican English when two or more people of that heritage or origin are speaking in small groups, presumably as a way of asserting solidarity and a shared identity.
Until yesterday, all messages on WhatsApp had been in Standard British English but fury about the Lewis Hamilton result in F1 led to several messages in Jamaican English. There was a feeling that he had been cheated because of his race and perhaps this was why Jamaican English seemed the most appropriate variety to express a group feeling.
Language and football - use of different varieties of English
I sometimes play walking football with two groups in Bristol and each of these groups has a WhatsApp group. One of the group has a strong representations of people who came to Bristol from Jamaica or who are of Jamaican heritage. They mostly speak and write Standard British English (often with a Bristol accent) but there is some use of Jamaican English when two or more people of that heritage or origin are speaking in small groups, presumably as a way of asserting solidarity and a shared identity.
Until yesterday, all messages on WhatsApp had been in Standard British English but fury about the Lewis Hamilton result in F1 led to several messages in Jamaican English. There was a feeling that he had been cheated because of his race and perhaps this was why Jamaican English seemed the most appropriate variety to express a group feeling.