Over the next few weeks Dr Karla Washington and I will be testing Jamaican children's speech and language. We have been talking with Professor Hubert Devonish and other Jamaican people about the suitability of different commercially available tests for Jamaican children. We plan to use the Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (DEAP, Dodd et al., 2006) as a speech assessment. Here are a few of the items that may not be known by Jamaican children:
- Thumb = Big finger
- Leg = Foot
- Sock = One foot a sock OR a socks (whereas socks = socks)
- Gloves = Who needs gloves in Jamaica - you swim at the beach in winter!
- Apple = Jamaican apples are red and shaped like pears (not round green ones like in the DEAP)
- Orange = May not be known because oranges have greenish skins (while orange inside)
- Strawberry = May not be known
Words and images that are better known are pictured below
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| Breadfruit and ackee |
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| Fried fish, festival, and bammy (Jamaican fish and chips) |
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| One style of Jamaican house (a little more colourful than the DEAP picture!) |
A further consideration is the dress code when visiting schools.Below is a notice from one of the schools in Jamaica about the appropriate dress code for visitors. I have found that in many countries that I have visited I have been asked to wear "church clothes" when working in schools and universities (e.g., dresses with sleeves and shoes with closed toes).
