CARIBBEAN STUDIES SBA
THEME: Languages in the Caribbean
TOPIC: Oral Traditions within the Culture
RESEARCH STATEMENT: To examine the factors contributing to the diminishing presence of the oral tradition within the Jamaican society.
INTRODUCTION
Oral traditions are viewed as “the means by which knowledge is reproduced, preserved and conveyed from generation to generation…” – Renee Hulan, Renate Eigenbrod
It is through interaction and interrelation that we procure experiences and knowledge of social life – the same way in which our progenitors weaved a lasting culture that still retains in our society today. One very important element of our culture is language. It is through language that we create contexts and paradigms thus fostering appropriate interactions. As we interact with the spoken word we inevitably transmit aspects of our culture and tradition. Jamaica’s cultural landscape as it is today extensively predates itself to an epoch before the Europeans encountered Africans in their own land. Due to the dynamics of culture there is some degree of absence of the oral tradition that is expected to be maintained and that has had a gamut of implications on our Jamaican society. The purpose of this dissertation is to unearth the many issues surrounding our oral tradition, pinpointing some of the factors which led to its depletion.
Being an integral part of our history (specifically our colonial past), it has now become a topical issue where the concern is that traditions have become lost over the years and are very much lost on today’s youth. Its role which is to educate and replicate the fine details of the fabric of our lifestyle has become null as a result of various factors such as globalization and urbanization. It is imperative that one examines the factors contributing to the diminishing presence of the oral tradition in Jamaica. Therefore, the researcher in doing so examines the extent to which these factors cause a
TOPIC: Oral Traditions within the Culture
RESEARCH STATEMENT: To examine the factors contributing to the diminishing presence of the oral tradition within the Jamaican society.
INTRODUCTION
Oral traditions are viewed as “the means by which knowledge is reproduced, preserved and conveyed from generation to generation…” – Renee Hulan, Renate Eigenbrod
It is through interaction and interrelation that we procure experiences and knowledge of social life – the same way in which our progenitors weaved a lasting culture that still retains in our society today. One very important element of our culture is language. It is through language that we create contexts and paradigms thus fostering appropriate interactions. As we interact with the spoken word we inevitably transmit aspects of our culture and tradition. Jamaica’s cultural landscape as it is today extensively predates itself to an epoch before the Europeans encountered Africans in their own land. Due to the dynamics of culture there is some degree of absence of the oral tradition that is expected to be maintained and that has had a gamut of implications on our Jamaican society. The purpose of this dissertation is to unearth the many issues surrounding our oral tradition, pinpointing some of the factors which led to its depletion.
Being an integral part of our history (specifically our colonial past), it has now become a topical issue where the concern is that traditions have become lost over the years and are very much lost on today’s youth. Its role which is to educate and replicate the fine details of the fabric of our lifestyle has become null as a result of various factors such as globalization and urbanization. It is imperative that one examines the factors contributing to the diminishing presence of the oral tradition in Jamaica. Therefore, the researcher in doing so examines the extent to which these factors cause a