Jus Dweet

The school days are long beneath the hot sun.  I'm enjoying myself... but I have a fair bit of marking to do.

The Jamaican youth are surprisingly well-read in comic-book lore.  It has made my discussion of 'Justice' in class much easier to approach :>  Although there were bitter rivalries developed when I posed the class the famous Batman vs. Superman in a fight conundrum. 

And I side with the Batman camp.  I find those who side with superman favour powers and practicality.  While those who side with Batman give much weight narrative and the rules of drama.  That's the thing in a comic-book world: the weakest can defeat the strongest if only the narrative is well-served.

I also found a book called "Understanding Jamaican Patois".  Jamaican English has an accent, but it is not a patois.  The patois is completely its own dialogue and even has its own phonetic spellings.  I've seen people speaking patois quoted in the newspaper sometimes.

Examples:
"Jus Dweet" = Just do it
"one-one" = one by one, indicating moving small amounts
"im dun goo" = he's performed well

I am no linguist and there is much about the culture I do not know.  But it's good to at least know that someone cared enough about it to write a book on the subject.  I'll never understand all the intricacies of the culture and language... but I want to be open to learning what I can.

Comic-books at least, are a sort of shared cultural touchstone.  It made me feel quite at home.