FaithLifestyleNewsRegional Bible being translated into Jamaican patois by: – December 28, 2011 Share Sharing is caring! Tweet Share
Flag of Jamaica. KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Bible is, for the first time, being translated into Jamaican patois. It’s a move welcomed by those Jamaicans want their mother tongue enshrined as the national language — but opposed by others, who think learning and speaking English should be the priority, the BBC reported.The sound of patois, developed from English by West African slaves in Jamaica’s sugar plantations 400 years ago, has an electrifying effect on those listening.“It’s almost as if you are seeing it,” says a woman, referring to the moment when Jesus is tempted by the Devil.“In the blink of an eye, you get the whole notion. It’s as though you are watching a movie… it brings excitement to the word of God.”The Rev Courtney Stewart, General Secretary of the West Indies Bible Society, who has managed the translation project, insisted the new Bible demonstrates the power of patois, and cited a line from Luke as an example.It’s the moment when the Angel Gabriel goes to Mary to tell her she is going to give birth to Jesus. English versions read along these lines: “And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favoured one, the Lord is with you: blessed are you among women.’”“Now compare that with our translation of the Bible,” said Stewart. “De angel go to Mary and say to ‘er, me have news we going to make you well ‘appy. God really, really, bless you and him a walk with you all de time.”Stewart says the project is largely designed to bring scripture alive, but it also has another important function — to rescue patois from its second-class status in Jamaica and to enshrine it as a national language. The patois Bible represents a new attempt to standardise the language, with the historically oral tongue written down in a new phonetic form.For example the passage relating the angel’s visit to Mary reads: “Di ienjel go tu Mieri an se tu ar se, ‘Mieri, mi av nyuuz we a go mek yu wel api. Gad riili riili bles yu an im a waak wid yu all di taim.”The New Testament has been completed by a team of translators at the Bible Society in Kingston — working from the original Greek — who intend to publish it in time for the 50th anniversary of Jamaica’s independence from Britain on 6 August next year. But some traditionalist Christians say the patois Bible dilutes the word of God, and insist that patois is no substitute for English.Bishop Alvin Bailey, at the Portmore Holiness Church of God near Kingston, argues that patois is too limited a language to represent the nuances of Biblical text, and has to resort to coarse expressions to makes its meaning clear.“I don’t think the patois words can effectively communicate what the English words have communicated,” he said. “Even those (patois) words that we would want to use to fully explain what was in the original, are words that are vulgar.”Many others see the elevation of patois as a backward step for Jamaica, in a globalised world demanding English.Linguists at the University of the West Indies in Kingston, who have been working on the translation, insist that patois is an authentic language, with its own tenses and consistent grammatical rules.According to the BBC, a bastion of ‘proper’ English, in Jamaican patois plural nouns are made with the word “dem” (“they” or “them” in English) — so the plural of “uoli prafit” (“holy prophet”) is “uoli prafit dem”, and the plural of “enimi” (“enemy”) is “enimi dem”The past tense is marked by the word “did” — so “he lived” is, in patois, “im did liv”The future tense can be marked with ” a go” or “wi” (“will”) — “Im a go siev” is “He will save”, and “Yu wi nuo” is “You will know”Examples:Jos laik ou im did taak chuu im uoli prafit dem — Just like how he talked through his holy prophetsIm a go siev wi fram wi enimi dem — He will save us from our enemiesSo yu wi nuo se wa yu ier a chuu – So you will know that what you hear is true.By Caribbean News Now contributor Share 38 Views no discussions
Principal Rod Hite (center) with Superintendent Rob Moorhead (left) and South Ripley Elementary Assistant Principal Amy Linkel.VERSAILLES, Ind. – Former South Ripley Junior High (SRJH) Principal Rod Hite has been named 2013-2014 Indiana middle school principal of the year.Hite was nominated this spring, by an area principal for the District 10 principal of the year.The Indiana Association of School Principals then selected one elementary principal, one middle school principal and one high school principal for the statewide recognition at a banquet in Indianapolis on November 23.“I was extremely surprised,” Hite recalled. “As I was getting my award some of the South Ripley staff had come into the room and it kind of chocked me up, it was the first time seeing them since I left last year,”South Ripley Superintendent Rob Moorhead was among former colleagues at the banquet and calls the recognition “well deserved.”“Rod had done some tremendous things during his time at South Ripley and really transformed the educational process at the school; he really dug in and learned data and utilized data to help students succeed,” Moorhead explained.The Indiana Department of Education releases annual “A-F” ratings to provide an accurate picture of school performance. Hite led SRJH from a “D” to “A” grade during his tenure.Student ISTEP scores have also improved into the upper 25th percentile in Indiana making it a Four Star School. The school became the first in Indiana to have a free and reduced lunch rate over 50 percent and achieve Four Star status.“It’s not just about what is going on at that school. It [benefits] the teachers, students and parents at that school and also those at the elementary school that feed into that,” the superintendent acknowledged.Hite said the middle school principal of the year award is an honor and also the result of hard work throughout the corporation.“It wasn’t truly me it was every one of those teachers, staff and administrators throughout the corporation to help put a lot of effort and get great responses from some great students,” Hite said.“Student success starts much earlier than junior high,” Hite continued. “It starts at the elementary level as we inherit some really good scores and combine those with the efforts of how to transition that to the high school.”“You’ve consistently seen South Ripley get better and better through the years, and it really took a lot of different people.”Hite served as junior high principal at South Ripley between 2010 and 2014 and is now in his first semester as principal at Edgewood Junior High School in Ellettsville. He and his family usually make a weekly return to Ripley County.“We kept our home in Versailles, come home every weekend and still attend church at Versailles Baptist Church. We try to stay active in both communities.”
USC organizations hosted Football 101, an event designed to help students get a better understanding of the game and culture of American football, at Heritage Hall on Friday.Football school · Alex Rios, a recruiting analyst for USC football, explains the different player positions at the Football 101 session. – Carol Kim | Daily TrojanUSC Program Board’s International Student Assembly, Graduate Student Government and Recreational Sports collaborated to host the event, with sponsorship from the Office of International Services and others.“Beat the Sun Devils” T-shirts and tote bags, as well as free game tickets, were passed out to the 100 participants.USG Wellness kicked off the event by talking about tailgating policies and safety. GSG organized a tailgate on Trousdale Parkway so all the participants of the event could experience the chaos and Trojan spirit for themselves on game day.Donald Ludwig, executive director of USC Spirit and Traditions and USC Spirituality and Sports, and Luis Nevarez, a senior safety on the Trojan football team, talked about what it means to be a part of the Trojan family. They went on to explain the game of football, everything from specifying the dimensions of the field to creating an interactive activity for the audience to understand the snap count. While a football helmet was being passed around the room, Ludwig and Nevarez helped the event’s participants feel like they would be able to yell and chant with the rest of the Trojans at the ASU game.The event ended with a jock rally and performances from the Trojan Marching Band and the Song Girls.“This is actually an annual event, and we at GSG wanted to continue this because we wanted to get the students accustomed to American culture as well as USC culture,” GSG President Yohey Tokumitsu said.He said that another purpose of the event was to familiarize international students with tailgating culture.While this event had been held in years past, this was the first time a number of USC organizations collaborated on it.“I asked the Office of International Services, and they led me to speak to Athletics, as well as Rec Sports, ISA and USG. They were very helpful and eager to work on this project with us,” Tokumitsu said.Rachel Zou, director of ISA, believed that there was a great deal of student demand for an event like this, especially because of their efforts to increase publicity for Football 101 this year. Four hundred undergraduate and graduate students at USC RSVP’d for the event. Because of limited capacity, the 100 participants were chosen through a lottery system.“I think there is a lot of student demand [for an event like this], especially for free football tickets,” Zou said. “I think there is also a lot of student demand among international students to understand how football works because football is a foreign concept to people outside of America. I grew up in America, but I am not an avid football fan. I came to USC and had no idea what the rules of football were, so Football 101 has really helped me understand that.”Participant feedback was positive.“I think I will understand more and enjoy the game more because I’ll know what and when to cheer,” said Jolie Vu, a graduate student at the Leventhal School of Accounting. “They should definitely have this event every year.”Students who had previously attended football games also found the event to be helpful.“The workshop was great,” said Danshi Li, a graduate student in mechanical engineering. “I’ve seen a lot of football games at USC, but this will be really helpful for the game tomorrow because it’s clearer how to be integrated into the Trojan community and cheer with everyone.”
MORE: Three reactions to rumored MLB season planYou know where this is going, obviously. The coronavirus-mandated shutdown of the baseball season — as with pretty much every sport across the globe — has thrown a wrench into the plans of strength and conditioning coaches in MLB. “Right now the challenge is that we don’t have an end in sight for this thing,” Vazquez said. “So what I’ve told guys is, let’s go to a medium volume and let’s just keep that up until we’re told some sort of timeline. That’s the challenge. Basically, we’re trying to go into some sort of a hybrid between offseason and preseason.”In a Zoom video call with media folks on Thursday morning, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said he estimated his players are back to a “mid-January” position right now when it comes to their preseason progress. The workouts can vary by player. “Right now, our program is just based off what they have available,” Cardinals strength and conditioning coach Lance Lance Thomason told SN. “With all the gyms shutting down, not everyone has access to a gym or equipment, so we’re making modifications. A lot of guys are just doing some body-weight stuff at home because that’s all they have. We’re trying to work with the guys to provide the best opportunity to maintain where they’re at. We revisit those on a weekly basis. If they all of a sudden had access to more equipment, we could make some modifications.”It’s a challenge, yes, but as both Vazquez and Thomason were quick to point out, with what’s happening in the world right now, it’s a rather insignificant challenge. “I’ve told them, ‘Look, guys, in the grand scheme of life, this isn’t biggest issue right now.’ Obviously, we’re navigating a new world,” Vazquez said. “Just make sure you take care of personal business, make sure you can take care of families. Focus on that, and we’ll do our best to get you the best workout that we can, the best ideas we can under the circumstances. We have to say to ourselves, what’s the most important thing for my life right now? Lifting weights and hitting a baseball is probably not the most important thing. So let’s keep that in perspective and do the best we can with the equipment that we have, with the access that we have, and in time they’ll let us know where we can go, when we can go back to the stadium and that kind of stuff.” Thomason: “Obviously, there’s uncertainty on on all fronts, whether it’s professional sports or what not. We’re basically just trying to create somewhat of a normal schedule for these guys. They worked really hard in the offseason, and we just want to make sure that they’re ready to go when MLB says we can play baseball again.”To deal with their challenges — now and during regular year-long programs — 10 major-league teams use the TeamBuildr app to manage their strength and conditioning programs, including the Rangers and Cardinals. “The way the app’s designed, if there’s a video attached to it — this was was great for the offseason, and it’s coming in handy now — we put a program together, and drop it on their calendar, and then they have access to that on the phone,” Thomason said. “And then they just go down the list. If they know what I want them to do, they can click on it.MORE: MLB cancels Cubs-Cardinals series in LondonIf they don’t know what it is, there’s a video attached to it. They watch that video, hit complete on their end. As an organization, we’ve used it for about seven years. Pretty well versed in TeamBuildr.”The Cardinals were the first MLB team to reach out about the possibility of using the app to manage their needs.“We were able to do a lot of customization with them,” TeamBuildr CEO Hewitt Tomlin said, “but also in a way that benefitted other customers.”Tomlin said a total of 10 teams — the Rangers, Cardinals, Angels, Padres, Diamondbacks, A’s, Marlins, Rays, Astros and Braves — use the app. For every strength and conditioning coach in Major League Baseball, there’s a rhythm, a flow and a purpose to how they design their year-round workout programs. Most years, it goes like clockwork.“Every season — offseason, preseason, meaning spring training, and in-season — they have a certain amount of work volume,” Rangers strength and conditioning coach Jose Vazquez told Sporting News in a phone interview. “In the offseason, the work volume is very heavy. There’s a lot of running, a lot of lifting, a lot of stuff, so to speak. As we approach the season, we cut the volume back and we scale down the number of exercises, the number of repetitions, the number of things we do because the baseball takes over.” “A couple days ago, I was mowing the yard and a player called. I stopped what I was doing and within five minutes he had a workout on his phone that he could follow. That’s the beauty of this thing,” said Vazquez, who said the Rangers have been using the app for three years. “Getting the workouts to the guys, not that complicated. Helping guys to work out at home, giving them ideas of what to do, not that complicated. What makes it difficult is the timeframe. Can’t tell a guy, ‘Now you cut back.’ Or, ‘Now you’ve got to do this.’ That’s what’s challenging.”And the timeframe isn’t something they’ll have an answer to any time soon. “We’re obviously in the same boat. We don’t know much,” Thomason said. “We just try to base our decisions off the information we have. We know it’s probably not going to start in the next couple of weeks, but once we hear a date, we’ll adjust our programs again and make sure that everyone has what they need to be prepared.”