Latest News #267– England
January 8, 2003

De Krismos Stori: telling the Christmas story in Jamaican Patois

LONDON and BIRMINGHAM, England — A captivating telling of the Christmas story in Jamaican Patois has been made available to Jamaicans living in England, thanks to the dedication of the Bible Society of the West Indies to making the Bible available to Patois-speakers around the world.

Following in the footsteps of A Who Run Tings?, a Patois Scripture cassette focusing on God's sovereignty (see World Report 338/14), the new recording on CD, launched in London on December 11 and in Birmingham on December 15, presents the Christmas story through 18 short Bible readings and six Jamaican Christmas songs written by songwriter Noel Dexter.

Patois is essentially an oral language, with no standardised orthography, and has traditionally been seen merely as 'broken English.' Having recognised some years ago that this view of Patois was preventing the 2 million speakers for whom it is their first language from truly understanding God's Word, the Bible Society has been endeavouring to produce Patois Scripture cassettes. The translation team for this particular project was headed by the Rev Henley Bernard of the United Theological College of the West Indies, while the team of actors was led by Paul Pinto and Winston 'Bello' Bell, who make up the well-known comedy act 'Bello & Blacka'.