Click on names to find out more about the participants.
Relationship of interviewees: Friends
Where: Handsworth, West Midlands
Language of interview: English
Voice clip 1
The group discuss whether there is such a thing as a British accent - there are lots of different ones, but then there are also a lot of Jamaican accents too, depending on where you come from.
Voice clip 2
The group talk about words for baby and child. The words are said very differently depending on whether it's one's own child or someone else's 'naughty brat'.
Voice clip 3
The group talk about the terms "babyfather" and "babymother" and how whether they are acceptable or not depends on social class. They also explain the word "boops" for an older man who supports a woman financially.
Voice clip 4
The group talk about style: words in Patois for someone who wears whatever is in fashion whether it suits them or not. And they explain how Jamaican DJs have introduced or changed the meaning of a lot of words including "men" and "trash".
Voice clip 6
Gestures are as much a part of the way Jamaicans talk as the words. The group think it's funny that English people can have a conversation without using their hands.
Anne Colleen Elaine Morgan, Science teacher
Anne describes her voice as "middle class Jamaican" and says she generally speaks English - except when she's angry.
Faydene Gillings-Grant, Librarian
Faydene says she speaks more slowly at work because she's very aware of having to ensure people can understand her Jamaican accent.
Heather Reid, Runs own business, course facilitator
Heather talks about the occasions when she uses Patois rather than English - her usage is a little different from Anne's.
Long description of interview: The three women are in their 30s and 40s and describe themselves as middle class Jamaicans. Heather set up a course in Patois and Jamaican culture at City College in Birmingham, Anne is a secondary school science teacher and teaches the Patois course, and Faydene is a librarian. Anne and Faydene know Heather well but had never really met each other before the interview. The interview is interrupted occasionally by Heather's two boys, aged six and eight. Anne is the most vocal, probably because she teaches Patois, while Heather has a very soft voice which is sometimes lost in the noise of the discussion.
Foreign Language Syndrome occurs when people with brain injuries lose the ability to talk in their native accent. After a stroke, George Reynolds developed an Italian accent.
