SANJAY JOEY RAMSARAN

COMMUNICATION STUDIES CAPE 2006 P2 SECTION B

In the extract entitled , Natasha , adapted from Alecia McKenzie , Satellite

City and Other Stories , Longman , 1992 , it highlights a discussion between Andrea (a
university student , also a tutor ) and Natasha (a primary school child ) concerning their
future careers . Within the extract , Language Variation (L.V.) and Attitudes to Language
(A.L.) were evident. Some aspects for consideration of the essay includes motivation for
achieving a good command of English Language, justification for Andreas surprise that
Natasha spoke so well , Mrs. Jackson attitude to the use of creole and how communicating
could be enhanced through a video presentation of the scene .
Natasha is highly motivated to acquiring Standard English . Natasha wants to
obtain a good profession as an Astronaut . As a primary school child , Natasha would be keen
to learning new things and she must know from knowledge of her teacher that in order to
fulfill her dream of becoming an astronaut , she must acquire full proficiency and
competency of Standard English use . Natashas drive to acquire a good command of
Standard English shows her sheer desire to become an astronaut as she is willing to do
whatever it takes to fulfill this goal .
There are various reasons why Andrea was surprised that Natasha spoke so well .
Natashas mother speaks the creole language therefore , Andreas expectations are that her
daughter would develop this same habit and become a native creole speaker . Andrea thought
that Natasha had never been further than Kingston and would adopt the everyday speech of
Jamaican Creole however this was not the case . The fact that Natasha is only in primary
school which shows she is very young , the reader can infer that Natasha will be learning

Standard English but will not have full proficiency and competency of Standard English use .
This shows Andrea judging Natasha by her community and her mother which reflect the
Creole Language.
Mrs. Jacksons behavior reveals her attitude towards the use of creole as a
negative one however , Standard English is given a positive attitude . There are various
concepts throughout the extract that show this , she herself spoke creole to the woman
shows Andrea using Dialectal Variation(D.V.) toward Mrs. Jackson which would allow for
Mrs. Jackson to be more comfortable/at ease . Mrs . Jackson had been insulted ,this shows
that Mrs.Jackson feel belittled as Andrea is using Creole to speak to her and assumes she is
making a joke out of her . She left quickly shows that Mrs. Jackson was embarrassed that
Andrea spoke creole to her . For Mrs. Jackson , Creole is inferior and Standard English is
superior , she thinks Creole is the wrong and improper way of speaking .
Communication can be enhanced through a video presentation of the scene in
various ways such as : tone , paralanguage and the look of Natashas face when she speaks of
becoming an astronaut . The use of non-verbals will also be seen and give the audience a
better representation of their conversation as non-verbal language possesses fifty-five percent
(55%) of total communication . Chronemics (she left quickly) shows her embarrassment ,
using a video presentation , we will fully understand how Mrs . Jackson felt as she perceives
that creole is inferior to Standard English and thus possesses a negative attitude towards it .
In conclusion , the extract focused on the varying use of different Language
varieties and Attitudes to Language which were revealed throughout the characters behavior
which would be enhanced through a video presentation of the scene .

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