• This was part of a battery of language tests I developed for my PhD research on
Jamaican Creole and Jamaican English as spoken in the capital city, Kingston.
• These tests use local cultural categories and information (regional stereotypes, pastimes, residential areas, jobs, etc.)
• I administered it in Standard Jamaican
English, but spoke at most other times in vernacular Jamaican Creole.

• “I've made some recordings of people from different areas and backgrounds talking.
• “I'm going to ask you to listen to them one by one, and try and judge the people from the way they talk alone.
• “See if you can guess what kind of job they might hold, where they might come from, and so on. First, the job scale...”

• What’s the best job you think this person could hold? from how they talk.
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
• TV announcer best best best best best best
• Office manager
– -
• Accounting clerk
– -
• Factory foreman
– -
-
-
-
• Machine operator
• Small shopkeeper
– -
– -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
• None of the above worst worst worst worst worst worst

• Where you think this person was born & came up? Circle a, b, c, or d.
• In the country
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 a a a a a a
• Down in town
• Upper St.Andrew
• Foreigner/abroad b b b b b b c c c c c c d d d d d d

• How would this person spend their free time? Circle the best choice:
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
• DJ, sing w/set a a a a a a
• Tell Anansi story b b b b b b
• Uptown to plays c c c c c c
• Classical music/art d d d d d d

• If they moved to your neighbourhood, where would this person probably live?
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
• Mountain View a a a a a a
• Merrion/Langston b b b b b b
• Eden Gardens c c c c c c
• Owner or tenant? o/t o/t o/t o/t o/t o/t

• If you met this person, how well would they fit in with you and your friends?
• Definitely
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
Y Y Y Y Y Y
• Might fit y y y y y y
• Not sure
? ? ? ? ? ?
• Might not n n n n n n
• Not at all
N N N N N N

• For further information on this study, see
Patrick, Peter L. 1999. Urban Jamaican Creole:
Variation in the mesolect . (Amsterdam: John
Benjamins.)
• For the classic example of the test, see
Labov, William. 1966. Social stratification of
English in New York City . (Oxford: Blackwell)