Jamaica Talk: Three Hundred Years of the English Language in Jamaica

First published in 1961, Jamaica Talk is a thorough study of the English spoken in Jamaica and, although intended for the general educated reader rather than the linguistic specialist, has a foundation of sound scholarship, which makes it an authoritative classic. The late Frederic G. Cassidy was born and reared in Jamaica and collected most of the material for his book when he was attached to the University College of the West Indies (now the University of the West Indies) as a Fulbright research fellow. There are chapters on the composition of "Jamaica talk" and on pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. The book is an invaluable reference in all institutions that have language departments, and as a handbook for Jamaicans and for interested visitors to the island.