The University of the West Indies
Faculty of Humanities and Education

Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

RESEARCH 
NOTES

Issue  5    September  2018

ISSN 2519-5123

Showcasing 
Research News

from the 
Department of 

Modern Languages 
and Linguistics

at the
St Augustine 

Campus



Contents
1 Words from the Head
2 Six Years of Leadership
5 10th Anniversary of the CITB
6 Staff Publications
12 Cracks in the Edifice
13 36th West Indian Literature Conference
15 Bridging Wor(l)ds Conference
18 22nd Biennial Conference of the SCL
23 Recent PhD Graduates
24 Current MPhil Candidates
25 Current MA Candidates
26 Visiting Lecturers
28 International Creole Day 2017
29 Research Tips
30 Undergraduate Research
35 Foreign Language Theatre Festival
37 World Book and Copyright day 2018
38 Linguistics Open & Research Day 2018
39 Tribute to Randy Hezekiah

DMLL Vision
The Department of Modern Languages and 
Linguistics of The University of the West Indies, 
St Augustine is a nationally and regionally 
renowned department engaged in teaching 
and research in academic writing, linguistics, 
modern languages and their literatures. We 
seek to develop in students the ability to analyse 
and interrogate languages and literatures 
for a multiplicity of purposes while facilitating 
cognitive and affective student learning that 
may be applied nationally, regionally and 
internationally.
Research Notes is published by the Department 
of Modern Languages and Linguistics.

Editorial Office
Department of Modern Languages and 

Linguistics
The University of the West Indies

St Augustine Campus
Trinidad & Tobago

Phone: +1-868-662-2002
Ext. 83280 / 83027 / 84235

Fax: +1-868-663-5059
Email: mll.fhe@sta.uwi.edu

Website: http://sta.uwi.edu/fhe/dmll/index.asp
Advisory Committee

Dr Nicole Roberts - Editor
Dr Jo-Anne Ferreira

Dr Sandra Evans
Rómulo Guédez-Fernández

Kellon Sankar
Janique Dennis

Laura López Calonge
Garvin Parsons

Adonis Díaz Fernández
Photography: Karisse  Jackman

Cover page: A section of the first mural erected on 
the St Augustine main campus titled “Perseverance” 
(acrylic on plywood) by artist and UWI graduate, 
Jason Reid
Photo: The UWI-Marketing & Communications Office

ISSN 2519-5123

Words from the Head

As the academic year 
2017-2018 comes to 
an end, I am delighted 

that we have a lot of good 
news to report in this 5th edition 
of DMLL Research Notes in 
the Department of Modern 
Languages and Linguistics 
(DMLL), including many and 
varied staff publications, the completion of 
higher research degrees, the tenth anniversary 
of the Caribbean Interpreting and Translation 
Bureau (CITB), and so much more.

The UWI Strategic Plan 2017-2022 rests 
upon the three primary pillars of Access, 
Agility and Alignment; all seeking to afford 
stakeholders “greater and more affordable 
access, efficient and effective alignment with 
society and economy, and enhanced agility in 
pursuit of opportunities” (p. 3). To meet these 
needs, the DMLL’s transformation includes 
tightening some sections while expanding 
others and diversifying programming. We 
support the UWI’s thrust in advancing the 
institution’s quality. To this end, the coming 
academic year will see the following disciplines 
in the DMLL come under Quality Assurance 
reviews: the English Language Foundation 
Unit and French; the culmination of a 
lengthy process which will have included the 
compilation of Self Assessment reports over this 
past academic year.

Through DMLL Research Notes, our 
intention is to draw attention to our professors 
and other staff by highlighting not only their 
involvement in new programmes and courses, 
undergraduate and postgraduate supervision, 
but also the standout research being carried 
out in diverse areas and research clusters 
including: foreign language teaching and 
learning, Caribbean sign languages and 
deaf communities, Patois (French Creole) 
revitalisation in Trinidad and the Caribbean, 
language documentation, Hispanic and 
Francophone literatures and film; academic 
writing, and English language and literacy. 
In addition, our research on literature centres 
on Hispanic / Francophone Caribbean 
literary connections, trauma in Caribbean 
literature, cultural transgression, as well as 
autobiographical writing. In the DMLL, we offer 
excellent undergraduate and postgraduate 

supervision in a wealth 
of research areas which 
include topics on the 
theoretical and practical 
aspects of language 
learning and teaching, first 
and subsequent foreign 
language learning, the 
impact of study abroad 

on language learning, relations between 
language and culture from a teaching and 
learning perspective, issues on identity and 
culture, language documentation and 
digital development of heritage languages in 
Trinidad and Tobago. 

Overall, our research with impact sees 
our DMLL staff consistently making more 
inroads in the national community through 
the sharing of the value of foreign languages, 
and their literatures, French-lexicon Creole 
(Patois), Trinidad and Tobago Sign Language, 
and English Language and Linguistics. And 
while on the topic of impact, in the past 
year, the DMLL lost one of our dear former 
colleagues; Mr Randolph Hezekiah, who 
passed away on Wednesday 25 October 
2017. A former Lecturer in French Literature, 
Randy left an indelible impression on all of his 
students and on many members of staff. We 
were all tremendously saddened by his loss. 
May he continue to rest in peace.

Finally, on a personal note, and as I step 
down from the Headship of the DMLL in July 
2018 at the conclusion of my second three-
year term, I am certainly looking forward to 
returning to life as a full-time Senior Lecturer 
in Spanish. I’m grateful that I’ll have plenty of 
time to further reflect on the varied lessons 
of the past six years, and to readily offer 
my assistance to the incoming Head in 
transitioning toward making the DMLL a more 
inclusive community, making our presence 
even greater in the national community and 
adding to our already diverse programming. 
Stay tuned! 

Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

Dr Nicole Roberts
Senior Lecturer & Head of Department

1— Research Notes - Issue 5



Issue 5 - Research Notes —2

Six Years of Leadership:
Impacting the Department of 

Modern Languages and Linguistics through 
Afro-Hispanic Caribbean Consciousness

As one of the departments in the Faculty of 
Humanities and Education, the Department of 
Modern Languages and Linguistics (DMLL) at the 

St Augustine campus aims at impacting the communities 
within Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean by 
offering a range of courses in English, French, Linguistics, 
Portuguese, and Spanish in relation to structure, function, 
and formation and evolution. But the DMLL does more 
than just this; it is a department in which the scientific study 
of language happens in tandem with the acquisition of 
skills in listening, reading, writing, and speaking, alongside 
the study of literature and culture. In the Humanities at 
the UWI, therefore, the DMLL logically complements the 
Department of Literary, Cultural and Communication 
Studies (LCCS) in advancing training in how communication 
happens between individuals, among larger communities 
of individuals, and within literary texts, whether drama, 
fiction or poetry. To be Head of Department (HoD) is 
therefore a very important task as the individual vested 
with this responsibility is not only expected to oversee and 
manage the delivery and execution of DMLL curricula, but 
is also, perhaps more strategically, expected to demonstrate 
a certain level of expertise derived not quite from prior 
training in administration, but rather from her/his academic 
background and intellectual interests. In other words, being 
the HoD is another way of being ‘in charge’ of how students 

Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

develop their capacities for communication, another way 
of being ‘in charge’ of how fellow colleagues execute their 
duties in the delivery of their programmes, and, significantly, 
another way of being guided by her/his own growth and 
development as a senior academic, a senior ‘thinker’ whose 
training in a specific field in the Humanities enables her/
him to demonstrate a profound sensitivity to the very 
nuanced and complex phenomenon we call our humanity.

After six years as the first HoD of the DMLL, Dr Nicole 
Roberts reflected with me on her headship, on her 
academic research and writing, and on how the headship 
impacted her academic labour (and vice versa). In all of her 
reflections, and with a deep sense of satisfaction in having 
grown as an academic by the opportunity to be head 
administrator for the DMLL for two successive three-year 
cycles, there emerged a certain passion to get back more 
heavily into the domain of academic research and writing. 

For Roberts, the effective administration of the 
Department is of utmost importance for determining the 
best possible impact on students and the best chances at 
providing students with a more consistently positive 
faculty experience. But because this administrative 
responsibility requires (as it should) an incredible amount 
of commitment and dedication to looking after and out 



3— Research Notes - Issue 5

Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

for other colleagues, students and oneself as Head, the 
university responsibility of academic research and writing 
can be severely and negatively impacted if one does not 
quite get into a posture that makes the administrative 
labour somehow feed the research and writing in the 
academic domain. Because while the Head must ensure 
that, ultimately, ‘quality teaching’ happens, in determining 
how a lecturer acquires academic upward mobility, ‘quality 
teaching’ is never quite rewarded in the same way as is 
the case with a solid journal or book publication. Thus, 
according to Roberts, an ongoing challenge for any HoD 
is navigating and managing this reality: ‘quality teaching 
matters; but quality also oftentimes suffers’. Getting back 
to research and writing in a more determined way is, as 
Roberts points out, an exciting and renewed opportunity 
to return to her fields of research: Afro-Hispanic Caribbean 
thought expressed in poetry and other imaginative 
writings, with specific emphasis on the themes of gender; 
racial/racialised identities; sexual/sexualised identities; 
the intersections of sex, race, class and gender; cultural 
and social invisibility, and narratives of identity recovery.

When I asked why she had first got interested in these 
themes as a young and upcoming academic, she noted that it 
was her own raced experiences of being what is colloquially 
known as a ‘light-skinned Trinidadian’, of being a Trinidad-
born student studying in Canada, and of being a woman, 
that have sharpened her sensitivity to the idea of identity 
as being as vulnerable as it is ostensibly secure. Roberts 
was clear that although the people she was studying at 
the doctoral level were of a different sub-region (Hispanic 
Caribbean), at the time, she felt that she was herself living 
many of the racial, gender and class ambiguities about 
which her subjects of study wrote. She noted that that’s why 
women became important to her, although women were 
not the only writers under study in her PhD dissertation 
at the time. And importantly, although she particularly 
identified with the concerns of women writers from the 
region, such as Mayra Santos Febres (Puerto Rico) and Mirta 
Yáñez (Cuba), men writers such as Blas Jiménez (Dominican 
Republic) were similarly important since it was the collective 
reinforcement of black Hispanic Caribbean identities that 
offered her insight into and perhaps answers to some of 
the more challenging aspects of her own experiences within 
contexts of race, class, gender and migration. The works of 
these women and men writers from the Hispanic Caribbean 
under study, provided for her room, opportunity, and an 
ideological base from which to dig deeper into her own 
situation to determine and identify the peculiar resources 
for affirming her black identity, however racialised.

When asked about her monograph, Main Themes of 
20th Century Afro-Hispanic Poetry: A Literary Sociology 
(Wales: Edwin Mellen Press, 2009) and specifically about 
why she chose to frame the book as ‘Literary Sociology’, 
Roberts pointed to her desire to impact students of Hispanic 
literature differently. According to her, while the classical 
approach to the study of literature remains important and 
crucial in some instances (relative to the intention of the 

person studying), this approach often does not succeed in 
exciting students of literature to appreciate the imaginative 
work as an extension of society, and thus does not quite 
work to attract students to literature as an area of study. 
This she noted, is the current situation facing the Humanities 
locally and globally. She admitted that she herself had been 
schooled traditionally; her first two degrees were in French 
and Spanish. She reflected that at that time in Canada, 
literary studies and specifically the study of poetry meant 
training in the finer and more nuanced study of how the 
language of poetry works, of how silences on the page serve 
to carry the poem along, on the mechanics of language, and 
so forth, but she pointed out that framing the book as a 
literary sociology with its ‘textual base’ as the poem was a 
good opportunity to invite students of both social sciences 
and the humanities to be differently engaged by the poem.

Roberts believes that setting up Hispanic Caribbean 
literature, and poetry in particular, as a ‘sociology’ of 
black liberation struggles, offers contemporary students of 
the humanities and social sciences another opportunity to 
interpret their experiences within the ideological framework 
of a ‘radical consciousness’, in which struggles for identity 
are not reduced to or stigmatised as merely ‘revolutionary’. 
In this sense, her framing of poetry as sociology is another 
decisive effort to link Africa, to the Afro-Hispanic Caribbean 
experience, as well as to the Afro-American experience for 
students in Trinidad and Tobago, and therefore for them 
to be able to see their own Afro-Caribbean experiences 
within a larger tradition of ‘recovering Afro-diasporic 
identities’. She suggests that the current climate of bullying 
on the international political arena in the era of ‘Trumpism’ 
as well as Hurricane Maria and its impact on Puerto Rico 
in 2017 are perfect examples of why the use of poetry 
of the Hispanic Caribbean, within a context of sociology, 
is so crucial: it is the poetic voice that perhaps best 
communicates this ‘radical consciousness’ of people’s living.

When asked about how she selected the main themes 
that form the pedagogical structure of the monograph, she 
articulated a certain interest in the still somewhat coded 
ways in which people of African descent in Trinidad and 
Tobago talk about race. It is this strategic and coded talking, 
which she neatly calls ‘an ethics of racialisation’, that is, the 
cultural and historical structures that ‘determine’ how we 
engage race and class in our everyday living yet within a 
(literary) history in which there has been such a rich tradition 
of talking about race openly in the post-independence and 
post-emancipation contexts, and in which there has been 
a determined move towards affirming black diasporic 
identities. Her pursuit and organisation of the ‘main themes’, 
therefore, was her way of shaping the monograph into its 
own project of affirming black diasporic identities as well 
as presenting it as a reading companion for students and 
readers of Caribbean literature on processes of affirming 
Afro-Hispanic identities, though not without underlining 
deep challenges to these processes. It is for these reasons 
that recurring themes in her monograph emerge as: Africa, 
history, recovering Africa, and the historical context of the 



Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

Issue 5 - Research Notes —4

Caribbean. And it is for these reasons also that ‘10 years on’ 
since the publication of the monograph, she believes it is still 
of particular importance in the field of Caribbean literature.

 
In terms of future work, Roberts sees herself as continuing 

her line of academic interest in Hispanic Caribbean poetry 
and narrative although she has been engaging more and 
more in cross-linguistic literary criticism around similar 
themes. In this sense, the works of Anglo-Caribbean 
writers such as Shani Mootoo, Jennifer Rahim or Shara 
McCallum are useful for comparative engagements with 
the larger Afro-Hispanic tradition. In this effort, much of 
Roberts’ recent analytical publications have seen her paying 
more attention to the notions and spaces understood to 
be border-lines and cross-lines that mark the Caribbean 
experience. She indicated that she is also currently working 
on a Foreign Language (FL) project with two colleagues 
from the Centre for Language Learning, UWI, St Augustine. 
The project, which centres on FL acquisition seeks to bring 
together articles on FL teaching and learning relevant to 
the Caribbean in an attempt at spotlighting the current 
state of research in FL education across the Caribbean. In 

a sense, Roberts says that this project in no way detracts 
from her objectives in the literary/cultural domains, that is 
to say, her overall interest in an in-depth examination of 
the varied and complex factors which affect relationships 
between culture, language and society across the Caribbean. 

Roberts’ advice to more junior colleagues in the 
DMLL is to not allow themselves to be bogged down 
by the responsibility of administrative duties. Because it 
is important, and because research and writing are also 
important, one should find a way to work with and 
within these two domains of university responsibility, and 
certainly not pitch one against the other. It is precisely 
the kind of cross-geographic and cross-linguistic method 
of talking about and better understanding the Caribbean 
that Roberts has been involved in for over two decades 
that informed how she executed her role as HOD of 
the DMLL and at the same time continued researching 
and writing in her fields of interest, thereby continuing 
to advance the intellectual profile of the Department. 

Dr Charleston Thomas
Lecturer in Cultural Studies

Recent Publications

Roberts, Nicole. Main Themes in Twentieth Century Afro-Hispanic Caribbean Poetry. Lampeter, Wales: Edwin 
Mellen Press, 2009.

Roberts, Nicole and Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw, eds. Border Crossings: A Trilingual Anthology of Caribbean 
Women Writers. Kingston: UWI Press, 2011.

Lalla, Barbara, Nicole Roberts, Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw and Valerie Youssef, eds. Methods in Caribbean 
Research: Literature, Discourse, Culture. Kingston: UWI Press, 2013.

Roberts, Nicole, Armando García de la Torre and Mauricio Núñez Rodríguez, eds. Trinidad y Tobago / Cuba: 
Historia, Lengua y Literatura. Valencia: Aduana Vieja, 2018.



As the UWI celebrates its 70th anniversary of 
service excellence to the Caribbean region, the 
Caribbean Interpreting and Translation Bureau 

(CITB) is proud to be enjoying its 10th year on the St 
Augustine campus offering translation and interpreting 
services. Operating out of the Department of Modern 
Languages and Linguistics, the main translation office is 
located in Room 327 on the third floor of the Humanities 
building. Walk-in translation requests are accepted as 
well as e-mail enquiries and requests (citb@sta.uwi.edu). 
Normally, translations can be collected in a two to three 
business days with options available for rush jobs.
The Bureau offers official translations into a number of 
foreign languages; including Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), 
Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian 
and Spanish, and handles translations of all types and 
in numerous subject areas. Documents may be short 
and simple –for example, birth certificates, academic 
certificates, letters, police character reports, or they may 
be lengthier papers or documents. Recently, Spanish 
subtitling was provided for the film Green Days by the 
River. All of our translations are certified and the CITB is 
one of only two national institutions officially recognised 
by the government of Trinidad and Tobago as providers 
of this service. The Bureau also provides proofreading of 
translations.
Interpreting is a key component in the host of services 
offered by the CITB. Currently, most requests for 
interpreting are handled locally, but if there are no 

10th Anniversary of the 
Caribbean Interpreting and Translation Bureau 

(CITB)
local interpreters to work in a specific language pair, 
professionals are sourced from a larger network 
outside of Trinidad and Tobago. The CITB has provided 
interpreting services to a wide variety of clients such 
as government ministries, regional and international 
bodies such as CARICOM and the United Nations, as 
well as private sector organisations. Events range from 
one day to weeks in duration and cover any number 
of subject areas. Private individuals can also access 
our interpreting services to conduct personal business 
such as marriages and court appearances. In 2005, the 
UWI acquired professional interpreting booths and a 
state-of-the-art analog interpreting system, which was 
later supplemented by additional booths and a new 
digital interpreting system. This means that more than 
one conference can be handled at the same time, or 
in the case of very large events, there can be up to 24 
interpreters working in three separate rooms at the same 
time in multiple languages.
The CITB is closely associated with the Postgraduate 
Diploma in Interpreting which is offered every other year 
at the St Augustine campus. Since the first intake of 2006, 
graduates have played a key role in the interpreting 
services offered by the CITB. Currently, there are 11 
UWI-trained interpreters and 6 translators working with 
the CITB which continues to fulfil one of its mandates, 
namely, as an incubator for language students seeking to 
make a career in the field of foreign languages.

5— Research Notes - Issue 5

Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

Clockwise: Welcome Remarks by the HoD, Dr Nicole Roberts on the occasion of the 10th anniversary celebrations 
of the CITB on 18 January 2018 at the CLL (left). International multilingual conference with simultaneous 
interpreting booths (above). View from within an interpreting booth (below)



Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

Trinidad y Tobago / Cuba: Historia, Lengua y Literatura
Nicole Roberts, Armando García de la Torre and Mauricio Núñez Rodríguez. (eds.). (2018)

This edited volume highlights recent scholarly work from two of the region’s island republics; Cuba and Trinidad and 
Tobago, each at the opposite ends of the Caribbean archipelago. Twelve essays, six in Spanish and six in English, 
provide a vital introduction to historical. Linguistic and literary concerns shared by Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago, as 
well as examine the ways in which Cuba appears in the contemporary Anglophone Caribbean imaginary. In addition, 
four of the chapters present ideas and weigh in on the ideology of José Martí; perhaps one of the Caribbean’s most 
revolutionary philosophers and referred to as the “Apostle of Cuban Independence”. Overall, the chapters in this 
volume delve into recurring challenges of the contemporary Caribbean and reflect on matters which make for today’s 
Caribbeanness.

Staff Publications: Peer-reviewed Books

Issue 5 - Research Notes —6

Do you need help with Grammar, Academic Writing, 
Vocabulary or Documentation?

Visit the Writing Centre

The Writing Centre - A Place To Write!
Just need a quiet space to write?

Try our state-of-the-art computer lab!
Bring your headphones! 

Access our helpful links to online resources, games, quizzes and articles on:
Research, documentation, grammar and more.

No appointment necessary!

Students: Log on to myeLearning to access 'Useful links: The Writing Centre'
Staff: Send an email to thewritingcentre@sta.uwi.edu

For more information, call 662-2002 ext. 82522
Visit us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/twcuwi

Dr Armando García de la Torre, Dr Nicole Roberts and Dr Mauricio 
Núñez Rodríguez (l - r)



Peer-reviewed Books

7— Research Notes - Issue 5

Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

International Cultures of Educational Inclusion
Béatrice Boufoy-Bastick

International Cultures of Inclusion Education sheds a fresh look at the 
meaning and implementations of inclusive education across disciplines 
and in a broad variety of educational contexts worldwide. This book uses 19 case 
studies to introduce the culturometric Worldview Inclusion Theory (WIT) which 
explicates the fundamental identity premises of inclusion. WIT encompasses two 
dominant diametrically opposed worldviews of inclusion the Capitalist Worldview 
(CW)of social wealth and Maslow’s Humanistic Worldview (HW)); each worldview 
reveals a cultural identity shaping inclusion policies. WIT compellingly provides a 
powerful operative culturometric model for understanding the central motivation 
for inclusion: recognising the purpose of all behaviour to affirm one’s identity, 
hence the mobilisation of inclusion resources is contingent on aligning the cultural 
identities of stakeholders. This work is a significant and timely contribution to 
understanding and promoting inclusive education.
Boufoy-Bastick, B. & Cook, L.D. (eds.) (2018). International Cultures of 
Educational Inclusion. Strasbourg, France: Analytrics..

Annotated Research in the Caribbean: For the Quantitative Researcher. 
Annotated Research in the Caribbean: For the Qualitative. Researcher. Annotated 
Research in the Caribbean: For the Mixed Methods Researcher
Béatrice Boufoy-Bastick
This series of three books presents an innovative fundamental approach to teaching and learning and to enhancing 
research relevant not only to the examples from the Caribbean and its Diaspora detailed in the books, but relevant to 
all productive researchers. In Annotated Research, authors explain the motivations and methods behind their already 
published research in a range of different specializations. The series provides an extended repertoire of research 
methods as a timely conceptual tool for promoting rigorous development of research theory and practice, initially 
intended for releasing the rich diverse research potential of Caribbean researchers. In this book, authors of peer-
reviewed publications on Caribbean Research explain their research methods. Through annotations of their research 
they give practical and theoretical insights on the advantages and disadvantages of the methods they have used.
The series provides a platform for teaching, discussing and doing research, intended as a foundation for future 
developments in research methods.
Cook, L.D. & Boufoy-Bastick, B. (eds) (2018) 



Staff Publications: Books (second edition) Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

Issue 5 - Research Notes —8

El Tren gris. (The grey train)
Oscar Bazán, Amazon Publishing, second edition 
(2018)

On a station platform, an old man is waiting for the arrival of the 
grey train. Through his voice, we learn the story of his search, that, since his 
youth, has been guiding him towards an empty present. His obsession: an 
anonymous note asking for his help that he found when he studied at university. 
To find its author is going to become his lifelong project. Following the arbitrary 
clues he finds in his quest, he arrives at “the paralyzed city”, where he meets Lía, 
the woman who will discover for him the sweetness of a touch, and will save 
him, momentarily, from a most atrocious loneliness. Like in his hometown, he 
will find the necessary signs to follow the author of the note in the tracks of his 
pain. His investigation carries him through several characters and landscapes; 
meanwhile a fantasy mist, that chases him to the new city, becomes a partner 
in the snow preventing him from seeing the stars each night, the sun, spring, 
change. The Grey Train disguises itself as a mystery, drama, romance, travelling 
novel, but its heart has more to do with the vital experience of someone walking 
through the fog, facing the disappointment of seeking the impossible.
Originally published by Jirones de azul, Sevilla, 2008.

The Portuguese of Trinidad and Tobago: Portrait 
of an Ethnic Minority
Jo-Anne S. Ferreira, UWI Press, Revised edition 
(2018)

Traditionally a navigating and migratory people, Portuguese settlers came to the 
Caribbean as early as the seventeenth century. The ancestors of the modern 
Portuguese community in Trinidad and Tobago hailed from the archipelago 
of Madeira, fleeing their homeland in search of an economic and religious 
haven from the 1830s onwards. They came neither to explore nor to conquer, 
had no history of land and slave ownership in the Caribbean, and they came 
without prestigious family names or old money. Yet within a few generations, 
struggles were overcome to push the community to the forefront of national life, 
in the areas of business, politics, religion and culture. Bound by language and 
traditions, the Portuguese were able to work together for their common good, 
the result of which was a proliferation of Portuguese businesses of various sizes 
and descriptions all over the country. Though few in number, the Portuguese 
contribution to their adopted homeland is of a significance beyond the small size 
of the community. Every migrating group has a tale to tell. For years, the tale of 
the Madeirans in Trinidad and Tobago and Luso-Trinidadians and Tobagonians 
has gone untold. Here is an attempt to tell their story in the context of culture and 
entrepreneurship.
Originally published by the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER, now 
SALISES), in the series Culture and Entrepreneurship in the Caribbean, edited by 
Selwyn Ryan and Taimoon Stewart, 1994.



9— Research Notes - Issue 5

Staff Publications: Book ChaptersDepartment of Modern Languages and Linguistics

Fractured Subjectivities: Interrogating belonging and Displacement in the 
Caribbean Represented in Selected Short Stories by André Alexis, Junot 
Díaz, Mayra Santos Febres, Jennifer Rahim and Mirta Yáñez

Nicole Roberts

The Caribbean societies in flux, migrations, identity, childhood and the chaos of life on the island are some of the myriad 
themes explored in the works of the Jennifer Rahim (Trinidad & Tobago), Mayra Santos Febres (Puerto Rico), Andre Alexis 
(Trinidad & Tobago/Canada) and Junot Díaz (Dominican Republic/USA). Indeed, the diversity of Caribbean life, at times 
so clichéd, is brought sharply into focus in this paper. Like race and gender, the problem of migration contributes to the 
problematised concept of Caribbean identity. Thus, this paper discusses the challenges that are faced by the writer who 
attempts to define the complexity of the Caribbean identity landscape. The paper takes literary text as a form of popular 
culture and makes a comparative analysis of the short stories of Alexis, Rahim, Yáñez and Santos Febres and the extended 
narrative of Díaz by first examining the distinctive subjectivities that populate the texts. Through close readings of the 
stories and a focused analysis of the texts, we gain an understanding of the personal perspectives of these contemporary 
Caribbean and Caribbean identified writers who grapple with the notion of Caribbean identity. The paper concludes by 
unmasking and interrogating some of the conflicts and connections that underscore Caribbean culture
In Nicole Roberts, Armando García de la Torre, and Núñez Rodríguez (eds), Trinidad y Tobago / Cuba: Historia, Lengua 
y Literatura. Valencia: Aduana Vieja, 2018, pp. 214-233.

Interpreter Training in the English-Speaking Caribbean

Eric Maitrejean

This paper gives an historic overview of the situation of conference interpreting in the English-speaking 
Caribbean and then presents the rationale that led to the establishment of a viable postgraduate training programme 
at the St Augustine campus of The University of the West Indies, from an initial single offering in 1994 to a respected PG 
Diploma since 2007. The paper addresses the establishment of an interpreting agency within The University of the West 
Indies, which serves as an incubator for the young graduates of the diploma to hone their skills.
It also discusses other existing programmes in the region and makes a proposal for the creation of a pan-Caribbean training 
programme involving territories representative of the major working languages in the Caribbean. It then mentions the 
future of the interpreting profession with the implications for the training of the next generation of interpreters.
In Nicole Roberts, Armando García de la Torre, and Núñez Rodríguez (eds), Trinidad y Tobago / Cuba: Historia, Lengua 
y Literatura. Valencia: Aduana Vieja, 2018, pp. 140-154.

El Orishaismo en la tradición poética cubana

Adonis Díaz Fernández

La Disyuntiva de Sinecio Verdecia Diaz es un libro que se puede considerar como un ejemplo de 
Orishaismo[1] pues en él se reúnen aspectos que dan testimonio del carácter mágico y seductor que se le puede atribuir 
a ciertas imágenes representativas de los “estratos no muy altos de la sociedad”, así como del patrimonio ancestral y 
religioso legado de nuestros antepasados africanos. El objetivo de este ensayo es explorar y examinar aspectos tales 
como la presencia del lenguaje metafórico vinculado a la ficción, el uso de proverbios africanos, la relación entre los 
elementos litúrgicos y esotéricos de la religión afrocubana y la conducta del individuo, así como el reconocimiento de 
la identidad espacial y el carácter de Cimarronaje para ubicar este tipo de obra literaria dentro del género Orishaismo
In Nicole Roberts, Armando García de la Torre, and Mauricio Núñez Rodríguez (eds), Trinidad y Tobago / Cuba: Historia, 
Lengua y Literatura. Valencia: Aduana Vieja, 2018, pp. 234-249.



Department of Modern Languages and LinguisticsStaff Publications: Book Chapters 

Issue 5 - Research Notes —10

The Penis: Problem, Power or Partner? Intersections of Male Indo-
Caribbean Sexualities and Phallocentrism in Shani Mootoo’s Cereus 
Blooms at Night.

Tyrone Ali

Although love, intimacy and sexuality are potent indices of Indo-Caribbean masculine identity in Shani Mootoo’s Cereus 
Blooms at Night (1996), they are configured differently from their engagement in traditional West Indian canonical 
literary works that also depict constructions of Indo-Caribbean masculinities such as Samuel Selvon’s  A Brighter Sun 
(1952) and V.S. Naipaul’s A House for Mr Biswas (1961). Cereus reflects contentions and collisions encountered in the 
fabrication of ethnic, class and gender identities as it is set in the period of Indentureship but written from a contemporary 
ideological frame, highlighting the then social taboos of homosexuality, lesbianism, and transgender sexuality, as well as 
the heinous crimes of rape and incest among Indian families in the Caribbean, represented through a slate of characters. 
Significant cultural variation occurs in sexual desire, orientation and practices leading to a social reality underpinned by 
gender diversity. This paper addresses the resultant milieu of sexualities, both in orientation and in practice, among Indo-
Caribbean males in Mootoo’s work and interrogates the possession of the biological penis as creating problems for some 
generating power for a few, and forging partnerships for others, forging a tripartite interplay of phallocentrism among 
Indo-Caribbean males.
In Nicholas Faraclas, Ronald Severing, Christa Weijer, Elisabeth Echteld, Wim Rutgers and Robert Dupey, (eds.), Memories 
of Caribbean Futures: Reclaiming the pre-colonial to imagine a post-colonial in the languages, literatures and cultures of 
the Greater Caribbean and beyond. Willemstad: University of Curaçao, 2017, pp. 291-302.

Vínculos entre comunidades Sordas caribeñas y oportunidades para 
colaboración

Ben Braithwaite

En el Caribe, el discurso que rodea la sordera sigue siendo dominado por las nociones de pérdida y deterioro. Típicamente, 
las personas sordas son tratados como menos que ciudadanos de plenos derechos: su movimiento alrededor de la 
región es restringido por las políticas de inmigración de varios países, entre ellos los de Trinidad y Tobago y Belice; su 
acceso a la información esencial se ve comprometida por la falta de comprensión de sus estructuras lingüísticas; y los 
sistemas educativos establecidos por personas oyentes siguen fallando a los niños y adultos sordos. Bauman & Murray 
(2014) describen el término “Deaf Gain” [Las ganancias de los sordos] como “el reformular la sordera no como una falta, 
sino una forma de diversidad humana capaz de hacer contribuciones vitales para el mayor bien de la sociedad.” En este 
capítulo se analizan algunas de las historias ricas y complejas de las comunidades sordas de toda la región del Caribe, 
las redes únicas que las unen a ellas, y las formas notables en que han contribuido a la diversidad lingüística, cultural y 
cognitiva de la región. Describe brevemente el cuadro de las ganancias de los sordos en el Caribe y argumenta que este 
cambio nos puede ayudar a mejor comprender los logros subestimados e informar mejores políticas y prácticas para el 
futuro. El capítulo termina al sugerir algunas formas nuevas en que las comunidades sordas y los que trabajan con ellos 
podían construir nuevas y valiosas conexiones para alcanzar metas comunes. Desde finales del siglo 21, han comenzado 
nuevos programas de formación de intérpretes de lengua de signos en la Universidad de las Indias Occidentales y la 
Universidad de La Habana. Se han producido nuevos diccionarios de lengua de signos en la República Dominicana y 
Trinidad y Tobago. Han comenzado nuevos proyectos de investigación en Haití, Surinam y Colombia. Los lazos comunes 
que caracterizan las ganancias de los sordos pueden impulsar una mayor cooperación y el apoyo mutuo en toda la 
región así como y dar lugar a mayores éxitos en el futuro.
In Nicole Roberts, Armando García de la Torre, and Mauricio Núñez Rodríguez (eds), Trinidad y Tobago / Cuba: Historia, 
Lengua y Literatura. Valencia: Aduana Vieja, 2018, pp. 176-196.



11— Research Notes - Issue 5

Staff Publications: Journal articlesDepartment of Modern Languages and Linguistics

The Influence of Portuguese on Amazonian French Creole Lexicon: 
Some Preliminary Observations
Jo-Anne S. Ferreira
This paper focuses on Kheuól, an Amazonian French Creole with two main varieties, namely, Karipúna and 
Galibi-Marwono, in contact with Portuguese. The paper examines the nature and degree of the contact 
between French Creole and Portuguese on the Oiapoque River border. Thomason and Kaufman’s five-degree borrowing 
scale (1988; cf. Haspelmath and Tadmor 2009) will be briefly considered, with specific reference to this generally understudied 
language. The paper will then focus on the resulting Portuguese influence on the language at present.
The five data sources include three bilingual French Creole-Portuguese dictionaries. Two of these are published (Tobler 1987, 
focusing mainly on the Espírito Santo variety of Karipúna from 1975 to 1977, and Picanço Montejo 1988, focusing on both 
varieties from 1980, in a number of villages, in collaboration with other linguists, including some with Tobler). A third is 
unpublished (Corrêa and Corrêa 1998, living in Oiapoque since 1986, who focused mainly on the Kumarumã variety of 
Galibi-Marwono). Other data sources are two multilingual word lists (Green and Green 1996 and n.d. who worked among 
the Palikúr), none compiled by native speakers, but with native speaker input.
Research funded by The University of the West Indies Research and Publications Grant CRP.3CY – Grant for a Comparative 
Study of French Creoles in the Southern Caribbean and Northern South America, granted to Dr J. Ferreira, Prof Mervyn 
Alleyne, and Ms Nathalie Charlery.
Jo-Anne S. Ferreira. The Influence of Portuguese on Amazonian French Creole Lexicon: Some Preliminary Observations. 
Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages  32.2 (Short Note 131, November 2017), pp. 423-432.

Changing Caribbean Worlds: One Romance at a Time
Karen Sanderson-Cole
The Caribbean has long been the site of “European eroticized romantic fantasies” (Edmondson 4). But what 
do notions of romance with its twin children – beauty and respectability- have to do with the struggle to 
articulate a national identity and more specifically a voice for the black woman in a post-colonial society? 
One aspect of the Caribbean’s response is evident in the short-lived Heineman Caribbean Caresses series which patterns 
itself on the Mills and Boon/Harlequin line. Through the stylized conventions of the genre, writers attempt to address 
issues such as code choice, setting, point of view and ideological shifts in discourse. Changes in the characterization of 
the male and female protagonists are also indicative of changing values in the society. An exploration of these issues as 
present in these texts, provides important clues as to the potential of popular romance as a tool for not only investigating 
a society’s standards but also as a tool for conveying transformational change.
Karen Sanderson-Cole. Changing Caribbean Worlds: One Romance at a Time Tout Moun - Caribbean Journal of Cultural 
Studies. Vol. 4, 1 (2018).

Framing Our Professional Identity: Experiences of Emerging Caribbean 
Academics
Talia Esnard, Christine Descartes, Sandra Evans and Terrencia Joseph
Universities across the globe are exploring the implementation of best practices that can improve the 
professional and academic life of its members. Identifying this as an unexplored issue in the Caribbean, 
we, the members of the recently formed group, St. Lucian Women Academic Research Network (SWARN), have 
begun to explore the role of Caribbean universities and informal networks in the formation of professional identity 
and development among emerging academic faculty. Using situated learning theory and written self-reflections on 
our ongoing academic experiences, we found that where the individualist nature of our academic communities does 
not create positive collaborative spaces for learning and identity formation, our informal network provides a critical 
alternative structure wherein we have begun to locate and reframe our professional identity.
Talia Esnard, Christine Descartes, Sandra Evans, and Terrencia Joseph. Framing Our Professional Identity: Experiences of 
Emerging Caribbean Academics. Social and Economic Studies 66: 3&4 (2017): 124-150. 



Issue 5 - Research Notes —12

Conferences

Cracks in the Edifice:
Notes of a Native Daughter

Drawing primarily on the work of the poet 
Aimé Césaire, this lecture focuses on the 
difficulty of attempting to construct the idea 

of a Caribbean region that has been traumatised 
by a past that continues to haunt its present. As 
someone of Caribbean origin, as well as someone 
who writes both creatively and academically about 
the Caribbean, I have often felt the resonance of 
Frantz Fanon’s words: “These are the cracks in the 
edifice.” Fanon captured in this phrase the indelible 
psychological scar left by the Caribbean region’s 
history.  Authors and artists across the region 
continue to explore the manifestations of these cracks 
across languages, generations, genres and genders. 
As such, fragmentation, rather than unification, is 
my thematic motivator, scrutinising the submarine 
dis-unity rather than attempting to reconstruct a 
romanticised whole. The lecture also examines 
the notion of a return to a homeland captured in 
Aimé Césaire’s poem Cahier d’un retour au pays 
natal (Notebook of a Return to My Native Land). 
The Cahier emphasises the cyclical nature of our 
condition, repeating questions in repeating islands. So 
I ask: How do we move forward with a vision that is 
wide enough to include us all and to get us home?

Professorial Lecture
Professor Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw

Professor Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw delivers the lecture to a packed School of Education auditorium on 19 April 
2018. Below: Professor Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw with some members of her family: nieces Emma Walcott-Hardy 
and Bianca Walcott-Hardy (front), husband David Hackshaw and son Dylan Hackshaw

Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw is a Professor of French Literature 
and Creative Writing at The University of the West Indies, St 
Augustine. She has published scholarly articles and essays on 
Francophone Caribbean Literature and had co-edited several 
works including Border Crossings: A Trilingual  Anthology of 
Caribbean Women Writers; Methods in Caribbean Research: 
Literature, Discourse, Culture; Echoes of the Haitian Revolution 
(1804-2004); and Reinterpreting the Haitian Revolution and its 
Cultural Aftershocks. She has also published creative works. Four 
Taxis Facing North was her first collection of short stories and was 
translated into Italian. Mrs B, a novel, was short listed for “Best 
Book of Fiction” in the Guyana Prize for Literature in 2014. Her 
short stories have been widely translated and anthologised. She 
has recently completed another collection of short stories.



13— Research Notes - Issue 5

Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics Conferences

36th Annual
West Indian Literature Conference

"Affect and Ethical Engagement"

One Caribbean conference which participants always look forward to is the annual West Indian 
Literature Conference. From 4 to 7 October 2017, the 36th edition of the conference was held at 
the St. Augustine campus of The University of the West Indies. Under the theme “Affect and Ethical 

Engagement,” the conference sought to “imagine the tasks of nation-building, interrogate traumatic histories, 
and navigate the myriad rhetorics of identity, politics, and space.” The Call for Papers further explained that 
“In response to literature’s sustained engagement with historical disease and contemporary suffering in 
broader social contexts, many questions emerge; thereby making the focus on affect a most suitable one as it 
offered a wide lens from which to consider related embodiments such as race, gender and class.”

Two DMLL members of staff presented papers which lent critical focus to three key areas of concern in the 
Caribbean; Ethnicity, Language and Sexuality. Janique Dennis’ presentation was titled: “The Affect of the 
Eshu Pataki in the Kaleidoscopic View of the African Diasporic Community in the West Indies” in the panel 
on Affect and Identity Construction, and Tyrone Ali presented on the topic: “When Fiction Becomes Real 
Life: Examining Language and Affect among the Transgender” in the panel on Queer Affects. Overall, these 
papers underscored the need for critical analysis with sensitivity to the articulation of affective assemblages of 
identity. 

In addition, the conference has become well known for its “lunchtime literary readings” and this year, 
some of the DMLL’s literary talent was on display as Jannine Horsford (poetry) and Rhoda Bharath (short 
fiction) were invited readers. Significantly, this year’s conference also screened a film in honour of Dr Giselle 
Rampaul in collaboration with the British Council. The film: Shakespeare in the Caribbean, The Caribbean in 
Shakespeare was a collaboration on which Dr Rampaul was working at the time of her untimely passing. 
Conference co-chairs of the local organising committee: Professor Paula Morgan and Dr Geraldine Skeete 
(both of the Department of Literary, Cultural and Communication Studies, St Augustine) described the 
conference as a success to which participants have become accustomed. The next edition of the conference 
takes place in Miami, Florida in October 2018.

Painting: Courtesy of Dr Jean Antoine-Dunne



Issue 5 - Research Notes —14

Department of Modern Languages and LinguisticsConferences

The multiplicity of negative linguistic and paralinguistic 
constructions used in the everyday discourse of 
describing, expressing and experiencing non-
heteronormative sexualities generate an emotive 
language use that has come to characterise language 
and affect of members of the LGBTQI community in 
very real and disruptive ways. The transgender sex and 
gender identities have not escaped such a diatribe. 
In actuality, such individuals may very well be seen as 
the recipients of an even more acute application of 
pejorative language use that has resonated deeply 
with them and so carries them beyond the ambit of 
person versus person conflict to (d)evolve into the more 
alarming person versus self struggles. 
This is case with the female-to-male transgender 
Trinidad-born but Toronto-raised protagonist of Shani 
Mootoo’s 2015 fiction, Moving Forward Sideways Like 
a Crab. The vagaries of sex, gender, race, ethnicity, 
geography and social class become a rich milieu 
to interrogate the impact of language and affect in 
Mootoo’s literary craft. 
Since art mimics life and literature itself is mimetic, it 
would prove extremely interesting to ascertain whether 
Mootoo’s work resonates with a real life transgender. 
Like Mootoo’s protagonist, Elise is Trinidad-born and 
Indian but is transgendering from male-to-female. Does 
such an individual find a kindred spirit in Mootoo’s 
character? Or does she generate a separate and distinct 
gender identity that is the product of language and 
affect in the social constructivist reality that is her own?
This paper seeks to interrogate how language and affect 
have shaped the gender identities and social realities 
of two transgenders – one fictional and one real. The 
focus will also determine parallels and divergences in 
experiences fraught with the tensions, contentions and 
collisions that are a salient part of the transgender’s 
everyday life. 

When Fiction Becomes Real 
Life: Examining Language and 
Affect among the Transgender

Tyrone Ali

The Affect of the Eshu Pataki in 
the Kaleidoscopic View of the 
African Diasporic Community 
in the West Indies

Janique Dennis

The complexity of African Diasporic identities in the West 
Indian context reflects the affect of the individual vision 
which impacts collective unconsciousness and ancestral 
memory. The different versions of one pataki (sing./pl. 
para-religious literature of the Orisha) collectively coined 
“Eshu the Orisha of Discord” serve as a metaphor for this 
reality of affect in the post emancipation space of the 
Caribbean. This paper explores the application of history, 
religion, culture, language, and nationalism in the 
texts through the prismatic approach to a comparative 
analysis of versions of these ancient oraliteratures as 
they manifest in Nigeria, Cuba, Brazil, and America. 
To achieve the aforementioned, this work proposes a 
study of Fernando Ortiz’s transculturation theory, using 
this methodology adapted from Viala and Wissing – 
with physical, literary and philosophical faces - which 
navigate the rhetoric of multiple, simultaneous, oft-times 
oppositional identities that children of the diaspora 
exhibit. The different readings of these pataki reveal 
how depth can be added for audiences. This prismatic 
approach facilitates the study of significance in variance 
and ultimately the truth of meaning and identity of 
what is a perpetually expanding community of readers 
and their connectivity through literature to each other 
and to the supernatural and the impact of the griot on 
said truth.  This document speaks to the subtopic of 
‘Distance, proximity, affect and transcultural relations’ as 
outlined in the Call for Papers.



15— Research Notes - Issue 5

Bridging Wor(l)ds:
A Postgraduate Conference

Following on the success of 2017’s inaugural conference, this one-day event celebrated on 26 April 
2018 showcased presentations from students of the departments of Modern Languages and Linguistics 
(DMLL) and Literary, Cultural and Communication Studies (DLCCS).  All eleven presenters benefitted 

from valuable feedback from academic staff members who were present as panel chairs and who also 
attended the conference to support the students.  The first panel entitled “Narratives of Return,” featured the 
research of Hannah Lutchmansingh (PhD Literatures in English), Shimiere Douglas (MA Cultural Studies) and 
Vindhar Suraj (MFA Creative Writing).  This was followed by “Linguistics in Education,” with presentations 
by Samantha Jackson and Rómulo Guédez Fernández, both of whom are PhD Linguistics candidates.  PhD 
Literatures in English students Alfrena Jamie Pierre, Shareed Mohammed and Janique Dennis then provided 
varied perspectives on “Caribbean Religion and Spirituality.”  Concluding the day’s engaging discussions with 
a sensorially rousing panel entitled “Audio and Visual Representations of Caribbean Cultures,” were Sean 
Samad (PhD Cultural Studies), Lynnessa Parks (MPhil Cultural Studies) and Amanda Zilla (MPhil Literatures in 
English).      
The organisers acknowledge Dean Heather Cateau, the academic staff of both departments, the technical 
and administrative staff of both departments, the staff at the Centre for Language Learning (CLL) and the 
students of both departments.

The Organising Committee: Dr Maarit Forde, Head of the Department of Literary, Cultural and Communication Studies; 
Dr Nicole Roberts, Head of the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics; Carla Bascombe (DMLL); Victoria 
Chang (DLCCS) and Professor Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw (DMLL)

Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics Conferences



Wee Talk Trini: Variation in 
Trinidadian Preschoolers’ 
Speech

Samantha Jackson
PhD Linguistics candidate

Conferences

Dr Heather Cateau, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and 
Education (right) with Dr Nicole Roberts, Head of DMLL, (left)
and Professor Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw (centre)

On the island of Trinidad, there 
is a high degree of code-mixing 
between Trinidad and Tobago English (TTE), the 
language of education, and Trinidadian English Creole 
(TrinEC), one of the languages of national identity. 
In order for educators and curriculum planners in 
early primary school and early childhood care and 
education (ECCE) to assist children in acquiring the 
language of instruction, knowledge of children’s 
speech patterns would be useful. This paper, therefore, 
describes children’s variation in speech sound and verb 
production. Data were collected from 147 Trinidadian 
children aged 3-5 from all 7 educational districts. All 
children participated in a word elicitation task (task 1), 
while 75 completed a verb elicitation task (task 2) and 
30 engaged in 30-minute play sessions (task 3). Using 
task 3, the researcher transcribed up to 100 utterances 
per child. Speech sounds and verb forms that differ in 
TTE and TrinEC were identified. From tasks 1 and 3, 
each child’s sound variant was coded, along with age, 
sex, district, word position, word class and surrounding 
sounds. From tasks 2 and 3, each child’s verb variant 
was coded for age, sex, district, verb type, subject and 
speech act. Mixed-effects binary logistic regressions were 
conducted to identify any significant factors in variant 
selection. Results indicate that children are TrinEC-
dominant speakers, but there is some systematicity to 
their variant usage which educators can take advantage 
of to help them acquire English.

The Philosophy, the 
Physical and the Literary as 
Redefined Prismatic Faces 
in the Comparative Analysis 
of the Most Popular Pataki 
of the Orisha Eshu in Brazil, 
Cuba and Trinidad

This presentation contemplates one example of my 
research into the literature of the Yoruba pantheon (the 
pataki sing./pl. which originated in Nigeria), through 
comparative analysis of three versions of the most 
popular pataki of the Orisha Eshu, collectively coined 
“Eshu the Orisha of Discord”. The texts are derived 
from Trinidad, Cuba and Brazil and are therefore in 
English, Spanish and Portuguese. This paper exemplifies 
the type of analysis that can be achieved through the 
proposed prismatic methodology, an adaptation of 
Viala and Wissing’s, which analyzes three faces: the 
philosophical, which correlates the Sacred Oracles of 
Ifa from which the pataki emanate with their current 
forms; the physical, which considers elements of the 
natural, inclusive of colour symbolism; and the literary, 
which includes the telling and publishing environments, 
literary techniques and the extent of oraliterature and 
‘other’ languages in the texts. The three sites also allow 
insight into the complexity of African diasporic (often 
oppositional) identities in the West Indies, presenting 
the oraliterature of northernmost, southernmost and 
one continental based regional communities wherein 
the collective unconsciousness achieved through 
ancestral memory embedded in spiritual realities of Ifa 
communities could occasionally conflict with dominant 
western worldviews (religious and otherwise). The 
analysis, however, proffers a resolution to this conflict. 
This analysis adds depth for readers through its search 
for significance in variance for both academics and 
what is a rapidly expanding community of readers, 
connected not by nationality, nor by language, but by 
their connectivity through literature to the supernatural.

Janique Dennis 
PhD Literatures in English 
candidate



17— Research Notes - Issue 5

Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics Conferences

Moving forward while 
reaching back: A 
perspective on selected 21st 
century hybridisations of 
Soca music

Sean Samad
PhD Cultural Studies candidate

Soca as a musical genre was created in the 1970s by 
the Caribbean propensity for pastiche and bricolage 
in our various cultural forms – imitating and drawing 
from diverse sources to create new hybrid forms. The 
21st century has seen a new wave of hybridised soca 
genres that seek to combine and recombine soca 
with other musical genres across the globe in a move 
to expand diversity of offering, increase appeal and 
globality of the festival-based genre. In particular, the 
groovy soca movement in the early 2000s saw artistes in 
Trinidad and Tobago and across the region infuse soca 
with zouk-based melodies that increased danceability 
and reduced bpm (beats per minute) speeds to the 
more recent emergence of afrosoca (the infusions 
of afrobeats) since 2012 to incorporate the globally 
popular beats coming out of West Africa. 
Both examples of musical bricolage within the soca 
genre can be considered returns to musical roots of 
soca and calypso: a move to return to a slower more 
melodious form that existed in calypso in the case of 
groovy soca or a move to return to more complex 
African rhythms of ancestral musical forms in the case of 
afrosoca. This paper will examine the way soca artistes 
have sought to engage these two genres (zouk and 
afrobeats) to create new hybrids forms and the impact 
this may have on contemporary soca, the musical 
culture surrounding Anglo-Caribbean Carnivals and the 
notions of Anglo-Caribbean identity.

Investigating Interactional 
Competence to [Measure]/
Describe Spanish Language 
Learners’ Performance in 
Speaking Tests

Rómulo Guédez-Fernández 
PhD Linguistics candidate

This study investigates the assessment of interactive 
speaking performance of a three-year degree Spanish 
programme at The UWI,  St Augustine. In Trinidad & 
Tobago, Spanish plays an important role, both in high 
school education and as a desired communication 
tool/asset. This research focuses on the construct 
of interactional competence. The very nature of 
interactional competence is the co-construction of the 
actions and utterances during a particular discursive 
practice. Thus, interactional competence, which implies 
individual knowledge and abilities in using socio-
cultural rules of discursive practices for interaction 
with other participants, is not restricted to the single 
individual language user which has been the focus of 
previous communicative models (Young 2000, 2011, 
2013; He and Young 1998). Participants are Spanish 
majors/minors who are enrolled in year one to year 
three Spanish language courses. Participants (n=110) 
had previously attended formal Spanish language 
instruction for at least seven years in secondary school. 
This presentation will report on preliminary results from 
the first stage of data collection, which includes the 
following methods: (a) transcribed video-recordings 
of peer-to-peer performances in conversation tests, (b) 
verbal recall with candidates’ videotaped tests, and (c) 
semi-structured interviews with test-takers. Peer-to-peer 
test performances are analysed using conversation 
analysis. Factors associated with candidates’ 
performance during the test and their performance in 
the classroom are drawn from both candidates’ and 
raters’ perspectives. The investigation makes a case 
for the development of an empirical and theoretical 
knowledge-based framework for the assessment of the 
interactional competence construct in this context.



Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

The 22nd Biennial Conference of the Society for Caribbean 
Linguistics (SCL) was held in conjunction with the 
Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics (SPCL) and the 

Programa de Lingüística Centroamericana (PROLINCA) at the 
Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica (UNA) in Heredia and 
Limón in Costa Rica from 6 to 11 August 2018, under the 

theme “Connecting the Caribbean: Languages, Boarders and 
Identities.” 
This international split-site conference was attended by 
participants presenting 60 plenaries, papers and posters, from 
some 22 universities from over 25 countries. Once again, UWI 
was the best represented university at this conference, and 

Issue 5 - Research Notes —18

Left to right: Paola Palma Rojas, Dr Jo-Anne S. Ferreira (President), Ronald Francis, Dr R. Sandra Evans (SCL Officer), 
Patrice Clarke, Dr Linda Steele, Dr Joseph T. Farquharson (Publications Officer), Dr Winford James, Dr Godfrey Steele, 
and Dr Paulson Skerrit. Missing: Dr Kathy-Ann Drayton

22nd Biennial Conference of the Society for 
Caribbean Linguistics (SCL)

"Connecting the Caribbean: Languages, Borders, 
and Identities”

The sloth is an integral, indigenous and important part of Costa Rica's national landscape. With its relatively long life span, its easygoing lifestyle, its omnivorous habits, it can be equated 
with Costa Rica's motto of pura vida, 'pure life'. The Society chose the sloth to represent the conference, and the wonderful design was created by Mónica Murillo of the Departamento de 
Publicaciones, UNA, gracing the name tags, programme, posters, notepads, banner, gifs and more.



19— Research Notes - Issue 5

Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics Conferences

St Augustine was the best represented campus. There were 
also four book launches, ranging from analyses of Garifuna to 
Limón Kryol to Jamaican and more. Patrice Clarke, Dr Kathy-
Ann Drayton, Dr R. Sandra Evans, Dr Jo-Anne S. Ferreira, 
Ronald Francis and Paola Palma were among the participants 
from the DMLL. Dr Paulson Skerrit and Dr Godfrey Steele 
of the Faculty of Humanities and Education also presented 
papers. Two of our graduate students, Patrice Clarke and 
Ronald Francis presented a joint poster and paper respectively 
with their supervisors, Dr Kathy-Ann Drayton and Dr. R. 
Sandra Evans. Staff-student collaborations of this kind are 
highly encouraged and supported by the DMLL.
The 23rd Biennial Conference of the Society for Caribbean 
Linguistics will be held in August 2020 right here in Trinidad 
& Tobago.

Abstracts

An Analysis of the Distribution and Use of 
English Articles by ESL Learners in Jamaica

Patrice Clarke

This paper examines the use and distribution of the English 
article system in a learner language resulting from a language 
contact situation involving at least one sign language, 
Jamaican Sign Language (JSL), Jamaican Creole (JC) and 
English. The differences between these source languages 
are interesting in that existing literature speaks about the 
article system that exist in JC (Durrleman, 2008) and English 
(Lyons 1999) but there is little known about (in) definite 
articles in sign language. In fact, the general assumption has 
been that sign languages lacks determiners altogether. In a 
recent study, (Cumberbatch, 2012) suggests that prenominal 
and postnominal INDEX functions as a definite article in JSL. 
However, other scholars argue that while an INDEX that 
combines with a noun represents a determiner, it does not 
necessarily convey definiteness (Baker, van den Bogaerde, 
Pfau & Schemer, 2016; Zimmer and Patschke, 1990). English 
articles form part of a complex system that deaf and hard-of-
hearing students, like other English as a second language 
(ESL) learner have difficulty acquiring and using correctly 
despite the abundance of articles in the input. Such an 
investigation is significant as article use is at the interface of 
syntax, semantics and pragmatics. The absence or misuse of 
an article can make a sentence ungrammatical or otherwise 
affect the meaning being conveyed.
Data for the study was obtained from 60 narratives written by 
deaf and hard-of-hearing second language learners between 
13 and 21 years old. The theoretical approach to the analysis 
is based on Bickerton’s (1981) semantic wheel model, 
marked by the features [±specific referent (±SR)] and [±reader 
knowledge (±RK)]. A contrastive analysis was first conducted 
to compare the article systems in the learner language and 
in English and to establish the accuracy levels in ESL learners’ 
article production. The analysis focused on two types of 
errors in article production: omission and substitution errors. 
The accuracy of article production is examined relative to 
the number of correct uses in obligatory contexts and the 
contexts in which the article was supplied inappropriately 
(Trenkic, 2002 p. 116). 
The quantitative and qualitative analyses reveal several 

conceptual differences relating to the writers’ consideration 
for the reader’s knowledge, specific reference, and 
countability, which may account for learners' errors in article 
use. Other errors included the frequent co-occurrence 
of mutually exclusive articles; more accurate use of the in 
definite contexts than of a in indefinite contexts, and the 
grapheme a functioning primarily as the English indefinite 
article and occasionally as an equative copula, preposition 
and progressive marker. Following Thomas (1989), article 
underuse is viewed as a grammatical deficit, and their misuse 
as a pragmatic deficit. The paper concludes with a discussion 
of the pedagogical implications for teaching English grammar 
to D/HH learners.

A Structural Analysis of Narratives Written by 
Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students

Patrice Clarke and Kathy-Ann Drayton

Narratives are a tool of communication in social and 
academic settings often used to assess children’s narrative 
abilities. Typically developing children produced stories 
with adult structures by age 6 whereas the vast majority of 
deaf students fail to use minimal components of a story in 
spontaneously generated written narratives, even by age 
18 (Yoshinaga-Itano & Downey, 1996). Though deaf writers 
can use discourse rules in the production of narratives these 
are often “obscured by disfluencies in writing” (Marschark, 
Mouradian, & Halas, 1994 p. 89). In the official English-
speaking Caribbean, learning is contingent on English 
competence and English is a prerequisite for academic 
and economic success. Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (D/HH) 
students, like some of their Creole-speaking counterparts 
experience difficulties producing texts in English. The 
language experience of DHH writers. The writing abilities of 
the D/HH population in Creole-speaking environments are 
diverse but neglected research topic. Furthermore, most of 
the existing research on the writing abilities of the D/HH has 
been conducted in monolingual English-speaking countries. 
Thus, limiting the generalisability of these results. This paper 
is a part of a research project aimed at describing the 
characteristics of the writing of D/HH students in the English-
official Caribbean. 
The researchers evaluated 40 narratives by students who 
completed the spontaneous writing portion of the Test of 
Written Language (TOWL-3). The students were all high 
schoolers between 13-20-year-old who were enrolled in 
a school for the deaf. Narratives were assessed for both 
linguistic microstructural elements such as total number of 
words (TNW) (ii) number of different words (NDW) and (iii) 
lexical diversity (MTLD), and macrostructural features using the 
narrative scoring scheme (NSS) (Heilmann, Miller, Nockerts, 
& Dunaway, 2010). The study’s aims were to determine (i) 
what linguistic microstructure and macrostructure elements 
can be found in D/HH learners’ narratives? and; (ii) whether 
there is a relationship between measures of vocabulary, 
productivity and the NS? The overall results confirmed the 
generally low levels of narrative performance typically found 
in this population however, performance levels were not 
uniformly low. The paper concludes with a discussion of the 
pedagogical implications for teaching writings based on the 
findings.



Issue 5 - Research Notes —20

Conferences

From Familiarisers to Intensifiers: Terms of 
Address in an Online Trinbagonian Community

Kathy-Ann Drayton 

Address terms, including pronominal and nominal forms, 
are used in every culture, to identify the intended recipient 
of an utterance or speech act, and to signal the relationships 
between the speakers during social interaction. Familiarisers 
(Leech 1999) are a subset of address terms that are used 
to indicate a range of sociopragmatic meanings that help 
delineate and enrich the interaction between members of a 
community. Familiarisers, like other linguistic features, encode 
the speaker’s stance to the addressee in terms of positions 
such as solidarity and intimacy, and combine to index gender, 
social class, and ethnicity among other variables (Kiesling 
2009; Silverstein 2003; Ochs 1992). Research on the use of 
address terms in various communities, such as Kiesling (2004) 
on dude, Wilson (2010) on bros, boys, and guys, and Heyd 
(2014) on dude and Alter has demonstrated that these 
familiarisers index identity especially with regards to group 
solidarity. However, these and other studies have suggested 
that these forms have begun to take on additional pragmatic 
functions, notably serving as intensifiers of the preceding or 
following utterance.
This paper examines the use of familiarisers in Computer 
Mediated Communication (CMC) by examining the language 
practices of an online football community in a closed 
Facebook Group with more than 700+ resident and non-
resident Trinidadian fans of an English Premier League club. 
The members of the group use Trinidadian English (TrE) and 
Trinidadian English Creole (TrinEC) to interact, discussing 
all matters related to the team, manager and players, as 
well as a limited number of non-team related matters. In 
these discussions which range from cordial to high conflict, 
requiring intervention by the group Moderators, a variety of 
address terms are widely used including boy/boi/bai, dread/
dred/jed, bro/bruh, boss, horse/hoss among others. The 
study will investigate the frequency and use of fifteen terms of 
address, examining total frequency, frequency of usage as a 
familiariser versus usage as an intensifier, as well as frequency 
of location in either initial, medial or utterance final position. 
The paper will also discuss factors affecting the variation in 
choice of address term and/or intensifier including: speaker 
style, speaker position within the community, the relationship 
between the interlocutors , the context of use, such as near 
synchronous (e.g., live match threads) vs asynchronous posts 
and the topic of discussion.

Vernacular English of St Lucia (VESL):
A Phonological Analysis

Sandra Evans and Ronald Francis

Three distinct codes exist in St Lucia, namely St Lucia Standard 
English, Kwéyòl (a French- lexicon Creole) and VESL 
(Vernacular English of St Lucia). With respect to VESL, there 
is much disagreement about its nature, even in the matter of 
nomenclature. In addition to the term VESL, it is also referred 
to as SLEV (St Lucia English Vernacular), St Lucia English 
Creole (SLEC) and St Lucia English-Lexicon Creole (SLELC) 
by various scholars. Some linguists contend that VESL is 
composed mainly of relexified Kwéyòl structures, while others 
contend that VESL is structurally akin to English and should 

be treated as a dialect of English rather than 
a completely separate grammatical system. To 
date, there is no elaborate linguistic description 
of VESL but it is evident from the literature 
that there is a great deal of mutual 
intelligibility between VESL and English, 
as well as strong evidence of the 
transfer of Kwéyòl structures in VESL’s 
system.
This paper is the first step towards 
writing a comprehensive description 
of VESL, beginning with an analysis of 
its phonological structure. It will explore 
the sound patterns of VESL using data 
from Street Vibes, a news segment in 
which St Lucians, some of whom speak 
what may be categorised as VESL, voice 
their opinions on various topics. More 
specifically, the paper seeks to detail the 
phonemic inventory of VESL and describe 
phonological variation among speakers. 
In addition, it attempts to show some 
distinction between the sound patterns 
VESL and English, and provide some 
data-driven conclusions about its linguistic 
structure.

Revisiting Past Time Reference in Jamaican
Joseph T. Farquharson (UWI, Mona 

and Honorary Research Fellow, UWI, St 
Augustine)

Although Jamaican (Creole) is one of the better-
studied Creoles, it has not really been subjected to 
a comprehensive substratist or superstratist analysis 
on the same level as Haitian (Lefebvre 1998) or 
the Surinamese Creoles (e.g., Migge, 2003). The 
African lexical input to Jamaican has been fairly well 
established, and Farquharson (2012) has identified 
Akan, Kikongo, Gbe, Igbo, and Yoruba as the five 
chief contributors of lexical items to the language. 
While there is no essential correlation between lexical 
contribution and syntactic influence, this gives us a 
manageable set of languages to use for the testing of 
substrate hypotheses. 
While much work has been done in tracing the 
provenance of enslaved Africans, not as much work 
exists that traces the provenance of British settlers. 
This is also true on the linguistic side; virtually no 
work has been done on the British dialectal 
contribution to the grammar of Jamaican. 
Assuming that migration patterns were roughly 
similar for Suriname and Jamaica, the current 
paper capitalises on the findings of Sherriah et 
al. (2018) regarding the British dialectal input 
for Sranan. The dialect of Somerset is used as 
representative of dialects found in the west of 
England. 
The current paper conducts a contrastive 
analysis of past time reference in Jamaican, 
the five substrate languages mentioned 
above, and the Somerset dialect of England. 

Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics



Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics Conferences

21— Research Notes - Issue 5

It considers the data in light of Mufwene’s feature pool 
theory, and demonstrates, how contra McWhorter, the 
feature pool may still provide a viable explanation for 
the birth/development of (syntactic) features in Creoles. 
The paper concludes that the lexifier can be shown to 
play a demonstrably important role in past time marking, 
contributing not only material, but also crucial syntactico-
semantic information. However, the substrate languages play 
a heavier role in shaping final outcome. 

Caribbean Languages Crossing Borders: Haitian 
in Brazil

Jo-Anne S. Ferreira

Haitian (Creole), CARICOM’s first language in terms of 
numbers of speakers, is the newest of the three French Creole 
varieties spoken in Brazil, the only Lusophone country where 
French Creole is known to be spoken. As a result of the 2010 
earthquake, tens of thousands of Haitians have emigrated to 
Brazil in search of employment and education. This choice 
of Brazil may be related to the Brazilian presence in Haiti 
since 2004, via MINUSTAH, the UN peacekeeping military 
mission following a request to the UN Security Council by 
CARICOM itself. Haitian Creole was immediately recognised 
and supported by the Brazilian government and a number 
of agencies, so that Haitians in Brazil have had access to 
sociolinguistic support, and to bilingual education, the design, 
implementation and outcomes of which are of interest to 
Caribbean linguists and linguistics. 
The Haitian diaspora in Brazil has already been widely studied 
by a number of Brazilian scholars across various disciplines, 
including Linguistics (Giachini et al 2017, Lima Pimental et 
al 2016, Silva Bulla et al 2017, Silva 2017, Torquato 2014), 
Education (Gustmann de Castro 2016, Soares and Tirloni 
2017, Soares et al 2017), Economics (Valente 2018), Political 
Science (Santos 2016), Legal Studies (Feldmann Dutra and 
Marisco Gayer 2015), Population Studies (Silva 2017), and 
Journalism (Silva 2016), not to mention attention by the 
media. However, this diaspora has not yet been studied by 
(and is little known to) Caribbean linguists, and there has 
been no known dialogue between Brazilian and Caribbean 
linguists, in spite of the age (almost a decade old) and 
the size of this diaspora (some 54,000 Haitians, now in 8 
Brazilian states), and in spite of the French Creole expertise of 
Caribbean linguists who could provide a collegial, supportive 
and advisory role working alongside Brazilian linguists. This 
is therefore a preliminary exploration and analysis of the 
literature on Haitians and Haitian in Brazil by a Caribbean 
linguist.
This is also a double call to action. Firstly, this is a call to 
Caribbean linguists to keep Caribbean diaspora sociolinguistic 
issues at the forefront of our discussions and our outreach 
regardless of the language of host nations and the language 
of their scholarship (in this case, Portuguese). Secondly, 
this is a call to CARICOM to develop a strong and clear 
language policy for the organisation itself and its member 
states where possible, focusing on language rights, language 
policy and language planning, putting the organisation 
on a firm foundation for discussions wherever citizens of its 
member states may find themselves. The International Centre 
for Caribbean Language Research (ICCLR)’s Charter on 
Language Policy and Language Rights in the Creole-Speaking 

Caribbean (Kingston, 2011) provides the ideal framework and 
starting point for all such discussions and considerations. 

“Make me come smart”: Kwéyòl Transfer in the English 
Writing of St Lucian Primary School Students

Ronald Francis

Much research has been done on the impact of Creole 
languages on the writing of students in the Caribbean. In 
St Lucia, two extensive studies have been undertaken to 
investigate the impact of St Lucia French-lexicon Creole 
(Kwéyòl) on the writing of primary and secondary school 
students: Isaac (1986) and Winch and Gingell (1994). Isaac 
concluded that ‘the existence of [Kwéyòl] phenomena is 
apparent in all areas of written production’, while Winch and 
Gingell posited that ‘there is no strong relationship between 
impression marking and quantity of errors arising from 
possible creole interference.’ These divergent conclusions add 
to a long-standing and ongoing disagreement about whether 
the transference of Creole structures plays a significant role 
in poor academic performance in English. However, no 
recent work has been done in St Lucia assessing students’ 
writing and previous studies have drawn extreme conclusions 
without accounting for the possibility of various sources of 
error. This paper is part of a larger study that attempts to fill 
this gap by exploring the writing of St Lucian primary school 
students at the Common Entrance Examinations to determine 
whether the non-standard structures in students’ writing are 
ascribable to Kwéyòl transfer.
Using English composition scripts from two (2) primary 
schools, the paper focuses on the transfer of Kwéyòl syntactic 
and lexico-semantic structures in students’ writing. Drawing 
on an Error Analysis framework, it seeks to identify all non-
standard syntactic forms and lexico-semantic particles within 
the writing. In addition, the paper seeks to determine whether 
the occurrences of these forms are solely attributable to the 
transfer of Kwéyòl structures or whether some of them may 
be attributed to other factors, such as intrinsic or learner 
errors. Ultimately, the paper demonstrates that the impact 
Kwéyòl transfer on students’ writing and their academic 
performance varies widely among students and no general 
conclusions can be drawn about all students or all schools. 
Some student essays contain a high incidence of transfer 
(too high to ignore from a pedagogical perspective), while 
other students appear to have strong command of Standard 
English.

Beliefs and Attitudes towards Linguistic Variation 
in Spanish as a Foreign Language in the English-

Official Caribbean
Paola Palma 

As the relevance of Spanish in the English-official countries 
in the Caribbean grows, it becomes important for learners 
of Spanish as a Foreign Language to have a greater 
understanding of linguistic variation and to be exposed 
to different varieties of the language. Aiming to better 
describe the beliefs and attitudes that students have towards 
linguistic variation in a higher education classroom setting 
in the Caribbean region, we conducted a two-part study on 
the matter with students pursuing a BA in Spanish at The 
University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. On the first part of 



Department of Modern Languages and LinguisticsConferences

Issue 5 - Research Notes —22

the study, students were asked to respond to a questionnaire 
comprising a set of questions about their attitudes towards 
linguistic variation, as well as their perception of their own 
accent; they also completed a task in which they were 
exposed to recorded samples of different variations of Spanish; 
participants were required to identify the respective variety 
and assess the speaker’s pronunciation. The second part of 
the study consisted of an interview where students listened 
again to the same samples taken from the questionnaire, but 
this time they were informed which variety they would be 
listening to. Then they were required to assess the speaker’s 
pronunciation a second time. It was found that students had 
difficulty recognising the variety of the language; however, 
participants expressed positive attitudes towards the samples 
that they were able to understand. No correlation was found 
between perceptions towards the country and its variety of 
the language.

Developing Sign Language Interpreting in 
Trinidad and Tobago: Language Ideologies and 

Issues of Linguistic Variation
Paulson Skerrit

High quality sign language interpreting is essential to 
safeguarding of the basic human rights of deaf citizens, as 
described in the UN’s Convention of the Rights of Persons 
with Disabilities. In this paper, I discuss linguistic issues 
affecting the development of sign language interpreting 
in Trinidad and Tobago, focusing particularly on linguistic 
variation and the various language ideologies found within 
the country’s signing community. The linguistic situation is 
complex. In addition to the three main spoken language 
varieties, there are three distinct sign language varieties. 
Trinidad and Tobago Sign Language (TTSL), developed in 
the first three decades of deaf education, and has been 
transmitted within the deaf community largely outside of the 
formal education system. American Sign Language (ASL) 
was introduced by educators and missionaries, acquired by 
deaf Trinbagonians who have been educated abroad, and 
reinforced by significant ongoing online contact. Signing 
Exact English (SEE-II) was introduced to the Cascade School 
for the Deaf in 1975, and has continued to have a significant 
influence, particularly in educational settings. Though 
originally an artificially created mixture of ASL vocabulary 
with English grammatical features, some version of this 
way of signing has been acquired natively by some deaf 
Trinbagonians. To complicate matters further, there are 
various intermediate contact and mixed varieties, as well as 
homesign systems used by deaf people who have not had 
contact with the wider deaf community.
There are also various, often conflicting language ideologies 
among interpreters, educators and members of the deaf 
community. These include the following:
- Spoken language is superior to signed language;
- English-influenced signing is preferable to signing which 
diverges grammatically from the structure of English; 
- Linguistic purity should be maintained, and signing styles 
which have been influenced by spoken/written language are 
less pure;
- ASL is superior or more desirable than divergent local ways 
of signing;
- Linguistic variation is problematic and should be reduced via 

a deliberate programme of standardisation;
- TTSL, as the indigenous sign language of 
Trinidad and Tobago should be preserved and 
promoted.
Most of these ideologies are somewhat 
problematic in that, rather than 
accepting the natural linguistic diversity 
found in the deaf community, they 
prescribe certain types of linguistic 
behavior as preferable. They can 
also lead to disagreements among 
sign language interpreters, which 
impede progress in development and 
professionalisation. We argue that an 
inclusive, descriptively rooted approach, 
acknowledging the reality and value of 
diversity, must underpin the training and 
practice of sign language interpreters. 
We also argue for the key role of native 
signers, including Deaf Interpreters 
and CODAs, in navigating this linguistic 
complexity, and discuss implications for 
the development and functioning of 
an effective sign language interpreter 
association, training, ethics, and professional 
development.

Decimated Languages that Persist
Godfrey Steele

We study endangered languages, language death 
and language rights in a Caribbean context of 
historical, cultural and linguistic narratives that describe 
the decimation of Indigenous or First Peoples despite 
their continued existence. Can the continued and 
persistent existence evident in the resurgent identity, 
recognition and visibility of First Peoples in their cultural 
practices, cuisine, accommodations, and language be 
linked to any discussions on the survival and existence 
of languages thought to be decimated, endangered 
or dead? This paper explores linguistic writings on 
endangered and dead languages against the context 
of persistent presence and cultural and historical 
statements about First Peoples and First Languages in 
the Caribbean, and recent efforts to secure recognition 
and visibility in Trinidad and Tobago. It does so by 
highlighting and interrogating narratives of language 
decimation, endangerment, and death and 
discussing persistent presence though oppositional 
narratives of tension, resistance and survival. It also 
explores questions of language indigeneity 
that go beyond physicality and nativity that 
may be applicable to national and diasporic 
contacts and which may have implications for 
applications to First Languages that also go 
beyond traditional borders of geography and 
nation. The narratives which are interrogated 
and the questions which are explored suggest 
implications for revisiting the prevalent view 
of Amerindian languages as decimated 
languages and offer possibilities for language 
renewal and revitalisation, and language 
policy and planning.



The Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics congratulates Dr Rajendra Shepherd on his 
academic success.

23— Research Notes - Issue 5

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), commonly used to uncover power relations in media, in this research unveils 
a new paradigm for considering the issue when applied to two warring elites. Through an analysis of newspaper 
editorials in 2008 when the Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) fired a senior Cabinet colleague, this 
research proposes an ‘ideological circle’ to replace Teun van Dijk’s ideological square, which operates in the media 
binary of US versus THEM.
The ideological circle explains how the expected empowered Prime Minister was variously vilified while criticisms 
were softened, and the positive characteristics of the other social actor were actually highlighted yet mitigated.
This study, bounded by a case of political turbulence, revealed a suite of discursive practices including ‘pivoting’, 
‘dualism’ and ‘extrication’ in which the explicit writer critic is obfuscated or arguments softened through particular 
language operations.  Pivoting is a unique proposition to explain the turning of an argument when against a 
social actor and uses various strategies, with the pivot itself identified in modal auxillaries, questions and the use 
of metonomy.   
This application of CDA, as a useful resourse for the interrogation of the genre, was thus expanded upon and a 
methodology derived using grounded theory.  The work raises questions about the place of pivoting in the media 
discourse of democracy and provides an opening to examine the impact of the discourse on the electorate.

A Critical Discourse Analysis of Newspaper Editorials in Trinidad and Tobago
Rajendra Shepherd
PhD Linguistics

Supervisors: Professor Valerie Youssef and 
Dr Geraldine Skeete

Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics Recent PhD Graduates

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Faculty of Humanities & Education
The University of the West Indies, St Augustine
Trinidad & Tobago



Issue 5 - Research Notes —24

Current MPhil Candidates Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

Low literacy and academic performance have been a persistent problem among hearing and deaf 
and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students alike that has arrested the attention of stakeholders including the 
Jamaican government. The number of deaf students with literacy and language-related difficulties are 
significantly higher than their hearing counterparts such that more than two-thirds of DHH graduates, at 

the secondary level, fail to attain marketable skills by school-leaving age (Planning Institute of Jamaica, 2015). The government 
and associations catering to the deaf have launched several initiatives over the years to improve literacy but have only seen 
marginal improvements in the academic performance of DHH students. Though considerable attention has been given to the 
DHH students in several monolingual and multilingual societies, namely North American and European countries, little has 
been said about the language experience and abilities of DHH learners in Creole-speaking environments. This study seeks to 
characterise the writing abilities of DHH students in Jamaica enrolled in a bilingual-bicultural programme. 
A convenience sample of 120 narratives written by DHH students who completed the spontaneous writing portion of the Test 
of Written Language (TOWL-3; Hammill & Larsen, 1996) administered annually by the Jamaica Association for the Deaf (JAD) 
was collected. The students age ranged from 13 to 21-year-old and are/were enrolled in a JAD operated school. Narratives 
are transcribed, annotated and analysed using the CLAN programme and UAM CorpusTool. Narratives were analysed at 
three levels: morphology, syntax and discourse with focus on tense-aspect marking, expression of number, microlinguistic 
(productivity, syntactic complexity, lexical diversity) and macrostructural elements. Of special interest were structures, ruled 
ordered which appeared consistently in the language of DHH learners but rarely or never in the writing of other English or 
English as a Second Language (ESL) learners. 
Preliminary results confirmed the generally low levels of performance typical of DHH subjects. However, performance levels 
were not uniformly low. Implications for instructional practices, assessment methods, curriculum development that support 
the teaching of English grammar to DHH students are discussed. Recommendations for further studies are also presented. 

Writing in signs: An analysis of English narratives produced by Deaf and Hard-
of-hearing (DHH) Jamaican students
Patrice Clarke, MPhil candidate in Linguistics

Supervisors: Dr Ben Braithwaite and Dr Kathy-Ann Drayton

This study aims at examining the novel Madame Bovary written by Gustave Flaubert from a twenty-first 
century perspective. Madame Bovary focuses on the idealised vision of the perfect nineteenth century 
woman. It is critical to examine this novel from a feminist perspective in order to fully understand and 
compare the nineteenth century woman in Madame Bovary to the twenty-first century woman. The 
traditional roles of the woman are highlighted in Madame Bovary; however, the difficulties of womanhood are also explored. 
Madame Bovary examines the trials and tribulations of women in a patriarchal society. The modern day Madame Bovary 
shares a similar lifestyle to that of the nineteenth century character. She does not fully conform to the lifestyle of the traditional 
woman in the nineteenth century. At that time, women were limited to the responsibilities at home and were quite submissive 
to their husbands. Men were the dominant figure in the home. However, this has changed tremendously over the years. 
Women are now more educated and are able to be more independent in relationships. The roles seem to be switched as 
men are allowing women to take control and make decisions regarding the home and their relationships. Women seem to 
be more liberal regarding their sexuality. Love, marriage and fidelity are some of the main themes explored in Madame Bovary 
that the twenty-first century woman can relate to in many ways. Although Madame Bovary was seen as a traditional woman, 
her adulterous affairs contradict what was expected of the nineteenth century woman. Women are faced with emotional and 
psychological issues in relationships especially in marriage and for this reason, one can relate to Madame Bovary even today.

Madame Bovary: A twenty-first century perspective
Giselle Lindsay, MPhil candidate in French

Supervisor: Professor Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw



Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

25— Research Notes - Issue 5

Current MA candidates

This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the Colombian phenomenon of the sicario, a young, 
paid hitman working in the drug-trafficking trade. It seeks to understand why the sicario, though a prominent 
part of the Colombian landscape, is severely Othered by those around him and relegated to a voiceless subaltern status. The study 
deals with two novels and one film in which the sicario is the focus. Firstly, the study is contextualised with a brief history of Colombia 
and the presence of drug-trafficking. Then the theories involved in this study as they relate to the analysis of the novels and also the 
methods of acquiring information are discussed. The evolution of the sicario, his beginnings in the drug cartel and his evolution 
since the demise of the main cartel and drug dealer who was their employer are examined and also the way in which the sicario 
is manifested in the novels and film. Then the thesis analyses the various ways in which the sicario is Othered in the novels and the 
film through the aspects of the reason for their existence, their geographical origins, their leisure activities, religion and language, 
gender and sexual orientation.

“Here, I’m making you a present of this beauty”: An Exploration of the 
Representation of the Sicario in the novels La Virgen de los Sicarios and Rosario 
Tijeras and the film Rodrigo D. No Futuro

Supervisor: Dr Anne-Marie Pouchet
Danielle Goalan, MA candidate in Spanish

Nicolás Guillén was a Cuban writer, journalist, social activist and poet who is known for his discourse on 
‘mulatez’ and ‘mestizaje.’ This study focuses on the phenomenon of the ‘mulata’ or ‘half-breed’ woman, who 
embodies this ideology, and appears in many of Guillén’s poems. She is considered to be the symbol of Cuban 
identity. However, this national symbol is janus-faced like her country whose existence is embodied by both 
positive and negative aspects. Unfortunately, most studies on this hybrid woman have profoundly highlighted the negative effects 
of slavery and imperialism on the ‘mulata,’ and thus portray her from a negative vantage point. Guillén’s poems also generally reflect 
this point of view, expounding on the objectification and sexual degradation of the ‘mulata’ who is mostly characterized as the 
‘exotic other’ as opposed to the image of the subservient, domesticated black woman. The aforementioned idea will be discussed in 
depth in this study, but it will be used as a point of departure to examine the ‘half-breed’ woman from a more positive perspective. 
Guillén purports that the mulatto woman and even the black woman are central figures in his poetry but critics have found this to 
be contradictory since these women, particularly the ‘mulata,’ appear to be voiceless in poems related from a male perspective. Thus, 
the ultimate goal of this study is to re-interpret and re-define the portrayal of the ‘mulata’ making her a central figure who is truly 
empowered, celebrated and given a voice in Guillén’s poetry.

The phenomenon of the 'half-breed' woman: An analysis of the 'mulata' in 
selected poems by Nicolás Guillén

Supervisor: Dr Nicole Roberts
Sparkle Henry-Wilson, MA candidate in Spanish

This work aims to contribute to the existing research on Afro-Caribbean poetry by interrogating representations 
of blackness in two anthologies of the Dominican Republic: Trópico Negro by Manuel del Cabral and Caribe 
Africano en Despertar by Blas Jiménez. Both poets examine the theme of Afro-Dominican identity through 
fundamentally different lenses. The constitution of black identity is examined from both the black experience 
and the white imaginary, with each poet articulating essentially different dimensions of the black experience. 
It first explores the nebulous parameters of racial and ethnic definition in the Dominican Republic, contexualizing signifiers such as 
negro, mulato, cocolo, indio and haitiano.   Framed within the unique historical and geopolitical context of Hispaniola, both poets 
foreground the representation of the Haitian in the Dominican imaginary, as this is central to any evaluation of Afro-Dominican 
identity. They address issues of otherness, marginalisation and fetishisation of the black Haitian.  It then analyses specific power 
dynamics and the construction / negotiation of black identity against a  complex backdrop of  postcolonial Eurocentrism, North 
American influence and Trujillato.  Race and ethnicity remain pivotal in maintaining political and social hierarchies, and economic 
exploitation is presented as a fact of black identity. This work also examines representations of black sexuality in the Caribbean, 
revealing tropes of sexual objectification and celebration at different turns. Finally, it assesses the value of reclaiming voice, agency 
and self-affirmation among Afro-Dominicans and the possibility of asserting a positive Afro-Caribbean identity.

From Negrismo to Négritude :  Representations of  blackness in Trópico Negro 
by  Manuel del Cabral  and Caribe Africano en despertar by Blas Jiménez

Supervisor: Dr Nicole Roberts
Reah Warner-Mayers, MA candidate in Spanish



Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

Issue 5 - Research Notes —26

Chilean Author, 

Marcelo 
Simonetti 
visits the 
DMLL

The Department of Modern Languages and 
Linguistics (DMLL) in collaboration with the 
Embassy of Chile hosted Chilean author, 

Marcelo Simonetti, at the Centre for Language 
Learning on Thursday 30 November 2017. 
Simonetti was in Trinidad and Tobago to promote 
his novel, Tito (Ian Randle, 2018), which was 
to be published in English and launched at the 
Bocas Lit Fest in 2018. The Chilean Ambassador, 
His Excellency Fernando Schmidt, thought it a 
excellent opportunity to have Simonetti visit The 
UWI and participate in a roundtable discussion 
with students and other interested persons on the 
writing process and characterization.
 Dr Nicole Roberts, 
Head of Department, gave 
opening remarks and 
welcomed everyone to the 
roundtable. Author and 
lecturer in the DMLL,  
Dr Oscar Bazán moderated 
the evening’s proceedings. 
He was joined by a panel 
of students from the DMLL, 
namely: Arifa Satnarine (BA 
student in French and Spanish), Shane S. Prince 
(BA student in Latin American Studies and 
Spanish), and Adonis Díaz Fernández (PhD in 
Spanish candidate).
 Simonetti gave a brief overview of his 

novel, describing Tito as a coming-of-age story that 
explores themes of childhood innocence, first love 
and growing up. On the topic of characterisation, 
and in reference to his main protagonist, Tito, 
Simonetti elaborated on the importance of 
capturing the character’s innocence, sense of 
wonder and curiosity. Discussions centred on 
comparisons with youth in Chile and in Trinidad 
and Tobago as well as making characters come 
to life on the page. Simonetti interspersed the 
session with several short readings from the novel, 
and closed the discussion with some advice to 
those interested in pursuing a career as a writer. 
He stressed the value of practising the craft and 

honing in on the authentic 
voice. Furthermore, he stressed 
the need to fully dedicate 
oneself to the story that is 
being told as well as the need 
to always tell the said story 
with conviction, authenticity 
and integrity.
    Dr. Bazán, on behalf of the 
DMLL, thanked Mr. Simonetti 
for his words, Ambassador 

Schmidt thanked the DMLL for its continued 
collaboration with the Embassy of Chile, and a 
short cocktail reception which followed, marked 
by the distribution of commemorative bookmarks 
to all present.

Visiting Lecturers



Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

27— Research Notes - Issue 5

Visiting Lecturers

The Department of Modern Languages and 
Linguistics and its Portuguese and Brazilian 
Studies Section welcomed Portuguese 

Lecturer, Dr Cláudia Fernandes, Erasmus + scholar 
of the University of Graz. After obtaining her 
degree in Modern Languages and Literatures 
(2000) and the corresponding teaching degree 
(2002) at the University of Lisbon, Dr Fernandes 
moved to Vienna in 2003. At the University of 
Vienna, she obtained her PhD, her thesis being 
entitled "On the linguistic behaviour of the 
Portuguese living in Austria" (2015). Her teaching 
career started in Portugal, and in Austria she 
focuses on Portuguese Language and Cultures. 
She has been a lecturer at the University of 
Vienna since 2006 and at the University of Graz 
since 2015. Her areas of interest especially include 
Portuguese identity and Portuguese migration. 
 Dr Fernandes visited Portuguese classes, 
facilitated an exciting workshop for foreign 
language teachers, and gave a guest lecture, 
which was opened by the Head of Department 
and attended by the Minister Counsellor 
Alexandre de Azevedo Silveira of the Embassy of 
Brazil, the biggest country of Lusofonia.
 Below are the abstracts of the workshop 
and lecture, respectively.

Workshop
The Inclusion of Music in Foreign 

Language Teaching
Abstract: Although music is largely associated with 
leisure time, it can also be a precious resource for 
a foreign language class. This workshop focuses 
on how to use music in a foreign language class, 
showing different approaches, relating it to other 
sorts of texts, presenting many examples and 
above all, proving that we can learn by listening 
to music. Participants were urged to take their 
songs and possible activities for good group 
discussions.

Lecture
The Lusophone World: Why Learning 

Portuguese is a Good Bet for Your Future!

Dr Cláudia Fernandes

Abstract: In 1214, from a small corner of Europe 
came one of the oldest documents written in 
Portuguese. Since then, the language has has 
not stopped growing, first in Portugal itself and 
then overseas from the 15th century onwards. 
Today there are 9 countries on the 5 continents 
where Portuguese is spoken officially! It is the 7th 
most spoken language in the world and the 3rd of 
European languages (after English and Spanish). 
There are also many international organizations 
with Portuguese as an official language. It is also in 
the top 10 of languages for translations (as target 
language) and online articles. Portuguese is a 
language both with a past and a future! It also has 
rhythm and taste: in Portuguese you can sing fado 
or morna, dance samba or kizomba, eat bacalhau, 
feijoada or cachupa. Portuguese is for sure a good 
bet for your future: 270 million people cannot be 
wrong! 
 We look forward to continued good 
collaboration with Dr Fernandes.

visits the DMLL

Portuguese Lecturer



Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

Issue 5 - Research Notes —28

Films

International Creole Day is celebrated annually on 
28 October, having started in St Lucia as Jounen 
Kwéyòl in 1983, and the month of October itself was 

later designated as Creole Month. In the Caribbean, 
French Creole/Kwéyòl/Patois in the Caribbean is the 
second most spoken language after Spanish, with over 
13 million speakers in 10 countries in the region and 
throughout the diaspora. English and English Creole 
follow in third place. In France, French Creole is the 
most widely spoken of the 10+ regional languages of 
France, with almost 3 million speakers, and students 
from kindergarten to university can pursue studies in 
and about French Creole.
     Some famous Caribbean French Creole 
speakers include Jean-Jacques Dessalines, 
Toussaint L'Ouverture, Sylvester Devenish, 
Léon de Gannes, three Caribbean Nobel 
Prize winners (Sir Arthur Lewis, Saint-John 
Perse and Derek Walcott), Aimé Césaire, 
Phyllis Shand Allfrey, Jean Rhys, the Mighty 
Sparrow, Holly Betaudier, Dame Pearlette 
Louisy, Baroness Scotland, Thierry Henry, 
Marie-José Pérec, Wyclef Jean, and 
many more, in all walks of life, across the 
Caribbean Sea.
     Here in Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidadian 
French Creole is at least as old as the 
second Cédula de Población of 1783, and the first 
grammar of any French Creole anywhere in the world 
was produced by Trinidadian John Jacob 
Thomas in 1869, almost 150 years ago. 
The UWI, St Augustine Campus was the 
first of the four campuses to offer French 
Creole/Patois as an Extra-Mural course and 
later a Linguistics course for credit, and 
the campus has speakers of varieties of 
French Creole from Dominica, Guadeloupe, 
Haiti, Martinique, Mauritius, St Lucia, and 
more. The month of October is filled with 
nationwide celebrations from Paramin 
to Talparo to Port-of-Spain in Trinidad & 
Tobago.

Jounen Kwéyòl Entennasyonnal 
(International Creole Day) 2017

at UWI, St Augustine
In honour of International Creole Month (Mwa Kwéyòl 
Toupatou Asou Latè-a), the French and Linguistics 
Sections of the Department of Modern Languages and 
Linguistics co-hosted the DMLL Patois Film Afternoon, 
supported by students of the UWI Linguistics Society 
and the UWI French Society, held on Thursday 26 
October 2017 in the Centre for Language Learning 
(CLL) Auditorium. Four films focusing on the history 
and current state of Trinidadian French Creole and its 
modern day speakers and promoters were featured 
and screened in honour of this national heritage 
language and its culture, joining in the international 
celebration. The films screened were:

1) Linguistic Landscapes: Patois Speakers 
Share Their Knowledge – Nnamdi Hodge 
and Jo-Anne S. Ferreira 2015 (RDI Fund 
supported) (25 minutes)
2) Trinidad : les derniers créolophones – 
William Zébina and Michel Gendre, Caraïbes 
Martinique la 1ère 2016 (24 minutes)
3) C’est Quitte: The French Creoles of 
Trinidad – Alex de Verteuil 2004 (59 minutes)
4) Sèptant Lanné Ansanm – 70 Years 
Together – Cassandra Joseph and Nnamdi 
Hodge 2017 (15 minutes)
     UWI students, staff, and members of 
the general public joined in and showed 

a very keen interest in the language and its history. 
The French majors especially were delighted to see 

the link between this country's history and 
French studies. All participants showed great 
enthusiasm for the movies as they asked 
questions afterwards and were all eager 
to participate in the student-led quiz that 
followed. 
     The next UWI edition of Jounen Kwéyòl 
will take place in 2018, as we work together 
to preserve and promote the languages that 
underpin the development of this nation and 
region (see DMLL Research Notes Issue 3,  
p. 11, and https://sta.uwi.edu/rdifund/
projects/ttel/index.asp).



29— Research Notes - Issue 5

Research TipsDepartment of Modern Languages and Linguistics

Google Scholar©

While Google© may be the first port of call for many new researchers for cursory concept appreciations, 
most academics recognise the weaknesses of a Google© search. Results can range from opinions, fake news 
and falsehoods to esteemed books, video interviews and peer reviewed articles. Seeking sources on the latter 
end of that spectrum, Google Scholar© is often the preferred option for university teachers and students 
alike. Unfortunately, most use Google Scholar© for a superficial application of this major global resource. 
Here are three truly insightful uses of Google Scholar© for new researchers.

Refining searches
This is the most common and widely used application. However, you may not know that when a search is 
entered on the original Google Scholar© page (https://scholar.google.com/) there are filter options on the 
left which include date(s) of publications, languages and citations. Additionally, full articles are available by 
hyperlinks on the right. This is most useful when ‘Library Links’ are activated under ‘Settings’. In ‘Settings’ too, 
the Scholar Button (  ) can be installed onto the web bar next to the URL. When this button is clicked, 
highlighted text on any web page is immediately Google Scholar© searched and its results shown in a 
pop-up on the same page. These options are clearly useful in narrowing searches, but they are most useful 
alongside search techniques such as putting phrases in quotation marks, using OR, searching for terms only 
in the title (allintitle:), for specific types of documents (filetype: PDF), specific websites or type of websites (site: 
.org) and by ignoring sources with particular terms (-term I don’t want in finds).

Metrics
Journals are ranked. It’s crazy, but it’s true! Google Scholar© presents journals, from the drop-down box 
via the ‘Metrics’ link. The journals can then be seen in descending sequence using the h-5 indexing system, 
classified into eight broad categories which are then further classified. The broad category of Humanities 
and the Arts, for example, is then subdivided into twenty-six sub-categories. This metric system exposes 
new researchers to the most highly esteemed journals, articles and authors in the area under study. New 
researchers are encouraged to read from these sources and note tone, style and areas of focus. Ongoing 
work can also be tailored to suit specific journals having accessed and understood the literary culture of each 
journal.

Alerts
This is the best feature for researchers yet. The alerts option under ‘Settings’ and at the bottom of the list 
of refining tools when searching (‘Create alert’) uses entered search terms, applied from the guidelines 
provided, and sends new publications to the email address researchers provide, thereby keeping  researchers 
always informed on their areas of expertise. Refined searches among the most highly ranked 
journals sent directly to a new researcher’s inbox, eases research. Now, all that’s left to do, is to 
read them all. Happy searching and researching on Google Scholar©.

Janique Dennis researches Orisha pataki 
in the diaspora and can be reached at 

Janique.Dennis@sta.uwi.edu

By Janique Dennis

Research tips:
Insight corner for new researchers



This case study is the first in Trinidad and Tobago and the wider 
Caribbean to conduct a narrative analysis on hearing Children 
of Deaf Adults (CODAs). The research paper seeks to provide 
additional insight on the narrative competence of this group 
as there is an underlying belief that CODAs are proficient in 
both of their languages. The narratives of two participants 
were elicited using the wordless picture book: Frog, Where 
Are You? The samples collected were transcribed and analysed 
using a series of tests (Narrative Scoring Scheme, Mean Length 
of Utterance in morphemes (MLUm), Lexical Density and Type 
Token Ratio) which assessed the macrostructure, grammatical 
complexity and lexical diversity of the narratives. The results 
showed that there was not a significant difference in the 
macrostructure of both languages even though both CODAs 

A narrative analysis of the microstructural and macrostructural features in the L1 
and L2 of two Trinidadian hearing children of deaf adults

Supervisor: 
Dr Kathy-Ann Drayton

This section highlights the outstanding work of our DMLL undergraduate students for the courses LING 3099 Special 
Project in Linguistics and HUMN 3099 Caribbean Studies Project. They have produced excellent pieces of research. We 
encourage them to continue to make a difference.

The patterns of changing rhoticity in Trinidadian English among students of The 
University of the West Indies, St. Augustine campus

Supervisor: Dr Jo-Anne S. Ferreira 

There are usually a high number of Phonological studies on 
an international scale compared to the Caribbean in general 
although, in isolation, there are many studies that have been 
conducted within the Caribbean with regard to varieties of 
English. As a result, linguistic profiles have been built among 
these varieties. Within Phonology, rhoticity has been well 
documented with respect to rhotic and non-rhotic dialects. The 
argument is that Trinidadian English is showing inconsistent 
levels of semi-rhoticity after previous conclusions were made 

Undergraduate Research: LING 3099 Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

Justin Carrington
BA Linguistics with a Minor in 
Communication Studies
Winner of the Departmental 
prize for research  

Issue 5 - Research Notes —30

that this variety of English is non-rhotic. Consequently, further 
evidence will assist in providing a concrete claim that Trinidadian 
English is or is not displaying more frequent patterns of rhoticity.  
This study aims to examine the patterns of rhoticity that occur in 
Trinidadian English using a tertiary level population. The theory 
that /r/ is realised intervocalically, preceded by the non-high 
vowels ([ɜ] [ə] [ɑ] [ɔ]) in particular, contributes as the framework 
used to guide this study. A variety of elicitation tasks were used 
along with an open-ended interviews which provide adequate 
opportunities for the occurrence of the rhotic features linking r, 
intrusive r and r-colouring. Conversely, this study also examines 
natural speech versus artificial speech. The findings of this study 
will fill the gap within the age group of 18-30, as no previous 
study has been conducted since recent developments of some 
varieties of Trinidadian English becoming semi-rhotic.

Melissa J.B. Camacho
BA Linguistics with a 

Minor in Speech-Language 
Pathology 

had a narrative score which was higher in their L2 than their 
L1. The microstructural analysis showed that both participants 
earned a lower Lexical Density and Type Token Ratio in their 
L2 than in their L1 but a higher MLUm in their L2 than their 
L1. These findings indicate that despite the belief that bimodal 
bilinguals are competent in both languages, there is a variation 
in their narrative competency.

Ordinary radio turn-taking, interruption and non-cooperation strategies used on Trinidadian 
morning radio talk shows

Supervisor: Dr Renée Figuera

Anusuya Subran
BA Linguistics
Adriana Vance
BA Linguistics 
with a Minor in 
Communication Studies

This case study aimed to discover the turn-taking, non-
cooperative and interruption strategies employed by two 
iconic groups on urban music radio stations in Trinidad. To 
facilitate taking and relinquishing turns adjacency pairs were 
utilised including the request-acceptance/rejection and the 
inform-acknowledge pairs. Discourse markers were employed 

to maintain a turn. Interruptions were categorised as either 
competitive which included taking calls or switching to music 
or advertisements during the speaker’s turn and those that 
were cooperative. These included finishing sentences and 
paraphrasing to get clarification. Interruptions functioned as a 
means to show disagreement, as a means of interrupting the 
next speaker’s turn, assisting the speaker to get their points 
across. Non-cooperation strategies including no response and 
delayed response were also employed despite being associated 
with ordinary conversation. Therefore the data suggest that 
conversation on these shows falls closer to ordinary talk. Although 
radio talk is closer to ordinary talk, there are acts of performance 
depending on the situation.This research both adds to the 
body of research that exists but will provide new information 
regarding Caribbean context. This study incorporated a number 
of disciplines and it is intended to benefit researchers in media 
studies, communication studies, linguistics and discourse studies.



Undergraduate Research: HUMN 3099Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

31— Research Notes - Issue 5

A Tale of One Country; from Prince to Pauper: A critical analysis of the political and 
socio-economic climate facing the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela during the 
Bolivarian Revolution (the Chávez/Maduro regime); its principal causes, immediate 
consequences and possible outcome

Supervisor: Dr Anne-Marie Pouchet

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is at present immersed 
in what is a humanitarian and socio-economic crisis. This study 
aids in critically assessing the current socio-economic and 
political climate in that country taking as a period of reference 

Shane Solomon Prince
BA  Latin American Studies 
and Spanish

the years spanning the Chávez/Maduro era and thereby 
identifying the root causes of this crisis and assessing its effects 
on the Venezuelan social fabric and the economic dynamic of 
the South American nation. It also seeks to hypothesise potential 
outcomes to the crisis as it takes into consideration the various 
options available to both the international community and 
the Venezuelan society to resolve its present-day conundrum. 
Through a combined analysis of primary and secondary 
research sources, this study situates the crisis in a contemporary 
setting and answers the research questions put forward by the 
investigator.

The study investigates the impact of the use of games and 
gamification to teach A1 level Spanish among adult learners 
in Tortuga, Trinidad. It is of interest and pertinence due to 
the lack of diversification in the adult FL learning space. The 
research intends to act as a springboard for future research 
on adult learning and game approaches. Data were collected 

An investigation of the extent to which the use of games and gamification can 
enhance the performance and learning process of a group of adult basic A1 level 
Spanish learners in Tortuga, Trinidad

from evaluations, questionnaires, audios and texts through 
a comparative experiment over the course of 12 weeks 
with a control group using traditional FL approaches and 
methodologies and an experimental group using games 
and gamification. It explores performance, motivation and 
enhancement of the learning process through games. The 
data presented demonstrated that games and gamification 
significantly produced better results than traditional methods 
even among adults. These findings add to the newly established 
field of gamification in education and can debunk the myth that 
games are exclusively for children and that language learning is 
characterised by a series of drills and repetitions.

Supervisor: Dr Oscar Bazán

Arifa Hailey Satnarine 
BA Spanish and French

This study aims at discovering and analysing the various 
affective and cognitive factors that may debilitate or facilitate 
the performance of BA Spanish students in Spanish oral 
examinations at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine 
campus. After having interviewed a total of fifteen (n=15) 
students, multiple elements affecting students both positively 
and negatively in Spanish Oral examinations were revealed. 
There is a plethora of affective factors that affect students in the 

A study into the affective and cognitive factors affecting first year and third year 
BA Spanish students’ performance in Spanish oral language examinations at The 
University of the West Indies, Saint Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago

oral assessment setting such as motivation, examiners, anxiety, 
personality and fatigue. There is also a multitude of cognitive 
factors that likewise influence the performance of students in 
the oral evaluation context, for instance, topical knowledge, 
vocabulary, grammar, listening ability, feedback and different 
educational experiences.  All the aforementioned determinants 
may impact on a student’s performance in various ways. They 
may become a hindrance to his/her fluidity or may contribute 
to his/her nervousness. Similarly, some of these factors may be 
positive determinants which may foster an excellent spoken 
production in oral tests. However, in this study students are 
seemingly more affected by the negative factors than the 
positive ones.

Supervisor: Rómulo Guédez-
Fernández

Sanjay De Gannes
BA French and Spanish



Issue 5 - Research Notes —32

Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

Research has shown that many language students encounter 
difficulties in expressing themselves in the target language. This 
study is designed to examine the effect that learner agency and 
autonomy have on the development of the communicative 
ability of a group of students at The University of the West 
Indies (UWI), St Augustine. The correlation between motivation 
and agency was also examined. The research took an 
ethnographic approach and the instruments used were focus 

Learner autonomy and agency: Students’ ability to better their oral expression in 
Spanish as a foreign language at The University of the West Indies- St Augustine

Supervisor: Rómulo Guédez-
Fernández

Teresa Sherise Atwaroo
BA Spanish with a Minor in 
International Relations

Undergraduate Research: HUMN 3099

groups and interviews. The data gathered were qualitative, 
and the researcher coded the data according to topics that 
emerged from the students’ responses. Through the analysis 
of the research findings, it was revealed that students who 
were more motivated to develop their oral expression in 
Spanish exercised a greater level of agency and autonomy. 
Those students employed more learning strategies which 
were carried out regularly to improve their conversation skills. 
Hence, those students maintained a high proficiency level in 
the Spanish language. In contrast, the students with a low 
proficiency level were less motivated and rarely carried out 
learning strategies to improve their oral component, thereby, 
demonstrating a lack of learner agency and autonomy. This 
study concludes by presenting limitations of the investigation 
and recommendations.

The study investigated the types of remedies used by the 
residents of Calder Hall Phase 2, Tobago. The sampling of the 
community was done via the convenience sampling technique. 
Questionnaires (hard and soft copy) were distributed to 
residents (n=30) between November 2017 and January 
2018.The most popular modern medicine was Paracetamol, 
while the most popular traditional remedy was the mixture of 
honey and lime. Residents usually decided whether to utilise 
modern medical cures, traditional remedies or both modalities 
after assessing several factors inclusive of accessibility and 
effectiveness. Cultural beliefs, the advice of medical practitioners, 
friends and family were also factors considered by residents in 
the choice of their treatment type. There were several attitudes 
related to traditional remedies and modern medical cures. 
Modern medical cures and traditional remedies were generally 
viewed positively by respondents; however, a few negative 

Will they ever work in tandem?: A study of the use of traditional and modern 
medicine in a selected community in Tobago

Supervisor: Paola Palma

Nkocy Fletcher
BA Spanish with a Minor in 

International Relations

perceptions were mentioned.  The survey data revealed that 
traditional remedy usage was not limited to those residents 
who migrated from rural communities to Calder Hall Phase 2, 
but also those that migrated from similar urban centres. Further 
to these findings, the implications for health policy and planning 
regarding integration of traditional remedies into local health 
care delivery programmes were discussed.

Interactional competence within the context of a foreign 
language, involves skilful navigation of the flow of ideas 
between two or more individuals. Interaction is influenced 
by sociocultural and socio-psychological factors. This study 
aimed to investigate the factors which impeded interactional 
competence of level one and two students pursuing the 
Spanish Major or Minor at The University of the West Indies, St 
Augustine campus. Data were collected from six focus groups 
and questionnaires administered to level one (n=30) and 
level two (n=29) students in both classroom and examination 
settings. Thematic coding and numerical analysis were utilised 
for the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data, respectively. 
The study indicated that level two students displayed higher 
interactional competence than level one students. Also, level 

Factors influencing interactional competence: A case study of level one and two 
students at The UWI St Augustine

two students scored higher due to longer duration within their 
programme as well as increased contact and practice with 
native speakers unlike their level one counterparts. Interactional 
competence was affected by lack of pre-class preparation, 
interest and knowledge of topics, lack of practice, vocabulary, 
language mechanics and translation issues.

Supervisor: Rómulo Guédez-
Fernández

Donnar Maria Hassanali
BA Spanish with a Minor in 

Linguistics



33— Research Notes - Issue 5

Motivation and attitude are two essential affective factors 
when learning a second language. This study examines types 
of motivation (integrative, instrumental, intrinsic and extrinsic) 
and attitude and their effect on the knowledge of Spanish 
gained by thirty eight (38) participants of an intensive Spanish 

training course. This was offered by the Spanish Implementation 
Secretariat (SIS) in Trinidad. An online questionnaire was utilised 
to gather data and included a question of a modified Attitude 
Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) from Gardner’s research in 
second language learning studies. The main findings showed 
that the participants were highly motivated and found to be more 
intrinsically motivated to learn Spanish. The study also indicated 
that factors of integrative motivation were determinants for the 
participants. Furthermore, instrumental and extrinsic motivation 
played an important role in the second language learning 
process. This study can be useful to foreign language teachers 
as well as any individual interested in learning Spanish as a 
second language.

Supervisor: Paola Palma

Bridget Sudarsan
BA Spanish with a Minor in 
Communication Studies

The impact of motivation and attitude on foreign language learning: A case study of 
adults learning Spanish as a second language

Examining the factors that influence the development of Spanish listening 
comprehension skills among level 1 and 2 undergraduate students at The 

University of the West Indies

Supervisor: Rómulo Guédez-
Fernández

Asiah Raquel Joseph
BA Spanish with a Minor in 

International Relations

Listening is a very important factor that plays an active role in 
the learning processes for effective communication between 
individuals or groups as it acts as a foundation for learning and 
adopting a foreign language as well as developing cognitive 
skills. This research paper reports on a study of the different 
factors that influenced listening comprehension of level 1 and 
2 Spanish students at The UWI, St Augustine campus. It also 
focuses on how these students coped with their challenges in 
relation to the development of their listening comprehension 
skills. This qualitative study investigated what factors and how 
these factors were addressed by participants in coping with 
Spanish listening comprehension via the use of focus groups 
and interviews. Participants reported the different factors that 
influenced their listening comprehension and their use of 
listening strategies to combat their challenges. All the level 
1 and 2 students mainly reported using metacognitive and 
cognitive listening strategies, while only one level 1 student 
used socio-affective strategies. The use of metacognitive 

strategies, cognitive and socio-affective strategies appeared 
to distinguish the more successful from the lesser successful 
listeners. Differences between the level 1 and 2 students’ 
perceptions on factors were minimal and differences for learning 
strategies were less minimal. The results from the interviews and 
focus groups identified the main factors that influenced listening 
comprehension. This investigation highlighted the integral role 
of different learning strategies, such as metacognitive, cognitive 
and socio-affective strategies, in the development of listening 
comprehension skills.

The emergence of paired tasks in oral proficiency assessments 
has allowed researchers to obtain a deeper understanding of 
paired interaction, especially as it relates to the effect of candidate 
variables on discoursal performance. Nevertheless, the 
presence of nonverbal communication in paired assessments 
has yet to be fully explored by applied linguists and language 
researchers. The aim of this study is to investigate those features 

of students’ and raters’ nonverbal behaviours that potentially 
affect paired performance during the test event, and to examine 
the influence of students’ nonverbal communication on raters’ 
judgements of paired performances. The data were obtained 
from the verbal protocols and stimulated verbal recalls of two 
raters and eight students selected from The University of the 
West Indies, St. Augustine campus. Data were then transcribed 
for an analysis that was informed by the features that students 
and raters identified during the verbal reports. Results revealed 
that nonverbal communication is considered to be an important 
aspect of peer-peer interaction for both raters and students. 
These findings serve to challenge the existing understanding 
of the construct of interaction in the classroom context and 
have important implications for rating scale development, rater 
training and candidate preparedness.

Supervisor: Rómulo Guédez- 
Fernández

Kelsey Ashley Lindsay Joyeau
BA Spanish with a Minor in 
Linguistics

The effect of nonverbal communication on paired oral assessments: A case study of 
Level II undergraduate students at the UWI, St. Augustine

Undergraduate Research: HUMN 3099Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics



Issue 5 - Research Notes —34

The aims of this research paper are (a) to investigate the 
challenges students face in the Spanish language at a Caribbean 
Secondary Education Certificate level (CSEC), (b) what provokes 
the challenges, as well as (c) the methods students employ 
to overcome said challenges. A named secondary school in 
Trinidad and Tobago consisting of female students only where 
Spanish is compulsory was selected. A total of thirty students 
(n=30) participated in this study. The study adopted a mixed 
method approach of data collection. Questionnaires were 
administered to thirty students and five students participated in 
semi-structured interviews. It was found that anxiety presented 
itself as a major contributing factor to the challenges students 
encounter in the Spanish language classroom. Listening 
comprehension and oral expression were the most challenging 

Kerlene Churaman
BA Spanish with a Minor in 

Linguistics

Supervisor: Rómulo Guédez-
Fernández

skills as suggested by the findings of this study. These results, 
however, revealed to some extent the nature of the challenges 
students experience in the Spanish language classroom as well 
as what caused them. Practical suggestions for strategies that 
teachers and students may implement in order to improve the 
latter's performance in the Spanish language classroom were 
also identified for future research.

Investigating the challenges students encounter in studying the Spanish 
language: A case study of a named secondary school in Trinidad and Tobago

This study examined the challenges faced by 50 Romance 
language (Spanish and French) students at The University 
of the West Indies, St. Augustine. The results, obtained from 
questionnaires answered by these students and interviews 
conducted with a teacher representing each of the departments 
in question, revealed that the following were problems 
encountered while learning the target language (L2): the 
transition into a tertiary institution, lessons not meeting the needs 

This investigation is focused on the factors which influence the 
development of oral conversational skills for level I and II UWI 
undergraduate students of Spanish. Additionally, the different 
teaching strategies utilised in order to motivate students were 
examined Data were obtained from a total of 67 students 
(Level I, n=33 and Level II, n=34) during classroom sessions. 
The analysis of data revealed how some factors such as anxiety, 

of the different learning styles, insufficient time spent practising, 
language anxiety and inadequate feedback. Although the 
findings were insightful, more prolonged research into the 
challenges faced by foreign language students is required. The 
implications of the findings were discussed in the context of 
discovering possible solutions for the areas where Spanish and 
French students struggle most at The UWI, St Augustine.

topical knowledge, and knowledge of grammar and vocabulary 
affected students’ performance. Findings suggest that students 
preferred to rely on their own linguistic abilities or those of their 
peers instead of the linguistic competencies of their teachers. 
The study provides practical strategies to be used by teachers in 
the development of students’ conversational skills in comparison 
to the traditional strategies. It is suggested to carry out further 
research over a longer period of time in order to arrive at a 
conclusion on the factors influencing oral conversational skills. 
Moreover, it is recommended that teachers become conscious 
of the fact that many factors intertwine in the language learning 
environment that can inhibit students’ participation and their 
general ability to excel. Therefore, it is suggested that teachers 
become analytically minded during the testing and evaluations 
of students.

Supervisor: Eric Maitrejean 

Supervisor: Rómulo Guédez- 
Fernández

Kennita Esther N. Henry
BA French with a Minor in 
International Relations

Rhea Balotje
BA Latin American Studies 
with Minors in Spanish and 
International Relations

Challenges faced by students of Romance languages at The University of the West 
Indies, St. Augustine

Factors affecting the development of oral conversational skills: A case study of level 
I/II UWI undergraduate students of Spanish

Department of Modern Languages and LinguisticsUndergraduate Research: HUMN 3099



35— Research Notes - Issue 5

Under the motto “The world is a stage”, the DMLL Foreign Language Theatre Festival was 
held at the Centre for Language Learning (CLL) Auditorium on 22 May 2018. Being a non-
inter-campus festival for the second year, foreign language students from the Department 

of Modern Language and Linguistics (DMLL) performed plays in three different languages: French, 
Portuguese and Spanish. These plays combined farce with tragedy, with cultural aspects that also 
exhibited morals to the stories on the stage. Students from the CLL joined the DMLL to showcase 
a play in English, and UTT students performed two plays for children, both in Spanish. This was a 
display of cultural diversity merged under a shared passion for language learning. The pieces were 
showcased in two sessions, a morning performance for secondary and primary school students and 
an evening performance for the general public.

The event was attended by approximately 250 guests who enjoyed the experience. The interest 
in learning a foreign language is increasing annually. Taking advantage of the practice through 
theatre enables the students to communicate in our diverse mix of cultures nationally and regionally 
which would otherwise not be possible. This experience was also a great opportunity to build and 
strengthen relationships among students and staff, as well as with other participant institutions, 
sponsors and spectators.

Acting in the French play La merveilleuse histoire de Griotin, le conteur 
fabuleux, left to right: Mary Grant and Riyad Mohammed. Other actors: 
Sabrina Boodram, Roger Lezama, Sabrina Lingo, Eliana Rincón, Jake 
Salloum and Sapphire Sookram.

Instructors Mathilde Dallier and Nicolas 
Lépine directed the French play: La 
merveilleuse histoire de Griotin, le 
conteur fabuleux, in which a young 
man, Griotin, walked down from his 
beautiful village of Paramin one day 
to borrow a book at the library. As 
everyone knows, magic is everywhere 
in Trinidad, so the author of the book 
comes to life and Jean de la Fontaine 
appears with the animals of his Fables 
at his side: a Frog tells us then the story 
of the Cicada and the Ant, and also the 
one of the Crow and the Fox, and finally 
the one of the Hare and of the Turtle. 
This encounter transforms Griotin 
into a story-teller. In turn, Papa Bois, a 

Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics Foreign language Theatre Festival



In the Spanish play Cuatro corazones con freno y 
marcha atrás, left to right: Rianne Singh, Avalion 
De Fou, Shazarah Ramesar, Tzarna De Silva, Mary 
Grant, Sapphire Sookram, Whitney Schelborn, 
Jake Salloum, Sabrina Boodram, Sabrina Lingo, 
Brandon Francis, and Celeste Alexander. 

In the Portuguese play As gingas da vida, left to right: Kareem Tinto, Ce 
Lyssa Huggins, Adrian Murray, Deanna Thomas, Shea Sealey, Maryam 
Mohammed and Ariel Bartholomew. Off stage: Geena M. Carimbocas

Foreign language Theatre Festival

Issue 5 - Research Notes —36

Department Modern Languages and Linguistics

Human Being and a Keskidee come into 
existence to tell us about the necessity 
of protecting nature. This play was 
performed by Sabrina Boodram, Mary 
Grant, Roger Lezama, Sabrina Lingo, 
Riyad Mohammed, Eliana Rincón, Jake 
Salloum and Sapphire Sookram.
The name of the Portuguese play 
was As gingas da vida. In this play, a 
capoeira group is formed by people 
with different lifestyles and challenges. 
There is the girl who, through this 
martial art, is empowered and finally 
ends an abusive relationship; the sexist 
man who falls in love with a feminist; 
the ex-girlfriend who cannot accept 
the end; the womaniser who joins the 

group for the wrong reasons, among others. This Portuguese play was directed by Ce Lyssa Huggins 
and Ila Martins-Padmore and performed by Ariel Bartholomew, Geena-Marie Carimbocas, Ce Lyssa 
Huggins, Maryam Mohammed, Adrian Murray, Shea Sealey, Deanna Thomas, and Kareem Tinto.

The Spanish students presented Cuatro corazones con freno y marcha atrás, a riotous comedy by one 
of Spain's most important comic playwrights, Jardiel Poncela. This play is in praise of life, because… 
What happens if a doctor discovers the elixir of eternal youth and two couples drink from it? What if 
after 60 years they are bored with being immortal? What if their own children look like they could be 
their grandparents? Who would believe these rebellious youths are more than a hundred years old? 
The play was directed by Visiting 
Lecturer, Laura López, assisted 
by Edward Chiguazuque and 
Eliana Rincón and performed by 
the following students: Celeste 
Alexander, Sabrina Boodram, 
Avalion De Fou, Tzarna De Silva, 
Brandon Francis, Mary Grant, 
Sabrina Lingo, Shazarah Ramesar, 
Jake Salloum, Whitney Schelborn, 
Rianne Singh, and Sapphire 
Sookram.



37— Research Notes - Issue 5

Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

Coincidences often happen in life, and some events 
are so transcendent that they last for centuries 
and people continue to give thanks for life. This 

statement applies to many different things, but what we 
are talking about here is the celebration of the World Book 
and Copyright Day in Trinidad and Tobago. The event 
took place on 23 April 2018 and it commemorated the 
beginning of a new concept of understanding literature. 
On 23 April 1616 two of the greatest writers of the world 
died, William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes. Since 
then, this day is celebrated as a reminder of how language 
arts are necessary and how much we can learn through 
the words that others write, thereby making the world a 
more beautiful place to be.

The Embassy of Spain, in collaboration with the 
embassies of Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, and 
Dominican Republic, the National Library (NALIS), 
the Ministry of Education, the Secretariat for the 
Implementation of Spanish (SIS), The UWI and the Bocas 
Lit Festival organised different activities for the day. In the 
morning, twelve schools performed a “Read-a-thon” and 
approximately 30 students went on stage to read poems 
and pieces from different literary works in Spanish. After 
that, Dr Esperanza Luengo conducted a workshop for 
primary school students and she presented her book Tell 
me en español. Around 50 children from five different 
schools attended this event. The morning session was 

closed with the screening of the children’s movie Atrapa la 
bandera which was part of the Bocas Lit Fest programme.

The evening session started with the public readings 
of different literary pieces from both Spanish and Latin 
American writers ranging from the 16th Century to 
today. Twelve Spanish students who are part of the 
undergraduate programme at the Department of Modern 
Languages and Linguistics (DMLL), UWI, presented a 
dramatised reading in the atrium of NALIS of texts by some 
of the greatest writers in the Spanish language: Cervantes, 
García Lorca, José Martí, García Márquez, Neruda, etc.

The World Book and Copyright Day finished with the 
launch of the promotional video about the importance of 
learning Spanish (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_
continue=191&v=yWaLpyUj8RU), which was followed 
by the screening of the Spanish movie La novia, based on 
García Lorca’s play Bodas de sangre. 

The different institutions that participated gave very 
good feedback on the organisation of the activities and 
showed interest in repeating the day’s events annually. 
The Trinidad and Tobago Newsday congratulated Spain’s 
Ambassador, His Excellency Javier Carbajosa Sánchez, with 
the heading “Bravo, amigo”. Events like this prove that the 
promotion of Spanish is increasing in significance among 
Trinidadians, and as such they play a crucial role in the 
bridging of both cultures.

In company of the Deputy Head of Mission (Embassy of Spain) - Mr Oriol Solà Pardell (front on the right) appears the group of UWI 
students who took part in the event. Back, left to right: Adrian Murray, Shane Prince, Brandon Francis, Johnathon Auguste and Riyad 
Mohammed. Front, left to right: Laura López Calonge (UWI - Spanish Visiting Lecturer), Bridget Sudarsan, Arifa Satnarine, Geena-
Marie Carimbocas, Miranda Joseph, Lailaa Abdul-Latif.

'Read-a-thon' 
World Book and Copyright Day 2018

Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics



Issue 5 - Research Notes —38

Linguistics
Open Day and 
Research Day 2018

The Linguistics Section of the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics hosted its Linguistics 
Open/Research Day on 23 April 2018, at the CLL Auditorium at the UWI, St Augustine. Linguistics, 
which is the study of language and how it works, is not part of the Secondary School curriculum and 

as a result, many students know very little about it as an area of study and what can be done with a degree 
in the discipline. Therefore, the purpose of the Open Day component was to provide students with relevant 
information about Linguistics in general, what we offer, and how they can use Linguistics. It comprised two 
sessions: an Open Day from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for secondary school students and an Open House from 
4:00 to 6:30 p.m. for prospective postgraduate students.

The morning session was well attended by total of 91 students 
from five secondary schools in Trinidad. They were provided with 
information about Linguistics as a discipline, careers in Linguistics, the 
importance of Linguistics to foreign language learning, and Caribbean 
field trip opportunities. The students also had an opportunity to visit 
information booths, which showcased the programmes that we offer 
including Linguistics, English Language and Literature with Education 
(ELLE), and Speech-Language Pathology (SLP). There was also a 
language café where students were exposed to a range of languages 
including French, French Creole, Trinidad and Tobago Sign Language, 
Portuguese and Spanish. Members of the UWI Linguistics Society 
(UWILS) entertained students at their booth with exciting linguistics 
games. 

The Open House session in the evening, provided information to 
interested persons about the postgraduate Linguistics programmes at 
the UWI such as the MPhil and PhD programmes in Linguistics, the 
MA in Speech Language Pathology (SLP), and the Diploma and MA in 
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). 

Between the Open Day and Open House sessions, from 2:30 to 4:00 
p.m., three staff members in the Linguistics Section – Dr Benjamin 
Braithwaite, Dr Renée Figuera and Dr Jo-Anne S. Ferreira presented 
research papers on sign language, gang speak, and French Creole 
crossing borders respectively.

Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics



A Tribute to
Our Colleague and Friend

Randy Hezekiah

Over the past academic year, the DMLL got 
the news of the passing of Mr Randolph 
Hezekiah who died on 25 October 2017. 

By then, although Randy had retired from his post 
as Lecturer in French Literature at our campus, he 
continued to partner with colleagues on various 
projects.

Randolph Hezekiah received 
his BA degree from the 
University College of the West 
Indies, Mona, in 1960. After 
his degree at Mona, Randy 
proceeded immediately to 
University of Grenoble, France 
on a French Government 
Scholarship for one year. From 
1964 to 1966, he pursued 
an MA in French at Laval 
University, Quebec, Canada on 
a Commonwealth Scholarship. 
Randy officially began his 
academic career as a Lecturer 
in French at our campus in 
1970. During his time at St 
Augustine, he served as Head 
of the Department of French and Spanish from 
1976 to 1978 and from 1982 to 1983. He was also 
Vice Dean in the then Faculty of Arts and General 
Studies from 1976 to 1978. From 1998 to 2001, he 
served as Deputy Dean Student Affairs in the Faculty 
of Humanities and Education. In French literature, 
Randy specialised in the works of Franco-Caribbean 
authors, publishing on René Maran and Joseph 
Zobel, amongst others. He was an active member of 
the Alliance Française and he was sought after as an 
interpreter for conferences locally and regionally. He 

Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics In Memoriam

was also actively involved in the field of translation 
since the mid-1970s. In 1984, the Ministry of 
National Education of the French Republic bestowed 
on Randolph Hezekiah the prestigious award of the 
‘Chevalier de l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques’ for 
his remarkable service in the field of education and 

the promotion of the 
French language and 
culture.

When the news of 
his death came early 
that Wednesday 
morning, various 
colleagues described 
him as someone who 
was “always kind, 
always generous, 
always thoughtful and 
never pretentious.” 
Randy mentored 
many members of 
staff and continued to 
be generous with his 
support long after he 
retired. Above all, we 

know that Randy led those who worked closely 
with him in the spirit of selflessness, his innately 
wonderful and generous nature always on display. 
He maintained a sense of integrity, a quick wit 
and a great sense of humour despite the politics of 
contemporary academic life. In the DMLL, we feel it 
important to celebrate Randy’s life and contribution 
in this volume of DMLL Research Notes, and in 
reflecting on the joy of having known him, we say 
“Thank you, Randy.”

From left to right: Son, Damien Hezekiah; Wife, June 
Hezekiah; Randolph/Randy Hezekiah; Daughter,  
Dr Gabrielle Hezekiah and Son, Jean-Pierre Hezekiah

39— Research Notes - Issue 5



Academic 
Staff of 

the DMLL
2018 - 2019

English Language Foundation Unit
Tyrone Ali, PhD candidate (UWI)
Rhoda Bharath, MFA (UWI)
Janique Dennis, PhD candidate (UWI)
Keisha Evans-Dixon, PhD (UWI)
Jannine Horsford, MA (UWI)
Claudette Jessop, IMBA (UWI)
Avalon King, MA (UWI)
Karen Sanderson-Cole, PhD (UWI)
Lenore Greaves, MPhil (UWI)

Linguistics
Ben Braithwaite, PhD (Newcastle)
Kathy-Ann Drayton, PhD (UWI)
Sandra Evans, PhD (UWI)
Jo-Anne S. Ferreira, PhD (UWI)
Renée Figuera, PhD (UWI)

French
Savrina Chinien, PhD (Bordeaux 3)
Mathilde Dallier, PhD candidate (Pau)
Eric Maitrejean, MA (Lyon 2)
Youri Velasques, MA candidate (Bordeaux-Montaigne)
Prof Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw, PhD (Boston)

Portuguese and Brazilian Studies
Heather MacIntosh-Simon, MA candidate (UNYLEYA)

Spanish
Oscar Bazán Rodríguez, PhD (Cincinnati)
Natalia Cardona Villa, ICETEX, BA (Antioquia)
Adonis Díaz Fernández, PhD candidate (UWI)
Rómulo Guédez-Fernández, PhD candidate (UWI)
Laura López Calonge, Visiting Lecturer, MA (Cantabria)
Paola Palma Rojas, PhD candidate (UWI)
Anne-Marie Pouchet, PhD (Ohio State)
Nicole Roberts, PhD (Birmingham)

Contact information for all staff may be found on our departmental website:
http://sta.uwi.edu/fhe/dmll/

French
Linguistics
Spanish

Minor in Brazilian Studies
Minor in Caribbean Sign Language 
Minor in French 
Minor in Linguistics
Minor in Spanish
Minor in Speech-Language Pathology

BA in English Language and Literature with Education (ELLE) 
BA in Latin American Studies
BA in Speech and Language Science

Postgraduate Programmes

Diploma in Interpreting Techniques
Diploma in TESOL
MA in TESOL

Undergraduate Diplomas and Certificates

Undergraduate Programmes

Minors

Bachelor of Arts Programmes Cross-Departmental Bachelor of Arts Programmes

MA in Spanish
MA in Speech-Language Pathology
MPhil and PhD degrees in French, Linguistics, Spanish

Diploma in Caribbean Sign Language Interpreting
Certificate in Speech-Language Pathology



ON RECYCLING
The DMLL supports the importance of recycling in the Faculty of Humanities and Education and across 

Campus. The little that you do matters!
We urge everyone to use the recycling bins located in the Department and around the Campus

The University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus
Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

http://sta.uwi.edu/fhe/dmll/