Opposition culture spokesperson Nekeisha Burchell opens first sectoral speech in Jamaican language, Speaker enforces standing orders

Opposition spokesperson on culture, the creative industries and information Nekeisha Burchell used Jamaican language as she rose to deliver her first sectoral address in that brief, only for the Speaker to intervene and remind her of parliamentary rules, including that further interruptions would not earn her more speaking time.

Burchell had opened in the speech style most Jamaicans use every day. After the exchange, she told the chamber she might set aside that approach because she had been reminded of the formal linguistic expectations of the legislature.

She went on to argue that, even so, few openings could suit a debate on culture as well as a short passage in the variety of speech familiar to the vast share of the island’s population.