The latest programme in the BBC's children's schedule is receiving brickbats and bouquets in equal measure. Rastamouse is a crime-fighting, laid-back, reggae-playing Rastafarian mouse, who speaks in Caribbean patois, using words and phrases such as 'irie' (happy), 'me wan go' (I want to go), 'me so glad to see you', 'he don't know what to do', and 'wagwan' (what's going on). His motto is 'makin' a bad ting good'.
About a hundred people have complained to the BBC about the programme (which is not many people in the overall spectrum of things), but internet forums have attracted negative comments, too. Some parents have claimed that the programme is racist and promotes a stereotypical view of Afro-Caribbeans, while others don't like the non-standard English.
If you are in the United Kingdom, you can watch some of the recent episodes of Rastamouse on iPlayer. Otherwise, try YouTube.
A well known point about Rastafarian vocabulary is that the pronoun 'me' is eradicated. Me is the object = victim; 'me' is hangover slave talk. Whereas in Jamaican patois 'me' replaces 'I', in Rastafarian speech 'I' replaces 'me'.
This mouse is an imposter.
Posted by: Jemmy Hope | February 17, 2011 at 11:05 AM
Thanks, Jemmy. So he's Jamaican, but not Rastafarian, then?
Posted by: Virtual Linguist | February 17, 2011 at 08:06 PM
Well, he's called Rastamouse, which suggests he's a Rastafarian. I think he could be undercover "babylon", on the lookout for users of the sacred herb.
Posted by: Jemmy Hope | February 18, 2011 at 10:49 AM