3 1. Introduction ically human and thereby also social phenomenon.” Bearing the above in mind, contact linguistics provides one with a research perspective and research methodology with which, through its application, one can construct a model of the specific language development practices and tendencies which are clearly visible in Jamaican Creole proverbs. Pidgins and creoles come into being via contact between people speaking different languages and representing various cultures. The emergence of a new variety of language depends on the frequency of contacts between two or more speech communities, and this is why one can state that “[…] language contact originates from cultural, economic, political and scientific contact between ethnic and demographic groups” (ibidem). It involves people coming from different cultures and speaking different varieties of language who come into contact with one another and interact, therefore it is important to note that “[l]anguage contact arises from the direct or indirect social interaction of the speakers, influenced by the units of the communicative act and its sociocultural context” (ibidem). Contact linguistics deals with interactions between languages and cultures and analyzes both the outcome of these interactions and the new cultural and linguistic patterns that emerge from this contact of cultures. 1.1.3. Research material The basis of the research material is a total of 1092 texts containing Jamaican Creole proverbs collected by Martha Beckwith1 (1925) and Al Cleary (1971). The above-mentioned collections of proverbs are based on the following, previously published sources: – Thomas Banbury, Jamaica Superstitions, or the Obeah Book. A Complete Treatise of the Absurdities Believed in by the People of the Island, Jamaica (1894), 39–43; – William C. Bates, “Creole Folk-lore from Jamaica. I. Proverbs,” Journal of American Folk-lore, Vol. 9 (1895), 38–42; – Frank Cundall and Izett Anderson, Jamaica Negro Proverbs and Sayings, Kingston (1910); – Frank Harry, “Jamaica Proverbs,” Dialect Notes, Vol. 5, Part 4 (1921); 98–108; – Cyril F. Grant, “Negro Proverbs Collected in Jamaica, 1887.” Folk-lore, Vol. 28 (1917); 315–317; 1 Original publication (1925) without copyright by Vassar College Libraries. The current 2016 text production is deemed fair use.
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