I don't think it is proper to pay too much attention to dialects and things. In the city where I live (Toronto) patois heavily influences local 'ebonics' for lack of a better term. Lots of people, baldheads, use terms and phrases like 'bredren', 'mans dem', 'bumba/ras claat', all sorts of these typical terms because of the large West Indian population. So for I, I don't attribute this type of speak towards Rastafari in particular. There are specifically Rastafari terms which have been adapted into standard West Indian patois as you all know but this happens just because there is such a heavy Rastafari influence in the Islands. All of these things are fine and they make sense.
What does not make sense is people using patois who are merely copying a dialect that isn't their own. These people are playing games and getting themselves confused. Also what doesn't make sense to InI is intentionally misspelling and mispronouncing words which at the end of the day does nothing for you except weaken your credibility and confuse your audience.
In conversation I tend to stall and use lots of words that are hardly words like 'um'. I also sometimes don't annunciate properly. This is a weakness for I. This makes listeners not so keen on hearing what I have to say. It makes it hard for them to pay attention and to take me seriously when I say stuff like 'yo' and 'ya know' all the time.
Selassie I always makes an effort to speak so properly and clearly. This engaged the world to listen. Since we are Rastaman and Rastawoman here, we live life following the teachings of Rastafari, Selassie I. Therefore I don't see it as proper to take speech lessons from people like Burning Spear and Bob Marley, even though they are very wise, righteous, and gifted thinkers, singers, and songwriters. The words lose meaning when they are so hard to understand, and so when conversing with people who have problems understanding a foreign dialect, it is best to the speak proper, universal language which they can understand. Unless you want to stand there with an interpretter.
Peace love and understanding
RasTafari
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