A spoken-verse category in which each entrant performs one poem that moves between standard English and Jamaican language, recorded on the template as a four-minute entry scored out of 100 and offered in all seven classes.
Speech – Mixed Standard and Jamaican Poems is the sixtieth entry on the Jamaican national performing arts festival template and the fifth category of its Speech discipline. It comes straight after the four single-language classes, standard English and Jamaican poems and prose, and it asks for something none of them does: one poem in which the two languages sit side by side. The handbook files it as category 7 of the speech syllabus, marked as a poem category, and the abbreviation used on entry forms is MSJP(A).
The shape of a round is simpler than in the single-language poem classes. Every entrant in Classes 1 to 6 presents one selection only, and the content of the poem must include both Jamaican language and standard English. There is no second contrasting poem to prepare for the older classes, and each selection is limited to three minutes. The handbook adds the line that sets the standard for the class: entrants ought to deliver with equal dexterity the dynamics and nuances of the languages intermixed.
That sentence is the heart of the category. A mixed poem changes register as it goes, perhaps a formal voice for a teacher or a letter and a home voice for a grandmother or a friend, or a single narrator who slips from one language to the other as the feeling changes. The speaker has to make each switch sound natural and deliberate. A speaker who is confident in standard English and stiff in Jamaican, or the other way round, leaves half of the poem flat, and the panel hears the difference at once. The marks go to the entrant who treats both languages as their own.
The usual entry rules apply: the right author must be acknowledged, the entry form must say that the selection is a poem and not prose, and a copy of the selection goes in with the entry form. The handbook suggests an online anthology, but a text used in Jamaican schools, earlier published anthologies and other approved published material are also allowed. Costume should suit the character or situation in the poem, and the handbook discourages school uniform and plain black, white or grey unless the mood of the text calls for it.
The template records the item as a team entry, both genders together, with English as the language, a four-minute window with the warning bell at three minutes and a score out of 100, in all seven classes. The handbook describes the category as a solo class in Classes 1 to 6 with a three-minute limit, and it lists a separate speaking-ensemble version for groups of 7 to 16 members. An organiser who wants to follow the handbook for the solo class should set the entry type to individual and the time limit to three minutes. Organisers run a mixed-language poem class because it gives children and adults who move between the language of school and the language of home every day a place to be judged on exactly that skill.
Where Speech – Mixed Standard and Jamaican Poems comes from
Poets across the English-speaking Caribbean have long written verse that moves between creole and standard English within a single poem, so a competition class for that blend follows a real literary habit. Nothing in the source for this template says when the mixed class joined the festival, who has won it or how it developed, so no festival history is claimed here.
Where Speech – Mixed Standard and Jamaican Poems is run
On eTalenter this item is used in one template, the Jamaican national performing arts festival template, where it is assigned to all seven classes (six age bands from the youngest children to adults aged 20 and over, plus a combined class) in the Speech discipline, after the Jamaican prose class and ahead of the matching mixed prose class. Classes for verse in a local or creole language, and for poems that blend it with the formal language, appear in school, community and cultural festivals in many countries, but each event sets its own text lists, time limits and age bands, so the rules on this page apply to the festival the template is built from.
- Jamaica (the national performing arts festival the template is built from)
Key facts
- A poem category: the entry must say the selection is a poem, not prose, and the right author must be acknowledged
- One selection only in every class from 1 to 6, and the poem must contain both Jamaican language and standard English; there is no second contrasting poem in this class
- Each selection is limited to three minutes; the handbook asks for equal dexterity in the dynamics and nuances of both languages
- The template gives a team entry, both genders together, English as the language, a four-minute limit with the warning bell at three minutes and a score out of 100, in all seven classes; the handbook describes a solo category for Classes 1 to 6, with a separate speaking-ensemble version for 7 to 16 members
- Marked on the shared four-part speech table: voice production, speech, presentation and interpretation, weighted 20, 30, 20 and 30 at auditions, 10, 35, 15 and 40 at parish level and 4, 20, 4 and 22 (out of 50) at the national finals
- Ideas, not rules, for choosing a poem: a narrator who speaks formally to a teacher or official and warmly to family in the same poem; a poem about learning to switch between the language of school and the language of home; a letter poem that opens in careful standard English and slides into home talk when the feeling breaks through. Always check the poem against an approved source and the age of the entrant
On eTalenter, Speech – Mixed Standard and Jamaican Poems is filed under On Stage and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Speech – Mixed Standard and Jamaican Poems is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 4 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Speech – Mixed Standard and Jamaican Poems
What a Speech – Mixed Standard and Jamaican Poems panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- The handbook prints one marking table for the whole Speech discipline, so a mixed poem is scored on the same four headings as every other speech class; the points below follow that table and are a summary, not a quotation of the rule
- Voice production: audibility, projection, tone, resonance, colouring, texture and pace, worth 20 at auditions, 10 at parish level and 4 of 50 at the national finals. In a mixed poem the voice has to change with the language, often in pace and pitch as well as in sound; marks go to a speaker who keeps both registers audible and distinct, and are lost to one who drops the volume whenever the poem turns to the less comfortable language
- Speech: articulation, enunciation and pronunciation, worth 30, 35 and 20 of 50. The handbook defines pronunciation as the accepted way a word is articulated and names Oxford English as its reference, and it does not explain how that applies to the Jamaican lines, so an entrant should ask the organiser how the panel reads it. Whatever the answer, every word in both languages must be clear, and the join between the two must not blur
- Equal dexterity: the handbook sentence for this class asks for the dynamics and nuances of both languages to be delivered equally well. The panel listens for a speaker who is as secure in the Jamaican passages as in the standard English ones, and marks down uneven delivery where one language sounds rehearsed and the other sounds read
- Presentation: costume, stage presence, performance energy, style and visual impact, worth 20, 15 and 4 of 50. A costume or small change of posture that fits the speaker in the poem helps; a gesture that marks each switch of language, kept small and consistent, usually scores better than constant movement
- Interpretation: comprehension, expression, mood and feeling and believability, worth 30, 40 and 22 of 50. This is where a mixed poem is won. The panel rewards an entrant who understands why the poem changes language at each point and lets the change carry the feeling, and marks down one who switches mechanically
- Time: three minutes for the single selection. A poem that runs over must be cut or paced differently in rehearsal, never rushed on the day
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Speech – Mixed Standard and Jamaican Poems under Scoring Setup, or start from the full recitation and poetry judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Speech – Mixed Standard and Jamaican Poems
How entrants and their teachers usually get Speech – Mixed Standard and Jamaican Poems right on the day:
- Choose a poem that really does use both languages and make sure you can say why it changes at each point. Read it aloud several times, mark every switch and write beside it what has changed: the person spoken to, the mood or the place. A switch you cannot explain will sound accidental
- Check the rules first: a poem, not prose; both Jamaican language and standard English in the text; author acknowledged; a copy of the selection ready for the entry form. Use the approved anthology, a school text or another approved source
- Time it. Say the poem at performing speed with a stopwatch and aim for about two and a half minutes so the three-minute limit leaves a margin for nerves. Trim a verse rather than speed up
- Rehearse each language on its own first. Say only the standard English lines in order, then only the Jamaican lines, and fix the weaker set until both are equally clear. Then join them back together and rehearse the switches as the hardest part of the poem
- Give each language its own colour of voice without making either sound like a caricature: a small change of pace, pitch or posture is enough. Record yourself and listen for the places where the less comfortable language gets quieter or faster
- Mark up a printed copy. Underline the words that carry the feeling, put a slash at every breath and write the mood beside each verse. Memorise verse by verse, not word by word, and practise starting from the middle of the poem so a slip never means starting again
- Perform for a mixed audience, including someone who does not speak the Jamaican lines every day, and ask which passages they followed and which they lost. Adjust pace and gesture before you change any words
- Plan the stage picture and costume: where you enter, where you stand, what you do with your hands and how you finish. Choose clothing that suits the speaker in the poem and avoids school uniform and plain black, white or grey, as the handbook advises
- After a result, ask for the adjudicator’s comments and note which of the four headings lost the marks. Most improvement comes from interpretation and speech, so choose a more demanding poem next season and keep working on the lines that were marked down
Ready-made event templates that include Speech – Mixed Standard and Jamaican Poems
Open any template to preview it in eTalenter and install it as a live, editable event.
| Template | Category | Score label | Competitions |
|---|---|---|---|
| JCDC National Performing Arts Festival (Jamaica) | On Stage | Marks | 7 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Speech – Mixed Standard and Jamaican Poems judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Team entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
What makes a poem count as mixed standard and Jamaican?
The handbook requires that the content of the poem includes both Jamaican language and standard English. A poem written wholly in one language belongs in the standard English or Jamaican poems class. The entry form must name the mixed poem category, and the panel expects the speaker to deliver both languages with equal skill.
Do I have to perform two poems?
No. Every class from 1 to 6 presents one selection only in this category, so there is no contrasting pair to prepare. That differs from the standard English and Jamaican poem classes, where Classes 5 and 6 perform two contrasting poems.
How long can the poem be?
The handbook allows three minutes for the selection. The template gives a four-minute window with the warning bell at three minutes, so an organiser following the handbook should change the limit to three minutes.
Is this judged individually or as a team?
The handbook describes the solo category as an individual class for Classes 1 to 6, and lists a separate speaking-ensemble version for groups of 7 to 16 members. The template records the item as a team entry, so an organiser who wants the solo class should set it to individual.
Where do I find a poem to use?
The handbook says the organising body suggests an online anthology, but a text used in Jamaican schools, earlier published anthologies and other approved published material may also be used. Whichever you choose, check that the text really contains both languages, acknowledge the author and submit a copy with the entry form.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full recitation and poetry judging criteria guide, or browse every on stage competition item.
Try Speech – Mixed Standard and Jamaican Poems in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Speech – Mixed Standard and Jamaican Poems, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.