One can certainly understand the adage 'If you can't beat them, join them'. However, I must admit that I'm a bit confused, having seen us beat the Americans, why it is that we would still need to join them.

I am, of course, referring to the recent appearance by triple Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt on the Late Show with David Letterman, which saw the athlete imitate an American accent, to the annoyance of a few Jamaicans watching the broadcast.

Well, after a performance like that at the Beijing Games, it is tough, if not almost impossible, to criticise Jamaica's most successful Olympian.

In fact, if that is how the sprinter feels comfortable speaking to an American audience, he should go right ahead. I do, however, take exception to the fact that some have attempted to justify it by saying that it was necessary.

I suppose for many years it has been the cultural norm for many of us to see the adoption of a foreign accent as something of a personal improvement.

In an environment, I suppose, that nations many times our size did far better than us in nearly everything imaginable, one could imagine, if never condone, throwing away the local dialect for a foreign one.

Outstanding athlete

However, in the instance that Bolt was invited to the show as an outstanding Jamaican athlete, who beat the rest of the world, I must admit that it was a little disappointing to see his adaptation of the language of the conquered.

The argument, one which I consider to be silly as well as irritating, put forward is that Bolt was forced to adopt the American drawl because he couldn't very well be speaking Patois on the popular show.

Of course he couldn't. There was however, an alternative. It is called Standard English and, believe it or not, it is not only listed as our official language, but also taught in our schools.

Having heard the athlete speak at various post-Olympic press conferences and interviews, I am quite sure that he would have done just fine using that dialect. Lest we forget, the United States is a country diverse in its population, hosting visitors and immigrants from all parts of the globe. It would be curious to see how many of them have adopted the 'foreign tongue'.

Heritage

Several top athletes who are not from the United States, that I have seen give interviews (and I am not saying there are none who do so), seem to simply attempt to speak English and not worry about adopting the accent. Why should we be any different?

What kind of message would we be sending our youngsters, perhaps already struggling to learn Standard English (and there is a reason it is called that)?

Is it that you learn it here but as soon as you go abroad you ditch your accent, which is a part of your identity, and attempt to copy the foreign tongue as closely as possible?

The way that we sound is part of our heritage. We should be proud of it and it is quite provoking that there are those among us who suggest that it should be hidden once you hit the big stage with the flashing lights.

I mean, one thing unique to us is the the way we sound, isn't it? Could the accent, like local-grown yam and bananas, be the secret to our success?