One of the defining markers of Jamaican students’ academic success (for teachers and students) is their ability to speak Standard Jamaican English (SJE) fluently. However, SJE fluency is challenging for many majority-speaking Jamaican Creole (JC) boys who experience language conflicts within their social and educational contexts.

This article examines the extent to which racial/ethnic segregation between Afro- and Indo-Caribbean immigrants in New York City (NYC) impact their language use, particularly in schools. It reports on the results of a year-long qualitative study conducted in two schools—one located in a predominantly Afro-Caribbean, and the other in a predominantly Indo-Caribbean community in NYC—exploring the relationship among racial/ethnic identity, residence, social interaction and language practices with regard to Caribbean immigrant children. 

 
Several theories of Identity have been proposed by psychologists, but few of these have been supported by empirical research. This is not surprising since the formation of Identity seems to be greatly influenced by the subconscious, and as such, scientific explorations may be difficult or even impractical. Nevertheless, the issues raised and the views put forward have provided the foundation for further studies. 

At the outset, Caribbean representations of nation depicted and were offered by male projections of Caribbean identity and experience. The 1940s to the 1970s were fraught with sociopolitical and literary constructions of national identities for the once enslaved and colonized Caribbean territories which were male-centred and which bore gendered assumptions concerning what was to be regarded as necessary for the creation and development of these nations.