joel.julien@guardian.co.tt
There are only two seasons in Trinidad and Tobago– rainy and dry.
Therefore, it is incorrect to describe the two-month school vacation period we are currently experiencing as “summer.”
And this has been a bug bear of sorts for many.
But what can be said as an alternative?
Well, enter the term “JAVA.”
But what is it?
“We found a shorter way of using this term July/August vacation instead of saying summer and it was JAVA. J for July, A for August and Vacation is abbreviated or shortened to VA giving JAVA,” Dion Carrington told Guardian Media Ltd in an interview using Teams yesterday.
Carrington, 25, said he and his classmates came up with the term when they were in form two at Trinity College, Moka.
His father was the motivation behind them finding the creative term.
“This is something to be quite honest my friends and I have been saying for over a decade now, it started because in my household my dad was a stickler for the correct usage of the language and terminology so there was no saying summer at home,” Carrington said with a laugh.
“We either had to say July/August vacation or find another way of saying it,” he said.
And because the term July/August vacation was too long-winded the friends came up with this four-letter alternative.
“We just started using it amongst ourselves,” Carrington said.
But then on July 24, 2018 a tweet from Carrington’s friend Christopher Collens changed everything.
“Petition to call summer in the Caribbean JAVA (July/August Vacation),” Collens tweeted.
“That just took it to a whole other level,” Carrington said.
Collens’ original tweet was retweeted 334 times, and had 750 reactions.
Carrington said it feels good to see the evolution that has taken place.
“To be honest I am happy. I am always interested in how I could have affected this space positively and to see that this has evolved to this point is amazing,” he said.
“I have heard other people say around me that they have never seen language evolve in this way from start to finish and for me to be able to be part of the catalyst for that has been amazing,” Carrington said.
Corporate T&T and social media users have gravitated to the use of the term JAVA.
“At first I was like so am I not going to get anything from this? But after looking into that and realising that that would not turn into anything else I just said I have given something to the culture and I am grateful for that much,” he said.
Carrington’s first job was a teacher, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.
He is now a writer who is set to publish his first book 57 Days of Emotions, which is a collection of writings, mostly poetry.
“I see the importance and value of language now. I did not understand it then and I fought against my dad for some time as teenagers do as it pertains to the use of language and it having to be so structured and rigid, but I see the value in it now and I am using that in my writing with both standard and dialect and creole to ensure that I add to the value of the way we use and utilise language,” he said.
Carrington’s first book will be launched on August 14.
