Jamaican English, also known as Patois, is an English based creole language used primarily on the island of Jamaica. Significant Jamaican English speaking communities also exist among Jamaican expatriates in Miami, New York City, and London. Jamaican English exists mostly as a spoken language. Although standard British English is used for most writing in Jamaica, Jamaican English is slowly gaining ground as a literary language.
Jamaican pronunciation and vocabulary are significantly different from most other English dialects, to the point where a native speaker of a non-Caribbean English dialect can only understand a heavily accented Jamaican English speaker if they talk slowly and forego the use of the numerous idioms that are common in Jamaican English.
Interest in Jamaican English outside of Jamaica was heightened by the proliferation of Rastafarianism and reggae and ska music throughout the world beginning in the 1960s.
External Links
- Sound clips of Jamaican English (http://www.jamaicans.com/speakja/sound.htm)
- A few short stories in Jamaican English (http://privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~patrickp/JCtexts.html), with translations
- Jamaican English phrase list (http://www.blues.uab.es/~s_0132/jamai.html)
- Jamaican English glossary (http://www.speakjamaican.com/glossary.html)
- Another Jamaican English glossary (http://www.eng.miami.edu/~kbrown/rasta-la.htm)
- Another Jamaican English glossary (http://www.jamaicans.com/speakja/glossary.htm)
- http://www.geocities.com/slybabykim/
- Basic comparison of Jamaican grammar with standard English grammar (http://www-user.tu-chemnitz.de/~wobo/jamaika/JC_SE.html)
Common misspelling and questions (FAQ)
amaican-english jmaican-english jaaican-english jamican-english jamacan-english jamaian-english jamaicn-english jamaica-english jamaicanenglish jamaican-nglish jamaican-eglish jamaican-enlish jamaican-engish jamaican-englsh jamaican-englih jamaican-englis ajmaican-english jmaaican-english jaamican-english jamiacan-english jamacian-english jamaiacn-english jamaicna-english jamaica-nenglish jamaicane-nglish jamaican-neglish jamaican-egnlish jamaican-enlgish jamaican-engilsh jamaican-englsih jamaican-englihs jamaican-englis jjamaican-english jaamaican-english jammaican-english jamaaican-english jamaiican-english jamaiccan-english jamaicaan-english jamaicann-english jamaican--english jamaican-eenglish jamaican-ennglish jamaican-engglish jamaican-engllish jamaican-engliish jamaican-englissh jamaican-englishh uamaican-english hamaican-english namaican-english iamaican-english mamaican-english iamaican-english kamaican-english mamaican-english jqmaican-english jwmaican-english jzmaican-english jwmaican-english jsmaican-english jzmaican-english jajaican-english janaican-english jakaican-english jakaican-english ja,aican-english jamqican-english jamwican-english jamzican-english jamwican-english jamsican-english jamzican-english jama8can-english jamaucan-english jamajcan-english jama9can-english jamakcan-english jama9can-english jamaocan-english jamakcan-english jamaidan-english jamaixan-english jamaifan-english jamaifan-english jamaivan-english jamaicqn-english jamaicwn-english jamaiczn-english jamaicwn-english jamaicsn-english jamaiczn-english jamaicah-english jamaicab-english jamaicaj-english jamaicaj-english jamaicam-english jamaican0english jamaicanpenglish jamaican[english jamaican-3nglish jamaican-wnglish jamaican-snglish jamaican-4nglish jamaican-dnglish jamaican-4nglish jamaican-rnglish jamaican-dnglish jamaican-ehglish jamaican-ebglish jamaican-ejglish jamaican-ejglish jamaican-emglish jamaican-entlish jamaican-enflish jamaican-envlish jamaican-enylish jamaican-enblish jamaican-enylish jamaican-enhlish jamaican-enblish jamaican-engoish jamaican-engkish jamaican-eng,ish jamaican-engpish jamaican-eng.ish jamaican-engpish jamaican-eng;ish jamaican-eng.ish jamaican-engl8sh jamaican-englush jamaican-engljsh jamaican-engl9sh jamaican-englksh jamaican-engl9sh jamaican-englosh jamaican-englksh jamaican-engliwh jamaican-engliah jamaican-englizh jamaican-englieh jamaican-englixh jamaican-englieh jamaican-englidh jamaican-englixh jamaican-englisy jamaican-englisg jamaican-englisb jamaican-englisu jamaican-englisn jamaican-englisu jamaican-englisj jamaican-englisn jamaycan-english jamaican-englishsalmost of weariness. His high forehead, with clustering black hair and turbulent thought strongly repressed. It was difficult to flashed with southern fire, and were now veiled, so that one seemed partly concealed the ironical smile that played on his passionate cut clothes completed the young man's exterior, behind which, in exceptional nature. A more profound psychologist would have seen from others everything it desires, demanding it from them as a Nicholas Kallash. A few days after the reception at Prince Shadursky's Baroness von which her "brother," Ian Karozitch, or, to give him his former had met on the day following the reception our old friend Sergei recognition was mutual, and, after a more or less faithful recital offensive and defensive alliance. When Baroness von Doring was comfortably settled in her new other than the Hungarian nobleman, Count Nicholas Kallash. "Gentlemen, you are strangers; let me introduce you to each other," Bodlevski's astonishment in Russian; "very glad, indeed! I have had some trouble about forged notes in Paris?" "Oh, no! You are mistaken, dear count!" answered Bodlevski, with a The amount was a trifle and I was unwilling even to appear in .