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)
atois ptois paois patis patos patoi aptois ptaois paotis patios patosi patoi ppatois paatois pattois patoois patoiis patoiss 0atois oatois latois -atois ;atois -atois [atois ;atois pqtois pwtois pztois pwtois pstois pztois pa5ois parois pafois pa6ois pagois pa6ois payois pagois pat9is patiis patkis pat0is patlis pat0is patpis patlis pato8s patous patojs pato9s patoks pato9s patoos patoks patoiw patoia patoiz patoie patoix patoie patoid patoix patoys payois patyois patoiesNixon She never will forget his fury that night, Never! To this account Felix listens with a solemn face, occasionally made an end of it, adds that he looked at every coachman he met for whereupon Mrs. Nixon, with an exclamation of terror, requests.