I came across this great article about Reggae Lyrics and it is directly related to a recent article about dancehall culture. In addition to a great amount of detail about Reggae’s worldwide presence, the article also goes into detail about Jamaican Patois and Speaking Jamaican. This is great stuff.

There are millions of Reggae music fans across the world. Reggae music is often sung in the local Jamaican dialect called Patois. However, not all fans of Reggae can speak or understand Jamaican Patois. Avid fans of Reggae music, who are not Jamaican patois speakers, can attest to the fact that at times there are words in the music that he or she cannot understand. This article will list some Jamaican Patois words frequently found in Reggae music. The meanings of those Patois words will also be given.

Here are some Reggae related Patois words often found in the music

jum pan – noisy awful music

bruk wile – to dance excitedly

buss di dace – do the dance (usually refers to the newest and latest dance)

dibby – inferior

soun bwoy – an insulting word used to refer to a disc jockey

selectah – disc jockey

wheel (up) – rewind the music

boom soun – the best sound, the best sounding disc jockey

clash – disc jockeys competing with each other to play the latest and best songs

bashment – a party, a concert

Patois is a dialect full of imaginative and varied words. A word that means one thing in one context can have a totally different meaning when used in another context.

There are millions of Reggae music fans across the world. Some Reggae artists prefer to deliver their lyrics in Patois. However, quite a number of Reggae artists sing in Standard English but even they at times use Patois words, in their songs, from time to time. By listening to Reggae music often, many people have built up a familiarity with Jamaican Patois, often without knowing what the word(s) mean initially.

This article really touches on the fact that Jamaican Culture and Jamaican Patois are worldwide. Additionally, it’s exciting that more and more people are interested in the language and culture. To check out more about Jamaican Patois and Culture AND reggae, visit: www.jamaican-slang.com and get a copy of the Rastaman Vibration.