Jamaican Slang EditorialTHE Blog for Jamaican Slang, Patois, Reggae, Rastafari, Real T’ing dem and Jamaica

Imagine getting lost in the Blue Mountains of Jamaican and everyone you see only speaks Patois, the Jamaican language. Well, Standard English might not be that helpful even though English is the official language of Jamaica. Knowing how to ask for directions in Jamaican Patois is the way out of being lost. Here is a great entry providing a basic summary of how to ask for directions in Jamaican Patois. Read it and then speak:

In the Jamaican dialect there are ways of asking for directions and there are separate ways of giving directions. This article will explore the various ways of doing this. We will also look at the popular phrase ‘ah whe’ and how to turn it from a question into a statement. Much of this will take some rote memorization. Ok, let’s begin.

Asking Directions

ah whe ee deh? - where is it?

Ee deh deh? - is it there?

Desso ee deh? - it is there?

yasso ee deh? - it is right here?

ee deh ova deh? - is it over there?

In the above examples, you ask a question by changing your intonation and by having a questioning tone. With the exception of “ah whe ee deh” all the above examples can be converted from questions (asking directions) to statements (which give directions). Examples of this are shown below.

Giving Directions

Ee deh deh - it is there

desso ee deh - it is there

yasso ee deh - it is right here

ee deh ova deh - it is over there

Now, let’s look at the example of “ah whe ee deh” which can only be used for asking questions. The first two words in this phrase ‘ah whe’ literally mean ‘a where’ which means that you are asking a question. Therefore, if we want to change ‘a whe ee deh’ from a question into a statement you would have to replace ‘a whe’. Here are some examples with ‘a whe’ being replaced and other words being inserted in its place to change the sentence from a question into a statement. Take a look at
the examples below.

Ee deh deh - it is there

ee deh ponni - it is on it

ee deh sydah di - it is beside the

ee deh nex di - it is next to the

To read the original article, click here. And to learn more about Patois, the Jamaican Language, and Jamaican culture pick up a copy of the Rastaman Vibration at www.jamaican-slang.com

Irie!