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

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We were on a little holiday for a few days, so you probably noticed a slow down in posts. Despite the time away, we are back and feeling poetic. Speaking of back and poetry, I thought it would be a good idea to post a poem about returning to Africa. For those of you in the know, repatriation (returning to Africa) is a big deal in the Rastafari movement, but is it really the best thing for people of African descent brough over in slavery. The famous Jamaican author Louise Bennett aka Miss Lou contemplates the idea of returning to Africa in the poem ‘Back to Africa‘. By the way, this poem is in Jamaican Patois, so you really get an idea of the grammar and maybe some Jamaican Slang.

Back to Africa, Miss Mattie?
You no know wha you dah seh?
You haf fe come from somewhe fus
Before you go back deh!

Me know say dat you great great great
Granma was African,
But Mattie, doan you great great great
Granpa was Englishman?

Den you great granmader fader
By you fader side was Jew?
An you granpa by you mader side
Was Frenchie parlez-vous?

But de balance a you family,
You whole generation,
Oonoo all barn dung a Bun Grung-
Oonoo all is Jamaican!

Den is weh you gwine, Miss Mattie?
Oh, you view de countenance,
An between you an de Africans
Is great resemblance!

Ascorden to dat, all dem blue-yeye
White American
Who-fa great granpa was Englishman
Mus go back a Englan!

What a debil of a bump-an-bore,
Rig-jig an palam-pam
Ef de whole worl start fe go back
Whe dem great granpa come from!

Ef a hard time you dah run from
Tek you chance! But Mattie, do
Sure a whe you come from so you got
Somewhe fe come back to!

Go a foreign, seek you fortune,
But no tell nobody say
You dah go fe seek you homelan,
For a right deh so you deh!

Source: Black Woman Thinks…

So, should we go back to Africa? I’d love to hear your feedback on this, since it is such a big deal in the Rastafari movement. More Time.

If you want to speak Jamaican Patois and master the Jamaican language, you are going to have to know the grammar. Just like any language there are some rules, but the cool thing is, the rules in Jamaican Patois are not like many other languages…so let’s get into it.

In the Jamaican language, the singular and plural are the same word, so here is an example:

one cat, two cat = one cat, two cats

one bwoy, two bwoy = one boy, two boys

“Member Dat!” or Remember that even things in the plural are spoken in the singular form, so you do not need to add the plural prefix -S like in our boring Standard English.

Often times there is a clear need to indicate a plural, the third person plural pronoun written as dem, is placed after the noun. Here are some examples:

Di bwoy dem = The boys

Gwaan chat wit di gyal dem = Go chat with the girls

Call di pickney dem = Call the children/kids

Okay yardies, hopefully you get the point that “S” in Jamaican Patois is just not necesary so save it for a conversation with your grandma (unless she is Jamaican!). You might want to know why the language evolved this way. Basically, according to L. Emilie Adams, the practice of using the third person plural pronoun (Dem=Them) after the noun (ie. bwoy, gyal) to indicate the plural is an African linguistc characteristic brought to Jamaica by the Africa Slaves. Most Jamaicans are the descendants of peoples speaking languages of the Niger-Congo family. This language family is the largest in Africa and are mostly known for adding the third person plural pronoun to indicate the plural.

There are so many things from Africa that Jamaica has preserved and also reinvented. It’s just so cool to see things often oppressed survive. There are so many other Africanism in Jamaican Patois, that I have to break it up. So stay tuned and … visit www.jamaican-slang.com to learn about Jamaican Patois.

More Time!

I know that alot of people think that all reggae sounds the same, but nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, there are definitely some similarities among all of the types of reggae, but there are really two dominant forms of reggae that come out of Jamaica, Ragga aka Dancehall Reggae and Roots Reggae. So what are the differences?

To begin with, Ragga which I will refer to as Dancehall is largely played with digital instruments. Most of the beats which are called Riddims are made digitally. Dancehall has been the most commercially successful Jamaican music over the years. Many Dancehall artists have experienced cross over success with mainstream music. Artists like Sean Paul, Beenie Man, Shabba Ranks, Super Cat, Vybz Kartel, Bounty Killa, Elephant Man and many more are all examples of dancehall artists with some experiencing worldwide success. In addition, to artists known strictly for dancehall, some Roots artists also record dancehall tracks. Sizzla, Buju Banton and Capelton are roots artists who also appear on dancehall tracks. Dancehall is unique in that it draws on all aspects of Jamaican culture and is often the sound where authentic Jamaican Patois can be heard (to hear some authentic Patois on Dancehall Tracks, check out the JA Mixes). The subject matter in the songs ranges from politics in Jamaica, sex, women, violence, Jamaica or a new dance. Dancehall gets its name from the event or place where people go to hear ragga tracks and as the word implies, people dance! Many of the most popular dancehall tracks have dedicated dances with choreography. Recently, one of the most popular was dances was Pon di River, also a song by Elephant Man. In addition, to Pon di River, there is also a dance for Signal de Plane (click here to see the steps for Signal de Plane!) Dancehall tracks come out at a frenzying pace and some are classics while others leave much to be desired.

Roots reggae is the largely rasta influenced form of reggae. Many roots tracks are recorded with live instruments, although many are also digital. As mentioned before, some of the most well known roots artists who venture into the dancehall world are Sizzla, Buju Banton and Capelton. Other popular artists who focus almost exclusively on roots include Morgan Heritage, Ritchie Spice, Jah Mason, Anthony B, Luciano and many more. One thing to know is that many of these artists are also rastas. Sizzla, Capelton and Anthony are all Bobo Ashanti, a very unique and obscure sect of the Rastafarian faith. Most roots songs address issues such as Rastafari, Ganja, Jah, H.I.M (His Imperial Majesty), Africa, Jamaica and other realities that face the Jamaican people. As far as learning to speak Jamaican, Roots is important for understanding the roots, reality and culture, but is much more likely to have English lyrics. From a cultural perspective, Roots songs often have Nayabinghi sounds and other instruments of the Rastafari faith.

So is one genre better than the other? Absolutely not. I go in and out of phases. Sometimes, I want to listen to roots to relax and other times I want to listen to dancehall to get energized like Elephant Man. Dancehall is great to learn to speak Jamaican and Roots really gives you insight into the culture of Jamaica and Rastafari!