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

Yup, that is correct, you shouldn’t listen to  some Jamaicans if you want to learn to speak Jamaican patois/slang. I know this may sound strange, but the truth of the situation is that there seems to be a certain amount of disapproval from some Jamaicans when it comes to foreigners speaking Jamaican Patois. This is just silly and really close minded on many levels. You would never hear a Cuban say, ” I cannot stand it when foreigners try to speak Spanish to me.” And you most certainly would not hear an American saying, ” It annoys me when immigrants try to speak English.” The whole concept of that sounds absolutely ridiculous to me and that is why I say you should not and cannot listen to some Jamaicans or people of any other nationality that try to put down your ambitions to speak another language, dialect, creole or patois.

Here is a “likkle” insight into why that type of close minded thinking does very little for the country, culture and language. Language is culture in alot of ways. There are words, expressions and pronunciations that develop in different languages and countires that give you some insight into the culture. For example, I speak Brazilian Portuguese (among other languages) and a good friend of mine speaks Haitian Creole. Well, recently he heard me speaking to a friend in Portuguese and he understood the word BUNDA which means butt in Brazilian Portuguese, but it also means butt in Haitian Creole. You might be thinking that this is a coincidence, but I know it is not. The fact that two New World Countries with large populations of Afro-Descendants have similar words among many other things gives clues to the history and cultural past of the two countries. What is the likely answer? Some of the slaves imported to the two countries share a common point of origin and the word became a part of the language. There might be other reasons, but that is as good of a lead as any. Secondly, when people try to speak Jamaican Patois, it only helps spread knowledge and awareness about the culture and country. Finally, it is fun. Learning and speaking new languages is fun. People love learning and speaking new languages. So the key is to seek out and surround yourself with people that will embrace your attempts at learning to speak Jamaican Patois or Spanish or French. If someone is clowning you because you are trying to practice your patois, tell them “more time” and move on to the next willing and open minded person.

Now, if you are learning to speak Jamaican Patois, leave message on the page of the YouTube user in the video below. Ideally, it should say “Wha gwaan star!!!”

Many people question if they speak Jamaican Patois, are they really speaking a language. The answer is yes - Yea Mon! Wikipedia defines a spoken language as: A spoken language is a human natural language in which the words are uttered through the mouth. I would say that Jamaican Patois definitely meets the requirement of being a language.  So, why do so many people  say that  Jamaican Patois is not a language?

I think it has to do with colonization, legacy and class. From a colonization standpoint, Jamaicans continue to have a very close connection to Great Britain, the island’s major colonizer. Many Jamaicans live in Great Britain and have had a major influence on British culture, but Great Britain and the Queen of England have a lasting legacy as far as Jamaica is concerned. The English language, driving cars with the steering wheel on the right hand side, having a Prime Minister, the importance of a yard and many other things are a legacy of the British. In the past, the person that spoke proper English or the Queen’s English was most likely well educated and from a higher class. As a result, those that spoke Patois were looked down upon because they were not speaking the colonizer’s language. Despite the historically legacy of colonization, I think times have changed and Patois is vital to Jamaica’s culture, history and place in the world.

You see, Jamaican Patois is based on English and Spanish, but it is also based on African languages as well and before I forget there is also the American Arawak influence. Although, it would be unfair to discount the role of the English language, Jamaican Patois is heavily influenced by Spanish and even more by African languages. Let me see if I can shed some light on this.

Think back to your Spanish Classes when you had to learn the Alphabet and how to count in Spanish. Well, that was a good lesson to begin to speak Jamaican because some of the pronunciation is identical. For example, in Spanish when you say the word twenty or Veinte, the pronunciation in many places begins with a B sound as though the word were “Beinte”. The same thing exists in Patois. For example, you might hear the word “vex” pronounced like ” bex”. The other area where you can hear Spanish in Patois is the vowel pronunciation or sounds. Most vowels in Jamaican Patois have a similar or identical pronunciation to Spanish. Just listen to some the way Jamaicans say the word “Apple” and then listen to the way a Spanish speaker says “Apple”. There is a striking similarity between the two languages. From a cultural and geographic standpoint, its clear to see the influence of the Spanish on Jamaica…Spanish Town and Ocho Rios are both major cities on the island and each has its own history and legacy.

Just in case you have not been to Jamaica, its a country largely populated by African descendants. There are tons of mixes on the island, but the large majority of the island’s population can trace some ancestry back to Africa. The African influence can be heard all throughout the language. In many West African languages, the third person plural pronoun is used after the noun and this is the case in Jamaican Patois. For example, if you listen to the famous Beenie Man song “Girls dem Sugar” you hear him always say “Beenie Man a gyal dem suga, di gyal dem need…”. This is a clear case of this Africanism being present in Jamaican Patois, but there are many more. In addition to Patois grammar, Patois vocabulary also contains elements from Africa. For example, Duppy is a ghost in Patois, but the word also exist in the Bantu language of West Africa. Another example of an Africanism would be the phrase “wha mek” which really means why. This is said to originate from modern day Nigeria.

Jamaican Patois is certainly a language and it is vital to the historic and cultural identity of Jamaica. The language explains alot about the culture and history of Jamaica. For the children of Jamaicans living in New York or London, Patois and Reggae music might be one of the few mass forms of communication that can preserve their parent’s heritage.

To learn more about Jamaican Culture and Patois, check out my book: The Rastaman Vibration. Stay turned for more lessons and background on Jamaican Patois and Jamaican Culture. In the mean time, check out www.jamaican-slang.com

Soon Come