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

Happy 4/20 people. Today is the Ganja smokers holiday! So if you see a bunch of people in a circle and all of a sudden a cloud of smoke comes out, you know the deal. Well, since it is a holiday based around the use of Ganja, I thought it would be ideal to hit you with a “likkle” quiz as it relates to Ganja (Cannabis aka Marijuana) in Jamaica and Rastafari. Hopefully, you didn’t smoke before taking this quiz or maybe hopefully you did. So, sit back, grab your lighters…and take this quiz!

1) Ganja is legal in Jamaica and everyone walks around smoking spliffs.  (True/False)

2) When Columbus “discovered” Jamaica in 1494, he found the Arawak Indians harvesting large fields of Ganja. (True/False)

3) Rastas were the first people to smoke Ganja as part of their culture. (True/False)

4) All Rastas smoke Ganja and drink alcohol casually. (True/False)

5) Rastas believe that Ganja was the plant found on King Solomon’s grave. (True/False)

6) Bob Marley smoked Ganja. (True/False)

7) Rastas were the first Jamaicans to use/smoke Ganja. (True/False)

Okay, so I hope that wasn’t too difficult. Since nobody cheated, we are going to go through the answers.

1) False - Ganja is illegal in Jamaica.

2) False - Although, nobody is certain about who brough Ganja to Jamaica, the early English settlers in Jamaica and the United States of America were fond of using Ganja for medicinal purposes and to create clothes.

3) False - The Ancient Hindus of Nepal and India were the most famous smokers of Cannabis in the ancient world. In fact, the word Ganja comes from ancient Sanskrit.

4) False -  A devote rasta will smoke ganja, but will never drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes.

5) True - Rastas believe that marijuana was the special herb found on King Solomon’s grave. This is an instrumental part of Ganja in the Rasta believe.

6) True - Bob Marley certainly smoked Ganja.

7) False - Before the rastafari movement in the 1930s, other Jamaicans used Ganja for medicinal purposes, for teas, and for special blends with tobacco. Once the rasta movement gained strength, the usage of ganja went to a “higher level.”

Well, I hope you enjoyed this quiz as much as you enjoyed your holiday…pass this post around. Bless.

Here’s some Collie Buddz to celebrate 4/20!

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In the most recent article of The Reggae Source Magazine, Camille Taylor, wrote an article “Is is Looks, the Message or the Music?”. Unfortunately, The Reggae Source does not have a content rich website yet, but it will be coming soon. Anyways, Camille Taylor wrote a great article exploring what made Bob Marley successful - his looks, message or the music. I loved this article because it was something that I have thought about many times and debated with other reggae fanatics. The article raises the question of whether Bob Marley became popular around the world due to his lighter complexion. Although many might not agree, there is a valid argument when you look at Bob’s success compared to that of reggae legends like Peter Tosh or Jacob Miller. Similar to Bob Marley, Jacob Miller died tragically at a young age (27, in a car accident), yet his music is not known around the world like Bob Marley’s. So is appearance really what made Bob Marley a worldwide success?

My conclusion and that of the article, NO! Yes, Bob Marley had more mass appeal than Peter Tosh, but one thing that Bob Marley did exceptionally was convey a message that everyone could relate to. So, no Bob Marley’s white father did not make him a better reggae artist or Jamaican Artist. Yes, his appearance might have helped him meet all of the women who bore his children, but not be a better artist. As the article discusses, Bob Marley focused a considerable amount of his music on the injustices happening in his native Jamaica and other countries he knew about. This connected with alot of people and continues to connect to people. I remember being in Salvador, Bahia-Brazil listening to people who could not speak any English sing Bob Marley songs word for word with as much passion and energy as the next guy. That is a special message attached to special music.

Go to your local reggae/rasta shop and pick up a copy of the latest issue of The Reggae Source to read the fantastic article. Soon Come

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Yah Mon, Supermodel Kate Moss is learning to speak Jamaican Patois with Jamaican Slang and all. Kate has been learning patois during her periodic visits to Jamaica. Now, if you have a bankroll as long as Kate Moss, then your best choice might be going to Jamaica to learn patois for a few months, but most of us are not able to do that for that long. The truth is that even Kate could use some basic pointers on learning Jamaican Patois and Jamaican Slang when she is not able to zip to Jamaica. Learning Jamaican Patois is like learning any other language, it is vital to take advantage of your time in the county where the language is spoken, but you also need to continue training when you are back home to retain the knowledge and increase fluency. So is a list of the 6 Basic Steps to Speak Jamaican like Kate Moss and many Jamaicans.

1. Begin with the Jamaican idioms. The most noticeable aspect of Jamaican patois to a non-speaker is the heavy reliance on idioms. Idioms like “No one cyaan test,” which means no one can compete with a given person, use both the vernacular and the grammar of the patois. Learning a few of the idioms and their meanings will give you a context for advancing with the patois.
2. Learn the patois’ pronouns. Jamaican uses a system of pronouns that is based on the English pronomial system but differs significantly enough that it needs to be learned. Switch personal pronouns, for example, so “I” becomes “mi” and “me” becomes “I,” and replace possessive pronouns like “mine” with “fi” to start speaking the patois like a Jamaican.
3. Get the vocabulary. One of the most difficult parts of speaking Jamaican patois is the rich and dynamic vocabulary. Though infused with English, the system of Jamaican words is unique. You should learn Jamaican words and the many different grammatical uses that they have. The word “nuh,” for instance, means a general negative that includes “no,” “don’t” and “doesn’t.”
4. Get the tenses and aspects. Perhaps the most difficult part of speaking Jamaican patois is learning how to properly conjugate verbs. Jamaican’s system of verb tenses and aspects is completely different from that of English. Most importantly, you should master Jamaican’s version of the English “to be,” which is frequently left out of sentences or is replaced with a copular “a” or “e,” such as “Mi a di speaker,” to mean “I am the speaker.”
5. Explore inflection and pronunciation. Jamaican patois has a rhythm and lilt that comes from its blend of African roots and Spanish and French Romance languages. You can get a sense of the rhythms of Jamaican by listening to reggae lyrics. The spelling of Jamaican patois—”mon” for “man,” for example—reflects English words softened in pronunciation by Romance accents.
6. Become familiar with Rasta culture. Many Jamaican terms are drawn from the practice of Rastafarianism, a unique Jamaican syncretic religion that combines themes from the Hebrew Bible with the veneration of Haile Selassie, a former Ethiopian ruler, as a messianic figure. Again, reggae music is a good starting point for tracing the influence of Rasta on Jamaican patois. The Jamaican word for “God,” for example, is “Jah,” drawn from the biblical Hebrew “Yahweh.”

Remember, these are the basic steps to learning Jamaican Patois, but you have to practice, practice, pratice and study, study, study! To learn jamaican patois and slang visit www.jamaican-slang.com. SpeakJamaican.com is the home of the Rastaman Vibration, the definitive source on Jamaican Slang, Patois, Reggae and Rastafari…all essential to catching the Jamaican Vibe. To read the original article where these steps come from click here.

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!

I was so excited when I came across this video of a Bible passage being read in the Jamaican Language, Patois! Right now, one of the biggest debate going on in Jamaica is the translation of the Bible into Jamaican Patois. This issue has caused “nuff” controversy because English is the official language of Jamaica, but the masses speak Patois. Relish the beauty and uniqueness of Patois by Checking this out:

[YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5H_JPMU2Ts]