Varieties of English - Jamaica

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ENGLISH

VARIETIES

JAMAICA


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Jamaica in the World


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History

The first Jamaicans were the Taino Indians who settled inJamaica around 600 AD. They were stoneage peoples whohad migrated to Jamaica from the northern coast of SouthAmerica. After living continuously in Jamaica for almost900 years, the Tainos were wiped out within 50 years of

the Spanish conquest in 1494.

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The First Jamaicans


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The Spanish Period

Christopher Columbus was the first European to set foot on the

island when he claimed it for Spain on May 3rd, 1494, during hissecond voyage to the New World. Jamaica was settled by theSpanish in 1510 and the indigenous Taino people were forcedinto slavery and eventually exterminated.

Jamaicas first town was built by the Spanish in Saint Anns Bay

and was called Sevilla Nueva. In 1538 the Spanish moved thecapital of Jamaica to Spanish Town. Jamaica was, however, neverheavily populated by the Spanish, for they found no gold on theisland.

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The British Period and the Pirates of the Caribbean

In 1655 British naval forces captured Jamaica from the Spanish.

The British went on to retain control of Jamaica for over 300years. The British took advantage ofJamaicas strategic locationin the centre of the Caribbean to challenge the Spanishdominance of the region and to disrupt their lucrative trade ingold and silver.

Port Royal was almost completely destroyed in 1692 by adevastating earthquake, and further damaged by a series ofhurricanes over the next thirty years. By then, England and Spainhad signed a peace treaty and the need for the buccaneers hadvanished. Jamaica became more involved in trade and the

exportation of sugar, cocoa and other agricultural products.

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The Maroons

During the upheaval caused by the transition from Spanish to

English rule in 1655, many of the West African slaves formerlyowned by the Spanish escaped into Jamaicas hilly interior andpioneered the resistance to slavery that would continue inJamaica for most of the ensuing 200 years. These escaped slavesdeveloped their own separate culture based on their West African

roots. Known as the Maroons

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Africa in the Caribbean and the Resistance to Slavery

The importation of African slave labour, begun by the Spanish,continued under the British with much greater intensity. Most

Jamaican slaves came from the region of modern day Ghana,Nigeria and Central Africa, and included the Akan, Ashanti,Yoruba, Ibo and Ibibio peoples. By the 18th century, Jamaica hadbecome one of the most valuable British colonies. But theconditions

endured by the slaves were horrendous. Families were routinelyseparated. Housing and sanitary conditions were abysmal.Beatings and torture were rampant. Many died from overworkand starvation. Life expectancy of a West African slave in Jamaicawas 7 years.

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Asia and the Middle East in the Caribbean

* The Jews were among the first ethnic group to settle in Jamaica,

arriving in the early sixteenth century to work in sugar manufacturing.

*In 1845 the first Indians arrived in Jamaica to work as indenturedservants on the sugar plantations that had been abandoned by theAfrican-Jamaicans after the abolition of slavery.

*In 1854 the first Chinese migrants arrived as indentured labourers.Most were from Hong Kong and from the Kwang Tung Province insoutheast China.

* In the early years of the twentieth century migrants from Palestine

and Lebanon settled in Jamaica, fleeing political and religiouspersecution in their home countries and in search of a better way of life.

The peoples of the Middle East, India and China have retained many ofthe cultural values from their places of origin and have enriched Jamaicawith their contributions

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Transition to Independence

By 1938, dissatisfaction with the crown colony system,

sharpened by the hardships and suffering brought on by aworldwide economic depression, erupted in serious andwidespread rioting. These events resulted in the formation of thefirst lasting labour unions, as well as of political parties linked tothem. A growing demand for self-determination also became

apparent Political agitation by Jamaican activists and trade unionleaders led to the granting of a new constitution in 1944.

Further constitutional advances took place in 1953 and 1957, andfull internal self-government was obtained in 1959.

On August 6, 1962, after 300 years of British colonization,

Jamaica became an independent nation with full dominion statuswithin the Commonwealth.

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Geography and environment

Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean. Mountains,including the Blue Mountains, dominate the inland. They aresurrounded by a narrow coastal plain. Chief towns and citiesinclude the capital Kingston on the south shore, Portmore,Spanish Town, Mandeville, Ocho Ros, Port Antonio, Negril, andMontego Bay on the north shore.

Jamaica lies 140 km (90 mi) south of Cuba and 190 km (118 mi)west of Haiti. At its greatest extent, Jamaica is 235 km (146 mi)long, and its width varies between 34 and 84 km (21 and 52 mi).With an area of 10,911 km2 (4,213 sq mi), Jamaica is the largestisland of the Commonwealth Caribbean and the third largest of

the Greater Antilles, after Cuba and Hispaniola.

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Kingston Harbour is the seventh-largest natural harbour in the

world, which contributed to the city being designated as thecapital in 1872.

Jamaica lies in the hurricane belt of the Atlantic Ocean andbecause of this; the island sometimes suffers significant stormdamage.

Among the variety of terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystemsare dry and wet limestone forests, rainforest, riparian woodland,wetlands, caves, rivers, seagrass beds and coral reefs. Theauthorities have recognized the tremendous significance and

potential of the environment and have designated some of themore 'fertile' areas as 'protected'.

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Jamaica in the Caribbean

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Kingston Harbour is the seventh-largest natural harbour in theworld, which contributed to the city being designated as the capitalin 1872.

Jamaica lies in the hurricane belt of the Atlantic Ocean and becauseof this; the island sometimes suffers significant storm damage.

Among the variety of terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems aredry and wet limestone forests, rainforest, riparian woodland,wetlands, caves, rivers, seagrass beds and coral reefs. Theauthorities have recognized the tremendous significance andpotential of the environment and have designated some of the more'fertile' areas as 'protected'.

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Flora

Jamaica's climate is tropical, supporting diverse ecosystems witha wealth of plants and animals.

Jamaica's plant life has changed considerably over the centuries.When the Spanish arrived in 1494, except for small agriculturalclearings, the country was deeply deforested. The Europeansettlers cut down the great timber trees for building and ships'supplies, and cleared the plains, savannas, and mountain slopes

for intense agricultural cultivation. Many new plants wereintroduced including sugarcane, bananas, and citrus trees.

Areas of heavy rainfall contain stands of bamboo, ferns, ebony,mahogany, and rosewood. Cactus and similar dry-area plants arefound along the south and southwest coastal area. Parts of the

west and southwest consist of large grasslands, with scatteredstands of trees.

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Fauna

The Jamaican animal life, typical of the Caribbean,includes highly diversified wildlife with manyendemic species found nowhere else on earth. As

with other oceanic islands, land mammals aremostly Bats. The only non-bat native mammalextant in Jamaica is the Jamaican Hutia, locallyknown as the coney. Jamaica is also home to about50 species of reptiles. Lizards, such as Anoles,Iguanas and snakes, such as racers, and theJamaican Boa (the largest snake on the island), arecommon in areas such as the Cockpit Country. Noneof Jamaica's eight species of native snakes isvenomous. One species of freshwater turtle isnative to Jamaica, the Jamaican Slider. Birds areabundant, and make up the bulk of the endemicand native vertebrate species.

Jamaican waters contain considerable resources offresh-and saltwater fish.

Insects and other invertebrates are abundant,including the world's largest centipede, theAmazonian Giant Centipede, and the HomerusSwallowtail, the Western Hemisphere's largest

butterfly. 15

Amazonian Giant Centipede

Jamaican Hutia

Homerus Swallowtail


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Coasts

The coastline of Jamaica is one of many contrasts. The northeast shore isseverely eroded by the ocean. There are many small inlets in the ruggedcoastline, but no coastal plain of any extent. A narrow strip of plains along thenorthern coast offers calm seas and white sand beaches. Behind the beaches isa flat raised plain of uplifted coral reef.

The southern coast has small stretches of plains lined by black sand beaches.These are backed by cliffs of limestone where the plateaus end. In manystretches with no coastal plain, the cliffs drop 300 metres (980 ft) straight to thesea. In the southwest, broad plains stretch inland for a number of kilometres.The Black River courses 70 kilometres (43 mi) through the largest of theseplains. The swamplands of the Great Morass and the Upper Morass fill much of

the plains. The western coastline contains the island's finest beaches.16


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Climate

Two types of climate are found in Jamaica. An upland tropical climateprevails on the windward side of the mountains, whereas a semiarid

climate predominates on the leeward side. Warm trade winds from theeast and northeast bring rainfall throughout the year. The rainfall isheaviest from May to October, with peaks in those two months.

Temperatures in Jamaica are fairly constant throughout the year,averaging 25 to 30 C (77 to 86 F) in the lowlands and 15 to 22 C (59to 71.6 F) at higher elevations. Temperatures may dip to below 10 C

(50 F) at the peaks of the Blue Mountains. The island receives, inaddition to the northeast trade winds, refreshing onshore breezes duringthe day and cooling offshore breezes at night. These are known onJamaica as the "Doctor Breeze" and the "Undertaker's Breeze,"respectively.

Jamaica lies in the Atlantic hurricane belt; as a result, the islandsometimes experiences significant storm damage. Powerful hurricaneswhich have hit the island directly causing death and destruction includea Category 4 hurricane, Hurricane Dean, which caused some deaths andheavy damage to Jamaica in August 2007.

The first recorded hurricane to hit Jamaica was in 1519.

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Vegetation and wildlife

Although most of Jamaica's native vegetation has been stripped in order to make

room for cultivation, some areas have been left virtually undisturbed since thetime of Columbus. Indigenous vegetation can be found along the northern coastfrom Rio Bueno to Discovery Bay, in the highest parts of the Blue Mountains, andin the heart of the Cockpit Country.

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1- Wild Crocodile2- Jamaican Boa

3- Jamaican Giant Anole


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Jamaican Facts

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Population (2009) 2 695 164 inhabitants

Yearly Growth Rate 0.480 %

Area 11 425 km2

Density 235.90 inhabitants/km2Gdp (2008) 14.40 milliards $USD

GDP/Inhabitant (2008) 5 335 $USD

Life Expectancy (2009) 73.53 years

Birth (2009) 19.68 %

Fecundity Index (2009) 2.25 children/woman

Death (2009) 6.43 %

Child Death Rate (2009) 15.22 %

Alphabtization Rate (2007) 86.00 %

Official Languages English

Currency Converter Jamaican dollar (JMD)

Human Developpment Index (IDH 2012) 0.730/1.0 (rank : 86/186)

Environmental Performance Index (EPI2010) 58.0 (rank : 90/164)

Nature Of The State Parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy

Head Of The State Monarch Elizabeth II

National Hollyday 6th august (independence of 1962)

Internet Code Of The Country : .jm

Tourist (2007) 1 704 000 people


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Demographics

According to the 2001 census, the

majority of Jamaica's population is ofAfrican descent

The most common ethnic groupsamong all Africans taken to Jamaicawere the Akan (known as the"Coromantee") from present-day

Ghana and the Igbo from present-dayNigeria.

Multiracial Jamaicans form the secondlargest racial group, many of whomalso have Irish ancestry. Most mixed-race people on the island self-reportsimply as "Jamaican".

The make up is 76.3% Africandescent, 15.1% Afro-European, 3.4%East Indian and Afro-East Indian,3.2% Caucasian, 1.2% Chinese and

0.8% Other.20

African Afro-European

Indian Caucasian

Chinese Other

Ethnic Origins


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Religion

Christianity is the largest religion practiced in

Jamaica and according to the 2001 census. Thecountry's largest denominations are the Churchof God of Prophecy (24% of the population),Seventh-day Adventist Church (11%),Pentecostal (10%), Baptist (7%), Anglican(4%), Roman Catholic (2%), United Church(2%), Methodist (2%), Moravian (1%) and

Plymouth Brethren (1%). The Christian faithgained acceptance as British Christianabolitionists and Baptist missionaries joinededucated former slaves in the struggle againstslavery.

The Rastafari movement had 24,000 adherents,

according to the 2001 census. Other religions inJamaica include Jehovah's Witnesses (2%population), the Bah' faith, which countsperhaps 8,000 adherents and 21 Local SpiritualAssemblies, Buddhism, and Hinduism. There isa small population of Jews, about 200, whodescribe themselves as Liberal-Conservative.

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Church of God of Prophecy7th-day Adventist Church

PentecostalBaptistAnglicanRoman CatholicUnited ChurchMethodistMoravian

Plymouth Brethren


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Crime

Jamaica has had one of the highest murder rates in the world for many

years, according to UN estimates. Some areas of Jamaica, particularlycities such as Kingston, experience high levels of crime and violence.Many Jamaicans are hostile toward LGBT and intersex people.Variousmob attacks against gay people have been reported,prompting human-rights groups to call Jamaica "the most homophobic place on earth.

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Education

The emancipation of the slaves heralded in the establishment of the

Jamaican education system for the masses. Prior to emancipationthere were few schools for educating locals. Many sent their childrenoff to England to access quality education.

After emancipation the West Indian Commission granted a sum ofmoney to establish Elementary Schools, now known as All AgeSchools. Most of these schools were established by the churches.

This was the genesis of the modern Jamaican school system.

Education is free from the early childhood to secondary levels. Thereare also opportunities for those who cannot afford further educationin the vocational arena through the Human Employment andResource Training-National Training Agency (HEART Trust-NTA)programme and through an extensive scholarship network for thevarious universities.

Students are taught Spanish in school from the primary levelupwards; about 4045% of educated people in Jamaica know someform of Spanish.

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Economy

Jamaica is a mixed economy with both state enterprises and

private sector businesses. Major sectors of the Jamaicaneconomy include agriculture, mining, manufacturing, tourism,and financial and insurance services. Tourism and mining are theleading earners of foreign exchange. Half the Jamaican economyrelies on services, with half of its income coming from services

such as tourism. An estimated 1.3 million foreign tourists visitJamaica every year.

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Jamaican Culture

National Symbols

The Flag

The Jamaica National Flag was first raised on Independence Day,August 6, 1962. It signifies the birth of the nation. The Flag brings to

mind memories of past achievements and gives inspiration towardsfurther success. It is flown on many triumphant occasions, showingthe pride that Jamaicans have in their country and in the flag itself.

Symbolism

The sun shineth, the land is green and the people are strong andcreative is the symbolism of the colours of the flag. Black depictsthe strength and creativity of the people; Gold, the natural wealthand beauty of sunlight; and green, hope and agricultural resources.

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Jamaican Coat of Arms

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The Jamaican national motto is Out ofMany One People, based on thepopulations multi-racial roots. The motto isrepresented on the Coat of Arms, showinga male and female member of the Tainotribe standing on either side of a shieldwhich bears a red cross with five goldenpineapples. The crest shows a Jamaicancrocodile mounted on the Royal Helmet of

the British Monarchy and mantling.


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Jamaican National Fruit - The Ackee (Blighia Sapida)

Ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica as well as acomponent of the national dish ackee and codfish.

Although the ackee is not indigenous to Jamaica, ithas remarkable historic associations. Originally, itwas imported to the island from West Africa,probably on a slave ship. Now it grows hereluxuriantly, producing large quantities of edible fruiteach year.

The doctor bird or swallow tail humming bird, is oneof the most outstanding of the 320 species ofhummingbirds. It lives only in Jamaica. These birdsbeautiful feathers have no counterpart in the entirebird population and they produce iridescent colourscharacterstic only of that family. In addition to thesebeautiful feathers, the mature male has tow longtails which stream behind him when he flies. Foryears the doctor bird has been immortalized in

Jamaican folklore and song.27

Jamaican National Bird - Swallow-Tail Hummingbird


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Jamaican National Flower - Lignum Vitae

The Lignum Vitae was found here by ChristopherColumbus. Its name, when translated from Latin,

means wood oflife probably adopted becauseof its medicinal qualities. The short, compact treeis native to continental tropical American and theWest Indies. In Jamaica it grows best in the drywoodland along the north and south coasts of theisland.

It is indigenous to the island and grows quiterapidly, often attaining 20m (66ft) or more inheight. In wetter districts it will grow in a wide

range of elevations, up to 1200m (4000 ft.) andis often used in reforestation.

The Blue Mahoe is so beautiful and durable that itis widely used for cabinet making and also formaking decorative objects such as picture frames,bowls and carving.

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Jamaican National Tree - The Blue Mahoe


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Beliefs and Customs

One of the most common birth rite in Jamaica, pertains to the burying ofthe umbilical cord of a newborn. Usually a tree, called "navel-string tree"

or "baby's tree", is planted at the burial spot, so that the baby alwaysremains connected to his/her place of birth.

Nine Night is one of the important Jamaican funeral ceremonies, whereinfor the first eight nights, the friends and relatives of the deceasedassemble together at his/her home, and sing, dance, and drink all night.

The room of the deceased is rearranged, so that his/her spirit does notrecognize it and return. A last meal is served to the spirit of thedeceased, and is kept under the silk-cotton tree, which is believed to bethe hiding place of the spirits.

A traditional Jamaican marriage calls for big celebrations, lavishpreparations, and heavy expenses. It is a complete family affair, whereboth families meet formally before the wedding. Friends and relativesbegin sending presents long before the "big day". The most common giftis that of eggs, to be used for making the wedding cake. The ceremonyitself is fairly short, and ends with the cutting of the cake.

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Jamaican MusicThe British realized very early that African traditions especially singing,dancing and drumming were vital in retaining their spirit of freedom.They were also fearful that these African rituals could be used as calls

to rebellions and uprisings. As a measure of control, legislation waspassed in 1696 which forbade large gatherings, prayers, singing,drumming or other forms of celebration. However, despite theoppression, the Africans held close to their traditions and learned howto secretly pass these traditions down through the generations.

MentoMento is a distinct style of Jamaican music that emerged in the early1900's and is not to be confused with Jamaican calypso. Mento drawsits traditions from African slaves brought to Jamaica and someEuropean folk culture. Salves were sometimes made to play musicsinging European folk songs which largely influenced the development

of Mento. Mento came to real prominence in the 1940's and 1950'sbefore being displaced by ska, rocksteady and reggae. It was not untilthe 1950's that the first recordings were made and many of the morepopular songs were pressed by Stannley Motta and Ivan Chin.

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SkaSka combines elements of Jamaican mento with American Jazz and rhythmand blues. After World War II, many Jamaicans obtained radios andfrequently listened to American jazz and rhythm and blues that was broughtto the island by American naval officers stationed there. In the 1950'showever, Americans began listening to rock'n roll instead of jazz and R andB, and Jamaicans yearned to hear the jazz and R and B which they had cometo love

RocksteadyWhen these rudeboys starting dancing a little slower to the music, the tempoof the music changed and became slower. This was the birth of rocksteady.Rocksteady only lasted 2 years and led to the advent of reggae.

ReggaeRocksteady only lasted 2 years and led to the advent of reggae. Reggaeemerged around 1968 and is commonly used to refer to all popular Jamaicanmusic. When the tempo of the music began to slow down the music formknown as reggae was created. The word reggae with regards to music comesfrom the song Do the Reggae' by the Maytals. During the seventies andeighties, reggae achieved international acclaim with the success of groupslike "The Wailers" and movies like Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come".

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Jamaican Art

The earliest evidences of Jamaican art come from the prehistoric times. This isthe art of the Taino inhabitants that comes in the form of drawings, engravings,and paintings on rock surfaces and cave walls. This rock art of the Tainosdepicts, other than their mythological stories, themes related to their daily livessuch as hunting scenes, their religious practices, their perceptions of nature,and so on. Other than these, we also have evidences of numerous stone andironwood figurines and masks, supposedly related to their belief in the zemis.

Until the middle of the 20th century, what can be called an out-and-outJamaican art revolution was born. People from all classes came together and

created powerful works of art that conveyed very strong social and politicalmessages.

Today, the National Gallery of Jamaica, situated in Kingston, houses some of thefinest works of art in the entire Caribbean region. Added to this, there are also anumber of private art galleries giving exposure to famous as well as upcomingartists.

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Literature, Theater, and Films

Oral tradition has a long history in Jamaica,beginning with the folktales told by the

Jamaican slaves during the colonial era.Later than that, Thomas MacDermot, aJamaican novelist, poet, and a journalist wasthe first ever internationally recognizedJamaican literary figure. In fact, he iscredited for promoting Jamaican literature

on the world platform. Apart from him, theNobel laureate Derek Walcott, Claude McKay,and Louis Simpson are all noted authors whocome from Jamaica.

On the other hand, as far as theater isconcerned, Louise Bennett, Andrew Salkey,and Mikey Smith made significantcontributions to patois plays. Jamaica alsoholds an annual film event called "TheReggae Film Festival" in Kingston, every yearin the month of February.

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Cuisine

Much like its culture, the cuisine of Jamaica is also

a wonderful blend of varied influences, spices,flavors, and cooking methods. Jamaican dishesare very hot and spicy. The use of strong spicesand various aromatic herbs in the recipes havemade Jamaican dishes very popular throughoutthe world. Their national dish is Ackee and

Saltfish. The spicy jerk pork and jerk chicken arealso favorites.

Some Jamaicans, especially the Rastafarians,prefer vegetarian dishes which are also equallyfamous. Fruits and vegetables form the main

ingredients of many recipes. Spices unique toJamaica such as jerk are used. Their nationaldrink is Jamaican rum. Blue mountain coffee andhibiscus tea are also served.

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Phonology

ConsonantsLabial Alveolar Post-

alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal

Nasal M N Stop p b t d t d c k Fricative f v s z (h)1Approximant J WLateral L

Accounts of basilectal Jamaican Patois postulate around 21 phonemicconsonantsand between 9 and 16 vowels.

1.The status of /h/ as a phoneme is dialectal: in western varieties, it is a fullphoneme and there are minimal pairs (/hiit/ 'hit' and /iit/ 'eat'); in central andeastern varieties, the presence of [h] in a word is in free variation with noconsonant so that the words for 'hand' and 'and' (both underlyingly /an/) maybe pronounced [han] or [an].2.The palatal stops [c], [] and [] are considered phonemic by some accountsand phonetic by others. For the latter interpretation, their appearance isincluded in the larger phenomenon of phonetic palatalization.


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Examples of palatalization include:

/kiuu/ [ciu][cu] ('a quarter quart (of rum)')

/iaad/[iad][ad] ('guard')

/piaa + piaa/ [pipi] [pp] ('weak')

Voiced stops are implosive whenever in the onset of prominent syllables (especially

word-initially) so that /biit/ ('beat') is pronounced [it] and /uud/ ('good') as [ud].

Before a syllabic /l/, the contrast between alveolar and velar consonants has beenhistorically neutralized with alveolar consonants becoming velar so that the word for

'bottle' is /bakl / and the word for 'idle' is /ail /.

Palatalization
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jamaican_Creole_vowel_chart.svg


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Vowel Example Glossary/ii/ /biini/ 'tiny'/aa/ /baaba/ 'barber'/uu/ /buut/ 'booth'/ia/ /biak/ 'bake'/ai/ /baik/ 'bike'/ua/ /buat/ 'boat'/au/ /taun/ 'town'

Jamaican Patois exhibits two types of vowel harmony; peripheral

vowel harmony, wherein only sequences of peripheral vowels (thatis, /i/, /u/, and /a/) can occur within a syllable; and back harmony,wherein /i/ and /u/ cannot occur within a syllable together (that is,

/uu/ and /ii/ are allowed but * /ui/ and * /iu/ are not).These twophenomena account for three long vowels and four diphthongs:

Vowels of Jamaican Patois


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Jamaican Patois is a creole language that exhibits a gradationbetween more conservative creole forms and forms virtuallyidentical to Standard English (i.e. metropolitan Standard English).

This situation came about with contact between speakers of a

number of NigerCongo languages and various dialects of English,the latter of which were all perceived as prestigious and the use ofwhich carried socio-economic rewards.

The span of a speaker's command of the continuum generally

corresponds to the variety of social situations in which he or shesituates himself.

Sociolinguistic variation


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Grammar

The tense/aspect system of Jamaican Patois is fundamentallyunlike that of English. There are no morphological marked pasttense forms corresponding to English -ed -t. There are twopreverbial particles: en and a. These are not verbs, they are simplyinvariant particles that cannot stand alone like the English to be.Their function also differs from the English.

According to Bailey (1966), the progressive category is marked by/a~da~de/. Alleyne (1980) claims that /a~da/ marks theprogressive and that the habitual aspect is unmarked but by itsaccompaniment with verbs like 'always', 'usually, etc. (i.e. isabsent as a grammatical category).

Mufwene (1984) and Gibson and Levy (1984) propose a past-onlyhabitual category marked by /juusta/ as in /we wi juusta liv iz notaz kuol az ii/ ('where we used to live is not as cold as here').


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For the present tense, an uninflected verb combining with an iterativeadverb marks habitual meaning as in /tam aawez nuo kieti tel pan im/

('Tom always knows when Katy tells/has told about him').

en is a tense indicatora is an aspect marker

(a) go is used to indicate the future/mion/I run (habitually); I ran

/mi aon/ or/mi de on/I am running

/aon mi dida on/ or/aon mi ben(w)en aon/

I was running/mi did on/ or/mi ben(w)enon/

I have run; I had run/mi a oon/

I am going to run; I will run


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Like other Caribbean Creoles (that is, Guyanese Creole and SanAndrs-Providencia Creole; Sranan Tongo is excluded) /fi/ has a

number of functions, including.

Directional, dative, or benefactive preposition/dem a fait fi wi/ ('They are fighting for us')[24]

Genitive preposition (that is, marker of possession)/dat a fi mi buk/ ('that's my book')

Modal auxiliary expressing obligation or futurity/im fi kom op ja/ ('he ought to come up here')

Pre - infinitive complementizer/unu hafi kiip samti fa de ini piipl-dem fi biit dem miuzik/

('you have to contribute something to the Guinean People forplaying their music').


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The pronominal system of Standard English has a four-waydistinction of person, number, gender and case. Some varietiesof Jamaican Patois do not have the gender or case distinction,but all varieties distinguish between the second person singularand plural (you).

I, me = /mi/you, you (singular) = /ju/he, him = /im/ (pronounced [] in the basilect varieties)she, her = /i/ or/im/ (no gender distinction in basilect varieties)we, us, our = /wi/

you (plural) = /unu/they, them, their = /dem/

Pronominal system


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/no/ is used as a present tense negator:

/if kau no did nuo au im tuotuol tan im udn taanspiesiid/ ('If the cow knew that his throat wasn't capable ofswallowing a pear seed, he wouldn't have swallowed it')

/kiaan/ is used in the same way as English can't/it a puo ti dat kiaan ma ant/ ('It is a poor thing that

can't mash an ant').

/neva/ is a negative past participle./dan neva tiif di moni/ ('John did not steal the money').

Negation


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Short vowelsLetter Patois Englishi sik sicke bel bella ban bando kot cutu kuk cookLong vowelsLetter Patois Englishii

tii

tea

aa baal balluu shuut shoot

Vowels


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Diphthongs

DiphthongsLetter Patois Englishie kiek cakeuo gruo growai bait biteou kou cow

Nasal vowels are written with -hn, as in kyaahn (can't) and iihn (isn't it?)


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Consonants

ConsonantsLetter Patois English

b biek bake

d daag dog

ch choch church

f fuud food

g guot goat

h hen hen

j oj judge

h is written according to local pronunciation, so that hen (hen)and en (end) are distinguished in writing for speakers ofwestern Jamaican, but not for those of central Jamaican.


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Consonants

ConsonantsLetter Patois English

m man man

n nais nice

ng sing sing

p piil peel

r ron run

s sik sick

sh shout shout

t tuu two

v vuot vote

w wail wild

y yong young

z zuu zoo

zh vorzhan version


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Vocabulary

Jamaican Patois contains many loanwords. Primarily these come from English,but are also borrowed from Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Arawak and Africanlanguages as well as Scottish and Irish dialects.

Examples from African languages include /se/ meaning that(in the sense of "hetold me that..." = /im tel mi se/), taken from Ashanti Twi, and /dopi/ (duppy)meaning ghost, from the Twi word adope. The pronoun /unu/, used for theplural form ofyou, is taken from the Igbo language. Red eboe describes a fair-skinned black person because of the reported account of fair skin among theIgbo. Soso meaning onlycomes from both Igbo and Yoruba. From Igbo comes

Obeah, a form of African shamanism (and also used as a popular scapegoat forcommon woes) originating from the Igbo dibia or obia ('doctoring') herbalistsand spiritualists.Words from Hindi include nuh, ganja (marijuana), andjanga (crawdad). Pickneyor pickiney meaning child, taken from an earlier form (piccaninny) wasultimately borrowed from the Portuguesepequenino (the diminutive ofpequeno,small) or Spanishpequeo ('small').

There are many words referring to popular produce and food itemsackee,callaloo, guinep, bammy, roti, dal, kamranga. See Jamaican cuisine.Jamaican Patois has its own rich variety of swearwords. One of the strongest isblood claat(along with related forms raas claat, bomba claat, claatand otherscompare with bloody in Australian English and British English, which is alsoconsidered a profanity).Homosexual men are referred to as /biips/or batty boys.


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Creole Language

A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable naturallanguage developed from the mixing of parent languages.Creoles differ from pidgins (which are believed by scholars tobe a necessary predecessor of creoles) in that creoles havebeen nativized by children as their primary language, with

the result that they have features of natural languages thatare normally missing from pidgins.

The vocabulary of a creole language is largely supplied by theparent languages, particularly that of the most dominantgroup in the social context of the creole's construction,

though there are often clear phonetic and semantic shifts. Onthe other hand, the grammar often has original features thatmay differ substantially from those of the parent languages.


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Jamaican to English Phrases

Youre here because youve heard Jamaican Patwa eitherthrough friends, through Jamaican music, or throughtraveling to Jamaica and interacting with the locals

Hereunder you will find a guide of some common English

phrases translated to Jamaican patwa so you can learn a littlepiece of the language.


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English Jamaican Patwa

1. Hello Waah Gwaan2. What are you doing? Weh u deh pan?

3. What is that? Wah dat be?

4. Dont worry Nuh worry

5. What do you want to eat? Weh u waan nyam?

6. You want it? Yu waannt ih?

7. No, I do not want it no sah mi no want ih8. I do not understand what you are saying mi nuh andastan weh u a she

9. Did you eat yet? yu nyam sumting areddy?

10. No I have not eaten no mi nuh eet areddy

11. Where are you? weh u deh?

12. I am sick mi sik

13. I want to go to the beach mi waannt fi go a beach14. I want something to eat mi waannt summhh fi it

15. Do you like it? yu like ih?


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16. Where is it? weh ih deh?17. Let me find it for you mek mi fine ih fi yuh

18. Show me where this is located mek me I know weh dis deh

19. What do you want to buy?Weh u waan fi buy?

20. Can I have some water?Mi caan get sum wata please?

21. Where is the bus stop? weh di bus tap deh?

22. Do you know her? yuh kno har?23. Who sings this song? a who sing da sang ya?

24. Where is the field? wich paaat feel deh?

25. Where is the bookstore? wich paaat di bookstore deh?

26. What are we having for breakfast? wah wi a eet fi brekfass?

27. Where is the party? wich paaat di paaty deh?

28. I cannot find itmi caan fine ih29. I cannot do itmi caan dweet

30. Do you like to dance? yuh like fi dance?

l h


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30. Do you like to dance? yuh like fi dance?31. I want to go swimmingmi waaan fi go swim

32. How much for that? humuch fi dat?

33. I do not have any money mi nuh hav nuh money

34. What do you think? weh u tink?

35. Im joking with you mi a ramp wid yuh

36. Where is the beach? weh di beach deh?37. Do you have a boyfriend? yuh hav a man?

38. Do you have a girlfriend? yuh hav a uhman?

39. What is your phone number? wah u numba be?

40. I need to find a hotel mi need fi fine wah hotel

41. Where is the restaurant weh di restarant deh?

42. Where is the airport weh di airport deh?43. Can I use your phonemi caan use yuh phone?

44. I need new clothes mi need new clothes

45. Where is the nearest hotel? weh di nearest hotel deh?

E li h J i P


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46. I cannot understand youmi caan undastan yuh47. I need your help mi need yuh fi help mi

48. What did you say? weh u she?

49. When are you going?wen yaago go?

50. Goodbye lata / likkle moe

Documents

Varieties of English - Jamaica