Jamaica Languages

Jamaica Wiki Topics

Jamaica Beginning Research

Getting Started Guided Research Online Learning Record Finder Research Strategies Finding Town of Origin

Record Types

Business & Occupations Cemeteries Census Church Records Civil Registration Colonial Records Compiled Genealogies Court Records Directories Emigration & Immigration Land & Property Military Records Naturalization & Citizenship Newspapers Online Genealogy Records Probate Records Public Records Religious Records Schools & Education Slavery & Bondage Taxation

Jamaica Background

Biographies For Further Reading Gazetteers History Jurisdictions Languages Law & Legislation Maps Naming Customs Periodicals Social Life & Customs

Cultural Groups

Chinese in Jamaica

Local Research Resources

Archives & Libraries Societies Local FamilySearch Center

Jamaica

Languages

Description

Jamaica is regarded as a bilingual country, with two major languages in use by the population. The official language is English, which is "used in all domains of public life", including the government, the legal system, the media, and education. However, the primary spoken language is an English-based creole called Jamaican Patois (or Patwa). The two exist in a dialect continuum, with speakers using a different register of speech depending on context and whom they are speaking to. "Pure" Patois, though sometimes seen as merely a particularly aberrant dialect of English, is essentially mutually unintelligible with standard English and is best thought of a separate language. A 2007 survey by the Jamaican Language Unit found that 17.1 percent of the population were monolingual in Jamaican Standard English (JSE), 36.5 percent were monolingual in Patois, and 46.4 percent were bilingual, although earlier surveys had pointed to a greater degree of bilinguality (up to 90 percent). The Jamaican education system has only recently begun to offer formal instruction in Patois, while retaining JSE as the "official language of instruction".

Additionally, some Jamaicans use one or more of Jamaican Sign Language (JSL), American Sign Language (ASL) or the indigenous Jamaican Country Sign Language (Konchri Sain). Both JSL and ASL are rapidly replacing Konchri Sain for a variety of reasons.

Jamaican Patois (or Patwa) or Jamaican Creole -

• English-based creole language with West African influences
• Spoken by the majority of Jamaicans as a native language
• Developed in the 17th century when slaves from West and Central Africa were exposed to the forms of English spoken by the slaveholders
• The pronunciation and vocabulary are significantly different from English but the writing system shows commonalities with the English alphabet
• It exists as mostly a spoken language but is used for musical purposes

Word List(s)

• Duffus, Lee R. Jamaicanisms : the Jamaican language from A to Z, a visitors' guide to native talk. Kingston, Jamaica: LRD Enterprises, 1983. Available at: WorldCat.
• List of Jamaican Patois words of African origin at Wikipedia

Alphabet and Pronunciation

• Phonology at Wikipedia
• Grammar at Wikipedia
• Orthography (spelling system) at Wikipedia
• Jamaican Alphabet at Omniglot

Language Aids and Dictionaries

• Jamaican Dictionary at Jamaicans.com
• How to Speak Patois at Jamaican Patwah
• 18 Jamaican Patois Phrases Translated to English at Jamaicans.com
• 20 Essential Jamaican Patois Phrases Translated to English at Jamaicans.com
• Patois Dictionary
• Cassidy, Frederic Gomes, and Robert Brock Le Page. A dictionary of Jamaican English. Cave Hill, Barbados: University of the West Indies, 2002. Available at: WorldCat.

Additional Resources

• Jamaican Patois words that everyone should learn at Youtube
• Duffus, Lee R. Jamaicanisms : the Jamaican language from A to Z, a visitors' guide to native talk. Kingston, Jamaica: LRD Enterprises, 1983. Available at: WorldCat.
• Graham, J W. The Jamaican language. n.p.: n.p., 1939. Available at: WorldCat.
• Samuels, Janice. Jamaican patwa no problem : a tourist's guide to Jamaican language and culture. Jonesboro, AR: Justuwait & See Productions and Grant House, 2009. Available at: WorldCat.