Although the official language of Jamaica is Standard English, many Jamaicans also speak Patois which is a separate dialect/language. Jamaican Patois (also known as “Patwa”, “Patwah” or “Jamaican Creole”) is the language that is used by most Jamaicans in casual everyday conversations while Standard English is normally reserved for professional environments.
Beginner's Guide to Speaking Jamaican Patois
Looking for a quick and easy way to learn Jamaican Patois? Our Beginner's Guide has everything you need to get started;
- Learn correct word pronunciation
- Understand grammar and structure
- Handy everyday phrases
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"Jamaican Patois is a separate language from Jamaican English."
Jamaican Patois is a strange language in that it has many borrowed words from many different languages, for example, English, Spanish and some West African languages. However, the pronunciations of these words are very similar to Jamaican English. One thing to keep in mind as you learn Jamaican Patois is that it is not a strict, rule-oriented language where there is a "right way" and a "wrong way" to say things. Some words can be pronounced and spelled differently but still mean the same thing (e.g. both ‘Pickney’ and ‘Pickeney’ translates to ‘Child'). The important thing is whether or not what you are saying can be understood.
It's actually quite difficult to acquire the accent of a Jamaican, unless you've lived in Jamaica for many years, and even then, speaking patois fluently is not guaranteed. But with a little practice, you will be able to have at least a basic understanding of Jamaican Patois.
Let us now take a look at some of the grammatical features of Jamaican Patois.
1. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
Sentences in Jamaican Patois are built like English sentences in that, there is a subject, a predicate (or verb), and an object. However, there is no subject-verb agreement in Jamaican Patois. The verb does not change with the subject. Let us look at the table below.
Jamaican Creole | Standard English |
---|---|
Mi run | I run |
im run | he runs |
shi run | she runs |
Wi run | We run |
Dem run | They run |
Unu run | You all run |
eyah run | it runs |
Yu run | You run |
2. Formation of Plurals
One common method of forming plurals in standard English is by adding 's' or; 'es' to the end of a word. (e.g. toy-toys, class- classes etc..)
However, in Jamaican Patois a word can be pluralized by adding 'dem' to the end word or, inserting 'nuff' or a number at the beginning of the word.
Jamaican Creole | Standard English |
---|---|
Plate dem | Plates |
Baby dem | Babies |
Pen dem | Pens |
Teacha dem | Teachers |
Book dem | Books |
Nuff banana | Many bananas |
Ten bwoy | Ten boys |
NOTE: In Jamaican Patois, the letters '-s' or '-es' do not necessarily denote plurality as is shown in the examples below:
Jamaican Creole | Standard English |
---|---|
Waan shoes | A shoe |
Waan drinks | A drink |
3. USE OF PRONOUNS
In Jamaican Patois:
- There is no differentiation in the use of pronouns to show gender. The pronoun 'im' can mean both or either 'he' or 'she'.
- There is no distinction between subject and object.
Jamaican Creole | Standard English |
---|---|
Female - im frack look gud | Her frock (dress) looks good |
Male - im fada gaan | His father is gone |
Subject - mi a guh | I am going |
Object - come fi mi | Come for me |
Denoting a 'person' in Jamaican Patois differs from Standard English in the following ways:
Jamaican Creole | Standard English | |
---|---|---|
Person Speaking (first person) | ‘Mi’ or 'wi’ | 'I' or 'we' |
Person being spoken to (second person) | 'yu' or'unu' | 'you' or 'you all' |
Person being spoken about (third person) | ‘im’ or ‘dem’ | “he /she” or “them” |
There are no possessive pronouns in the Jamaican Patois such as your, her, his, its, ours and theirs, for example:
Jamaican Creole | Standard English |
---|---|
Fi mi backle | My bottle |
Fi yu backle | Your bottle |
Fi dem backle | Their bottle |
4. USE OF THE COPULA
The copula is a connecting word; for example, in Jamaican Patois the copula is the letter 'a' which is used for the particle as well as for the continuous tense.
For example:
Jamaican Creole | Standard English |
---|---|
Im a run | He is running |
Im a guh fi it | He is going for it |
Mi a teacha | I am a teacher |
5. USE OF REPETITION/REDUPLICATION
In Jamaican Patois:
Repetition is used for degrees of comparison as well as emphasis; for example, using Jamaican Patois to talk about how big a child has become:
Jamaican Creole | Standard English |
---|---|
Di bwoy big, eeh! | The boy has grown |
Fi real, im big-big! | For real, he is very big |
A true! Him get big-big | It is true, he has gotten big |
Repetition is also used for emphasis or to increase intensity or number; for example:
Jamaican Creole | Literal Translation | Standard English |
---|---|---|
A tru tru | It’s true true | It is very true |
Yuh mus cum tideh-tideh | You must come today today | It is important that you come today |
Some words form by reduplication show character traits, for example:
Jamaican Creole | Standard English |
---|---|
nyami-nyami | greedy |
Chakka-chakka | Untidy |
fenkeh-fenkeh | Weak, poor |
6. USE OF DOUBLE NEGATIVES
In Standard English it is never acceptable to use double negatives such as 'nobody does not'. However, in• Jamaican Patois double negatives are accepted.
Jamaican Creole | Literal Translation | Standard English |
---|---|---|
Mi nuh have nun |
I don’t have none |
I don't have any |
Shi don't have nothing |
She doesn’t have nothing |
She doesn't have anything |
Dem don't live dere nuh more |
They don’t live there no more |
They don't live there any more |
Mi nah guh.nuh weh |
I am not going no where |
I am not going anywhere |
Nobady neva see’m |
Nobody never saw him |
Nobody saw him |
Nobady nuh live ova deh |
Nobody doesn’t lives over there |
Nobody lives over there |
7. COMPOUND WORDS
Compound words are commonly used in Jamaican Creole; for example:
Jamaican Creole | Literal Translation | Standard English |
---|---|---|
Han miggle |
Hand middle |
The palm (of your hand) |
Hiez-ole |
Ear hole |
The ear or the auditory passage |
Bwoy Pickney |
Boy Child |
A Young boy |
Foot battam |
Foot bottom |
The sole (of your foot) |
Nose-ole |
Nose hole |
Nostril |
Yeye-Wata |
Eye Water |
Tears |
Yeye-ball |
Eye ball |
Eye |
8. Tense
Unlike Standard English, in the Jamaican Creole, the verb does not change. Instead a new word is introduced and placed in front of the verb; for example:
Present Tense:
Jamaican Creole | Standard English |
---|---|
Mi guh | I am going |
Di ooman a guh a town | The woman is going to town |
Im a cum | He is coming |
Mi a cum | I am coming |
Past Tense:
Jamaican Creole | Standard English |
---|---|
Mi did guh | I went |
Di ooman did guh a town | The woman went to town |
Im did cum | He came |
Mi did cum | I came |
In Jamaican Creole, past tense is formed by using one of the following three words: 'en', 'ben' and 'did', whereas in Standard English the verb is changed or "e" or "ed" is added ; for example, collect-collected, run-ran, buy-bought, etc…
By now you probably have a basic understanding on the differences between Jamaican Patois and Standard English, for a more detailed guide, you can check out our how to speak Jamaican Patois series.