Although the
official language of Jamaica is English, Jamaicans speak an English dialect
called “Patois English”, which has roots in primarily British English, but also
Asian and African languages, due to the melding of Jamaican's diverse cultural
ancestries. Moreover, the “Jamaican Patois” dialect first arose out of a
cultural expression of the Jamaican people and rebellion against their cultural
roots and ethnic oppression. Moreover, the Jamaican “English Patois” dialect
is a colorful language that is spoken by people that possess a flair for vivid
imagery, ridicule and irony, down-to-earth humor and raunchy curse words.
Jamaican “Patois
English” is often very difficult for English-speaking travelers in Jamaica to understand,
due to the rapid pace at which they speak, as well as the unique variety of
local “Jamaican Patois” phrases and slang words, such as "dem" which can be used as
a modifier to pluralize persons or things. For instance, “yuh new fren dem”
will accompany you to the place “dem that you” need to visit “. In addition, "dem" can refer to a female; whereas males are often referred to as “im“ in "Jamaican Patois" English. The Jamaican “English Patois” dialect is also very
interesting in that local native "Jamaican Patois” speakers also tend
to speak like New Yorkers, since they often drop the r at the end of words,
such as dollar (i.e. “dolla”) or water (i.e. “wata”). Some other popular "Jamaican Patois" English words that you might hear while on vacation in Jamaica,
include: “nyam” (eat); “bickle” (food); “go sport” (socialize); “jam” (hang out), "Ital stew” (a salt-free Rastafarian vegetarian dish) ; “skanking” (Rock to
Reggae music); “Idren” (friends), and “reasoning” (discussion). If you want to experience a taste of the "Real Jamaica", please check out our Travel Around Jamaica Tours website at: http://www.travelaroundjamaica.com/
