Language of Jamaica

The official language of Jamaica is English although Patois is spoken widely in the island. It is an oral language, which is rich in nuances. It originally derived from the French, which means a common tongue formed for communication between groups who previously did not know each other’s language like between master and slave.

Patois was looked upon as the language of inferiority and had a negative. It was often thought to be a degenerate version of a so-called pure language. To get rid of this stigma and to describe the language of Jamaica in a positive manner, the researchers concluded that it is not a Patois but a Creole. In simple words, a Creole is a language developed over time through the mixing of other languages, which eventually becomes more than, or independent from, the sum of its parts.

As far as the linguists are concerned, they vary in opinion regarding Patois language. While some of the linguists consider it to be a separate language, others view it as an alternate form of English. Several linguists and a few Jamaican novelists have recently worked hard to transform oral form of Patois into written form.

Patois borrows words and vocabulary heavily from English and many African languages. It can be considered as the unofficial language of Jamaica. The language is also influenced by Spanish, Arawak, French, Chinese, Portuguese and East Indian languages.

The pronunciation of Patois is similar to that of the Standard English. Yet one can find many 17^th and 18^th century expressions used commonly during the early British colonial settlement of Jamaica even today. The archaic and simplified structure, conjugated with African accents and special modulation makes the language difficult to understand at times.

Patois has been enriched and at times modified with the growth of Rastafarianism. Rastas have injected several grammatical concepts in this local language. One of the most apparent is the repeated use of "I", a reminder of their reverence of Ras Tafari and substitute for many prefixes or initial syllables. Therefore "I" is almost always substituted for the pronoun "me". Thus, "All Right" becomes "I're" "Brethren" becomes "Idren" and "Praises" becomes "Ises." The Rastafarian changes of Jamaica's patois are a recent phenomenon and have not always been adopted by non-Rastas.

Some of the most interesting anecdotes and fables in the Caribbean are usually popular in the Patois. Proverbs and names of the place express some of the vitality of Jamaican language.

(Source: www.sidestep.com)