JAMAICA
Language

Language

Vowel Scheme Patois, Jamaica_{Photo: Unknown CC 3.0 Unported no changes made}

The official language in Jamaica is English. In addition, a large part of the population also speaks a dialect, the Patois. This dialect originated in the seventeenth century and is a mixture of English, French, Spanish and various West African languages. It is absolutely impossible to follow for non-Jamaicans.

Some specific words in Patois are:

• Chocolate - chalklit
• Family - fambly
• Liar - liad
• Mother - madda
• Saturday - satcherday
• Water - wata
• Bottle - buckkle
• Child - pickney

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Sources

Baker, C. / Jamaica
Lonely Planet

Baker, C. / Jamaica
Kosmos-Z&K

Bayer, M. / Jamaica
Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen/Novib

Helm, R. van der / Jamaica
Elmar

Jamaica
Cambium

Wilkins, F./ Jamaica
Chelsea House Publishers

CIA - World Factbook

BBC - Country Profiles

Last updated April 2024
Copyright: Team The World of Info