Poking at some bad teeth or searching for the right word?
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Poking at some bad teeth or searching for the right word? |
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hoever can understand English, can communicate with Jamaicans. The unofficial Language is for normal English speaking persons quite a challenge, if not unintelligible. As a rule, true English is first taught to the Jamaicans in school. |
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The language of the street is Patois, a total twisted English made up of absurd sentence order and crazy, funny vocalization. As long as the Jamaicans attempt to speak English, everything will be OK. However, when he begins to talk with his "Breddas", in a "snap", it sounds as if the language has been changed. Suddenly one hears more rhythm, a language, that appears to come from Africa, with only a few smuggled words of Broken English. From "children" to "pickney", and from "family" to "fambly". The common word "friend" becomes "me fren", and to "lick" is not a kiss, but rather a punch in the face. For those surfers interested in learning more about this language of Rasta-expanded vocabulary, two websites are available: A Patois-Dictionary or JOAN AND DIONNE's Patois Lessons (including sound!) By the way, one learns Patois best in Jamaica. |