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Jamaican Patwa/ Patois Jamaican
by Nemonie Cassells
Out of Many, One Peopleā¦that is our Jamaican motto, and it is simply stating that our āland of wood and waterā is made up of people whose ancestors come from many different race and cultural backgrounds.
Some of us Jamaicans have ancestors tracing back to the nomadic race of brown skinned Asians, known as the Arawaks, who first arrived on the Island. (Read history of Jamaica here)
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Some came from the Africans who were brought here as slaves. Some came from more modern Asians who came here to work after slavery was āabolishedā, and of course, there are descendants here from European background as well.
Whichever ethnic background we may come from ( And believe me when I say, the bloodlines have been mixed over the many years), we are all one people under the warm island sun! Jamaica land we love!
With all the factors stated above, no wonder we have the best of everything that we have available to use⦠Iām talking about; Food, Entertainment, Sports and Language!
Now even though our first language is English, our creole; patois, is what we are most recognized for! Our dialect, Iāve been told many times, is the best in the Caribbean!
And people just love to hear us speak, to hear our accent and the words we use, even if they donāt understand a lick of what we are saying.
Many believe our patois is broken English, but they are actually incorrect in this. Our patois is actually made up of not only English, but some of the West African languages and a little Spanish too (Ironically the word āpatoisā is french)!
With so many language influencing our tongue, it is quite interesting to listen to, even if not learned.
Today I am going to teach you patois by revealing the patois word for your English. When youāre done here, you should be able to enjoy a nice conversation with your Jamaican friends and family without feeling left out!
Ready?
OK ('Arite)!
English |
Patois |
|
Woman |
Uman |
|
Child/Children |
pickney/ pickiney |
|
Boy |
Bwoi |
|
Girl |
gal |
|
I |
mi |
|
Me |
mi |
|
My |
mi |
|
Mine |
fi mi |
|
We |
wi |
|
Us |
wi |
|
Our |
wi |
|
Ours |
fi wi |
|
He |
'im |
|
His |
im |
|
Him |
im |
|
She |
shi |
|
Her |
ar |
|
Hers |
fi ar |
|
You |
yuh |
|
Your |
yuh |
|
Yours |
fi yuh |
|
They |
dem |
|
Them |
dem |
|
Their |
dem |
|
Theirs |
fi dem |
|
This |
dis |
|
That |
dat |
English |
Patois |
Not |
nuh |
Too |
tuh |
To |
tuh |
Never |
neva |
Together |
togedda |
Rather |
radda |
Ever |
eva |
Nearly |
Naily |
So |
suh |
First |
fuss |
Where |
weh |
Why |
wah mek |
What |
wah |
Here |
yah, yah suh |
There |
deh, deh suh |
Down |
dung |
Alright |
Arite |
English |
Patois |
Eat |
nyam |
Cry |
bawl |
Throw |
fling, dash |
Hang |
heng |
Let |
mek |
Make |
mek |
Say |
seh |
See |
si |
Send |
sen |
Sit |
siddung |
Spit |
pit |
Spoil |
pwile |
Spread |
pred |
Stand |
tan |
Think |
tink |
Take |
Tek |
Understand |
andastan |
Upset |
bex |
Vex |
bex |
English |
Patois |
What going on/What’s up? |
What a gwan? Wahappen? |
Are you ok? |
Yuh good? Yuh Arite? |
I’ll be right back |
Mi soon come back |
Hey! |
Yow! |
Oh Lord!/ OMG |
Lawd Gad!/ Lawd-a-massy |
Where are you? |
Weh yuh deh? |
Jealousy /Envy |
Badmind |
Don’t upset me/ mess with me |
Nuh ramp wid mi! |
Gossip |
suss/ mix up/ mix up ah blenda |
Jamaica |
Jamdung/ Jamrock/ yahd |
America |
Farrin/ Merica |
I don’t care |
Mi nuh cya/ mi nuh bizniz |
Mind your own business |
Yuh too faas/ mine yuh own bizniz |
You feel me? |
Yuh zimmi |
Friend |
Parry/ dupes/ fren/ mi bwoi(male)/ mi gal(female) |
I understand |
Zeen/ Rrr |
Something is really good |
It bad eee/ sell aff! |
Small amount |
Likkle bit |
Child! |
Pickney!/ Chile |
Practice those and in no time, you'll be able to hold good conversation with a true āYardieā in patois.
Your Welcome!! :-)
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