Does Jamaica have its own language?

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tami

i'm jamaican and we speak creole or patios/ patwa. we usually speak english so other people can understand what are saying. our language is a mixture of english and african languages from slavery days so the slave drivers could understand some of what the slaves were saying.
most people who dont know about our language thinks that we speak like " ya mon" or something like that but we dont.

hope i helped.

ãƒ„Gabbi A.K.A Gabrielle

It is still ENGLISH!!! It just has an accent!!!! It's not a different language!!!

maivas229

ENGLISH is the official language in Jamaica.

Blues

Jamaican Patois, known locally as Patois (Patwa) or simply Jamaican, is an Englishâ€“African creole language spoken primarily in Jamaica and the Jamaican diaspora. It is not to be confused with Jamaican English nor with the Rastafarian use of English. The language developed in the 17th century, when slaves from West and Central Africa were exposed to, learned and nativized the vernacular and dialectal forms of English spoken by their masters: British English and Hiberno English. Jamaican Patois is a post-creole speech continuum (a linguistic continuum)[1][2][3]â€”meaning that the variety of the language closest to the lexifier language (the acrolect) cannot be distinguished systematically from intermediate varieties (collectively referred to as the mesolect) nor even from the most divergent rural varieties (collectively referred to as the basilect). Jamaicans themselves usually refer to their language as patois, a French term without a precise linguistic definition.

Significant Jamaican-speaking communities exist among Jamaican expatriates in Miami, New York City, Toronto, Hartford, Washington, D.C., Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama (in the Caribbean coast), and London.[4] A mutually intelligible variety is found in San AndrÃ©s y Providencia Islands, Colombia, brought to the island by descendants of Jamaican Maroons (escaped slaves) in the 18th century. Mesolectal forms are similar to Basilectal Belizean Creole. Jamaican Patois exists mostly as a spoken language. Although standard British English is used for most writing in Jamaica, Jamaican has been gaining ground as a literary language for almost a hundred years. Claude McKay published his book of Jamaican poems Songs of Jamaica in 1912. Patois and English are frequently used for stylistic contrast (codeswitching) in new forms of internet writing.[5]

Jamaican pronunciation and vocabulary are significantly different from English, despite heavy use of English words or derivatives. A native speaker of a non-Caribbean English dialect can understand a heavily accented Jamaican speaker only if he/she speaks slowly and forgoes the use of the many idioms that are common in Jamaican. Jamaican Patois displays similarities to the pidgin and creole languages of West Africa, due to their common descent from the blending of African substrate languages with European languages.[citation needed]

goodperson@heart

our official language is english but our dialect is patois. it is a mixture of different languages with the influence of the west african language.

I'm Dat Chick

we speak english....but wit ah slang more like broken english.....called patios aka PATWA....

so_grateful

sure ajajjaa

rhythmatist

Although english is the official language, sometimes some of the people speak a mixture of all the influences. I believe the word is patois.

Taker 4 Ever

English is spoken with a accent it includes words and syntax from various African languages (namely Akan, Igbo, Wolof and Twi); Chinese is also spoken their by Chinese immagrant who also speak English:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHDr0JrLVjA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEm2HoswmgA

Brenntagee.

Well kind of, They call it Patwa, The Official language of Jamaica is English, but Patwa, its widely spoken, Patwa is just broken down English.

E.G: My girl- Mi Gyal!
you ok?: What gwan!

AMO

well sort of its called Patois its a mixture of french,spanish and english - its really beautiful -i try and learn a little more each time i go .but most all speak what we refer to as "proper" english

Murzy

they speak English but use a short cut and fast
example
How do you feel?=Hud feel, man?

*Tim L*

yes

Angelique

Sort of, they have ! in their alphabets.

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