Why does jamaica speak english

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Our Sponsorship Policy. JamaicaSunshine Tours. Read More. Photo: Jamaicans Celebrating with our Flag. Like My Site? Link To Us. So what language do Jamaicans speak? That person you think is dumb? Cassidy in Jamaica Talk. And certain aspects of Irish intonation have also carried over to the country, because the Irish are the second-largest ethnic population in Jamaica. Most Jamaicans do not speak English as a native language, but rather learn it in school as a second language, with the first being Jamaican Patois.

There are often class implications involved in speaking English versus Jamaican Patois, and there are frequent debates about making Jamaican Patois another official language of Jamaica.

Jamaican Patois, also known as Patwa and Jamaican Creole, is the most widely spoken language in the country. Patois and Rastafarian both started in Jamaica, with roots in Africa, and influences in reggae. Reggae and Patois:. Reggae and Patois go hand in hand. One is the sound of Jamaica, with reggae, the other the voice of Jamaica, in patois. Seeing as how reggae is a Jamaican music, and most musicians who perform reggae are from Jamaica, making most reggae musicians sing in patois.

The fact that patois is a spoken dialect gives it a smooth sound that ties in nicely with a heavy reggae beat. An exert from the song be yourself , by the Gentlemen [12]. A no time deh. Fi go join dem. Jah rastafari say fi seek and you shall find then. No time deh. Fi we go join dem. You follow babylon you end up ina problem. Well nuff a dem out deh sell dem soul because of vanity. Me see dem a search but can not find fi dem identity. Cause their identity is coming from the nozzle of dem gun.

But I and I identity is coming from the nyabingi drum. If you listen to the song while you read the lyrics, you can see clearly how the words are spelt exactly as they sound, unlike the English language that has silent letters, and other grammatical tricks. You can also hear how well the patois seems to flow with the beat, its seems to flow much more poetically than Orthodox English does.

There are many examples of this that I could show you, as the majority of reggae stars sing in patois, apart from the some of the better-heard artists like Bob Marley, who sings in to what would be considered English. One reason why patois and reggae go together has to do with what it stands for. In the global view, patois is considered an uneducated dialect, due to its origins. Tosh embarrassed this, he felt that patois was his language, not English.

This feeling Tosh had was not isolated to just his case. In fact many fellow Jamaicans felt that same way, about speaking their dialect that is viewed as uneducated, but in their eyes is just their language. I cannot help but draw connections to other English dialects present in the United States. If you compare Jamaican patois, and Americas Ebonics, you will find many similarities as well. For starters they are both dialects of English, both of which are spoken dialects, with loose to no rules of grammar.

Both patois and Ebonics are slave languages, but rather than direct slave contact creating the dialect as in patois, years of oppression forced a lack of education in the inner cities of America, causing a dialect that is viewed as uneducated to be created.

Ebonics and patois also draw a commonality in their involvement in music. Patois has reggae, which is the music of patois, and embodies many of the same ideals, and Ebonics draws connections to hip-hop, and rap. Ebonics is the language of hip-hop, as most hip-hop is performed in Ebonics.

In reggae and the Rasta religion, the goal is to make it from Babylon, or Jamaica, back to Zion, or Ethiopia.

Where as in hip-hop and the culture involved with Ebonics, says the goal is to make it out of poverty, and out of the struggle, and into a place of personal wealth.

These commonalities between the two of these dialects, allows one to make some comparisons. One of the things that are prevalent is that slavery has molded our culture into what it is today, and our nation is still trying to right its wrongs of the past. Both of these dialects hold a deeper meaning to the people who speak them, and then just those who have read about them, or even listened to it. To the people of Jamaica, or the people of an inner city, the dialect represents a group of people and what they stand for.

Their dialect is a tribute to the struggles their ancestors suffered through. The island of Jamaica has a culture that is rich in history, and even richer in character. The Jamaican people are a proud people that hold onto their roots in Africa. Manny Jamaicans practice Rastafarianism, which actually calls for the return to Zion, or Ethiopia at some point.

This mentality of remembering where you came from, allows Jamaica to stay very simple, and patois is no exception to this. Patois, although not the most refined or elegant language, is a very fitting dialect to the people of Jamaica, as it does pay homage to the Jamaicans who have past. The sound of that is nice, but one issue that has risen, is the issue of if patois is actually just a creation of Babylon. The question now is, does speaking a dialect forced upon the slaves of Jamaica by their master, become something that should be forgot, or something that should be celebrated.

It just comes down to whether or not you view speaking broken English as a disobedient action, or you view speaking patois as a remainder of the Babylon that enslaved the Africans and brought them to Jamaica. My view on the topic is in support of speaking patois. When the slaves were told to speak English, they were not supposed to speak broken English; they were supposed to speak English. The people of Jamaica have every right in my eyes to speak patois, and speak it proud.

Patois is only one of many Creoles in the world, yet could be the most famous. If there is ever a Jamaican depicted in culture, they speak patois. That may not seem that important, but it shows the effect that patois has even off of the small island of Jamaica.

Patois needs to be kept alive, and eventually needs to be recognized as its own language.