Jamaica Languages

Jamaica has a long history, one that has added to the country’s ethnic, cultural and linguistic
diversity. Prior to its discovery and colonization, its indigenous people, known as the Taino,
called the island Xayamaca, which in their Arawakan language means “Land of Wood and
Water” or “Land of Springs.”
Languages Spoken In Jamaica
The many languages that can be heard throughout both rural and urban Jamaica are a reflection
of the country’s vast ethnic and cultural diversity. English is the official language of Jamaica
and is used for all official purposes, including being the language of government, education and
media. With a population of nearly 2.9 million, Jamaica is the third most popular Anglophone
country in the Americas, trailing only the United States and Canada.
Jamaican Creole (Patois)
While English is the official language of Jamaica, the large majority of the Jamaican people
speak a form of English Creole, known by Linguists as Jamaican Creole or Patois. Jamaican
Creole can best be described as an English-lexified Creole language; a mixture of English and a
variety of West African languages. Patois is known for its pleasing tone, with a musical lilt and
a rhythm to the spoken word. This regional form of Creole is very present throughout the large
island country and can often be heard in the popular form of Jamaican music known as Reggae.
Most permanent residents of Jamaica have a firm linguistic handle on Jamaican Creole, but
because the language is primarily a spoken one, most people communicate in writing using the
UK style of English. It’s important to note that Jamaican Creole is not the same as the English
spoken on the island, which is often referred to as Rastafarian English. However, even those that
do choose to speak English in both formal and informal settings (typically the wealthier and
more educated citizens), tend to demonstrate a pleasant-sounding accent that is unique to the
island of Jamaica. Moreover, the Jamaican Diaspora have brought with them their unique Creole
language and Rastafarian accent.
Jamaican Creole was initially developed in the 1600s when the island was under British colonial
control. Linguists say the language originated during the slave trade, when individuals were
brought to Jamaica from West and Central Africa to work. Being newly exposed to the English
language, the slaves put their own native twist on the vernacular and dialectal forms of the
language spoken by their English and Scottish masters, and thus a new language of
communication was born.
The Jamaican language has many names, although most Jamaicans residents call it “Patois,” a
word originally derived from the French. When translated, “Patois” means a common tongue
formed for communication between groups who previously did not share a language, such as
masters and slaves. Although the name “Patois” strikes pride in most Jamaicans, historically it
has had a negative linguistic connotation of inferiority. A Patois is generally considered a
degenerate version of the mother language or pure Language, in this case the Queen’s
English. To distinguish the Jamaican Patios from this historical connotation, most researchers
refuse to consider it as a Patois whatsoever, but rather a Creole. A Creole language is one that is
developed over the time through the combination of other languages, which eventually becomes
more than, or independent from, the sum of its parts.
During the days of the slave trade and slavery, English and African languages combined words,
grammar and intonations to form the language now known as Jamaican Creole. There were also
many contributions to Jamaican Creole that derived from the languages of the Native
Amerindian population and the Spanish, who inhabited the island prior to its colonization by the
United Kingdom. Because English has for centuries been the language of power and prestige in
Jamaica, most of the words in Jamaican Patois have English roots. However, many of the
intonations, grammatical structures and some of the words have a strong African presence.
Today Jamaican Creole is spoken throughout the country, as well as in neighborhoods of the
Jamaican Diaspora in places such as New York, Miami, London and Toronto. English is the
language of education, commerce, and the institutional world, but in informal situations the large
majority of Jamaicans rely on their Patois for communication.
Jamaican Patois features a linguistic continuum, meaning that the variety of the language closest
to the lexifier language (known as the acrolect or dominant language, in this case Jamaican
Standard English) is systematically indistinguishable from intermediate varieties of the language
known as mesolect nor did even from the most divergent rural varieties referred to as basilect. In
other words, even those who speak the form of Jamaican Creole that is closest to the English
language can be heard and understood by those who speak the form of Creole that most departs
from the English language, and vice versa
When it comes to pronunciation and vocabulary, Jamaican Creole can be significantly different
from English, even though Creole relies heavily on the use of English words and derivatives.
Additionally, many Jamaicans have the tendency to switch back and forth between English and
Jamaican Creole when writing to achieve a type of stylistic contrast. This type of writing is very
common on the Internet.
Other Languages Spoken in Jamaica
Although the overwhelming majority of Jamaicans speak Jamaican Creole, English, or a
combination of the two languages, in certain regions of the country is not uncommon to hear
other languages as well.
There still remains in Jamaica a small minority of native Amerindian residents, namely
the Taino people, who are thought to be the first people to inhabit the island now known as
Jamaica. Some of these people continue to speak the first language of their ancestors—a
language known as Arawak. The Tainos, assumed to be natives of the northern coast of South
America, are thought to have arrived in Jamaica in around 600 A.D.
The Arawakan-speaking Tainos were a peaceful people of the Stone Age. Upon settling in
Jamaica they continued to live there for 900 years, until their existence was threatened when the
Spanish invaded the region in 1494. The search of Cathay, the land of gold in Jamaica’s east,
motivated the Spanish Conquest.
Although the Arawak language is rarely heard any more on the island of Jamaica, the language
has contributed a number of words to the English language. Some of the Arawak words which
were later adopted and added to the English language include hammock, hurricane, tobacco,
barbeque, cassava, guava and canoe. Although the Arawak language of the Taino people is no
longer practiced on the island of Jamaica, it has unquestionably contributed greatly to the
enrichment of the English, and later Jamaican Creole language.
Since the country’s independence in 1962, scores of immigrants from countries throughout the
world have made their way to Jamaica, bringing with them their customs, traditions and
language. There are thousands of foreign nationals now living in Jamaica, most hailing from
countries in Europe, North America and Asia. Most of these people tend to speak their native
language at home as well as informally within their own communities, and a good portion are
bilingual, with English as their second language.