The official language is English, which is used in all domains of public life, including the government, the legal system, the media, and education. However, the primary spoken language is an English-based creole called Jamaican Patois (or Patwa).The official language is English, which is used in all domains of public life, including the government, the legal system, the media, and education. However, the primary spoken language is an English-based creole called Jamaican Patois

Is Patois broken English?

Often these patois are popularly considered broken English or slang, but cases such as Jamaican Patois are classified with more correctness as a Creole language; in fact, in the Francophone Caribbean the analogous term for local basilectal languages is créole (see also Jamaican English and Jamaican Creole).

Where does the Jamaican accent come from?

With Jamaica being rich in exposure to other cultures due to the slave trade, Jamaicans learnt and adapted the accents of plantation owners and overseers. These ranged from English to Spanish to African and to a few other lesser populated ones. These combinations of accents naturally resulted in a mixture of accents.

What is Jamaican broken English called?

Jamaican Patois (/ˈpætwɑː/), (known locally as Patois, Patwa, and Patwah and called Jamaican Creole by linguists) is an English-based creole language with West African influences, spoken primarily in Jamaica and among the Jamaican diaspora.

Why do Jamaicans talk weird?

The speaking of patois is a reference to the time when most Jamaicans ancestors were taken from their homeland, and forced to speak English. Jamaicans as a people are very proud of the struggle that their ancestors have had to fight through and over come, making patois a staple of any true Jamaican.

Why are Jamaicans so hard to understand?

Many Caribbean dialects can be difficult to understand for any English speaker simply because they tend to be creole languages. In Jamaicas case, its a creole of an African dialect (from somewhere in Western Africa) and an English dialect (Irish English predominately).