Jamaican Patois

Jamaican Patois, known as Patwa, Jamaican Creole or simply Jamaican, is an English-African Creole language spoken mostly in Jamaica and among the Jamaican diaspora.Lars Hinrichs (2006), Codeswitching on the Web: English and Jamaican Creole in E-Mail Communication. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: Benjamins.

 Formation of the language 
Jamaican Patois was developed in the 17th century with the arrival of West African slaves. Once they arrived in the island, they had to quickly learn and neutralize the dialectal forms of the English language. The slaves, just like in any region of the Caribbean rather speak their original tongue than learn the proper forms of the European languages of their masters.

 Irish influence 
Jamaican Creole draws an Irish phonetic sounds in some areas of Jamaica, however, the schools and education in Jamaica are based on the British English in the writing, reading and speech.

 African influence 
Jamaican Patois has African influences dating back to the 17th century. Its syntax, sounds, phonetics, grammar, and plenty of words show African influence in every aspect.

 Chinese and East Indian influence 
The Jamaican language has hundreds or thousands of words with origins of the Cantonese and the Indian languages, such as "Ganja" (Mariguana).

References

Category:Pidgins and creoles
Category:Languages of the Caribbean
Category:Jamaica
Category:17th-century establishments in North America