An English-based creole spoken by virtually all Jamaicans — about 3 million native speakers and a growing presence in global music and pop culture.
Where it’s spoken
Jamaican Patois (called Patwa, Jamaican Creole, or Iyaric in Rastafari usage) is the native language of about 3 million Jamaicans. Standard English is the official language of Jamaica and dominates formal contexts. The Patois-English continuum reaches from acrolect (close to Standard English) to basilect (deepest Patois). Major diaspora communities live in the UK, US, and Canada, and Jamaican music (reggae, dancehall) spreads Patois globally.
What it sounds like
Jamaican Patois has 12 vowels (5 short, 5 long, 2 diphthongs) and 21 consonants. It distinguishes palatalized k and g — “cyaa” (can’t) and “gyaal” (girl). The verb system uses particles like a (continuous), did (past), wi (future), and inflectionless verbs. Stress and intonation patterns differ markedly from Standard English.
How it’s written
Most Jamaican Patois is written informally with English-influenced spellings. The Cassidy-JLU orthography (developed by linguist Frederic Cassidy and the Jamaican Language Unit) provides a phonemic standard, though it is rarely used outside academic contexts.
History
Jamaican Patois emerged from contact between West African languages and English in the 17th-century plantation economy. It is heavily shaped by Twi, Akan, and Igbo substrate influences and by Spanish from earlier colonial contact.
Find more languages by letter
Jamaican Patois starts with J and ends with S. Browse other languages along the same letter.
Languages that contain a letter from "Jamaican Patois":