The Unique Language of Jamaica

The official language of Jamaica is English, but those who stay in rural areas speak patois. Patois is a creole dialect with West African, Spanish, and French elements. The language today reflects the history of the country and its interaction with diverse mixture of cultures from many ethnic, and social backgrounds. The local language is a reflection of a history of contact with variety of speakers, but the official language remains to be standard English (Pryce, 1997). However many Jamaicans

In an article written in the Jamaica Observer, Haughton (2017) describes the state of Jamaica as an under-developed child who continues to depend on its parents for approval. “For many years colonialism milked Jamaica and other Caribbean countries by imposing a false identity on our people, diminishing resources that affected growth and development (Haughton, 2017).

Most Haitians are Christians who practice within the catholic faith, 7th day Adventist, Protestants, Jehovah witnesses and more. In contrast to being Christians, many Haitians practices Voodoo. Within this belief, they practice rituals to help bind the body and the soul. Voodoo is a form of magic described by many Haitians as a former form of healing and meditation of the troubled spirit. Many Haitians also proceed to explain that the magic of voodoo have evolved to a form of black magic, where those who practices it take haughtiness aim to cause harm to their enemies. The native language of Haiti is Haitian Creole. This is a language that was created from the different tribes in Africa that was brought to Haiti as slaves. To communicate with each other, they were left with no choice but to create a common way understanding. In the Haitian Creole language, there is a vast number of different sounds within the dialect. The sounds are used as an exaggeration to the meaning of the word. An example of this is saying “anmey”, which is usually screamed out as a cry for help.

Puerto Rico’s linguistic background is strongly defined by Spanish and English. Most Puerto Ricans speak both languages fluently and use both in everyday life such as; work, travel and communication.

One day waking up thinking this was a normal day at my birth home, Jamaica, I walked to my grandparents’ house, stayed there for a couple of hours, then I saw this pretty, shiny, new Nissan Altima pulled up, and stopped. Moments later a tall dark-skinned guy stepped out the vehicle, fixed his hat, and walked to the door. When the doors open he burst into tears and said to me, “Hey son”, at first my siblings and I was in shock because we have not seen our father since 2004, I did not know what he looked like until I saw pictures of me and him together. Later that night we party and have fun together. The next morning, he drove in and we took pictures, then, we went to dunns-river falls, also we went and eat.

There are a lot of different countries in the world. Some have many similarities and some have few similarities. English is the international language and everyone should try and learn this language if they want to communicate with the rest of the world. Most people think of the United Kingdom and the United States of America, as the english speaking countries. This is not the only English-speaking countries, with English as the national language. In this text I will take a closer look at a country that has english as the national language. I will look at the differences and similarities that this country has with The United Kingdom. The country is surprisingly small and has a population of approximately 3 million people. It is a small island and the largest English-speaking country in the Caribbean. It was a British colony from 1665 to 1962 and that is probably one of the reasons why most of the people there speak english. The country i am talking about is obviously Jamaica.

Haiti practices Roman Catholicism as well as Canada. Christianity is another big religion practiced in both countries. Protestant is practiced in both countries, but they are both little pieces of the countries practiced religions. The most religions practiced are Christianity and Roman Catholicism. These two countries also have food dishes in common as well, Haiti has a dish called “Fritay” which is seasoned grated malanga fritters called “arka”. It also has slices of white sweet potatoes. The similar dish to this in Canada is called Buttermilk Fried Chicken Drumsticks, which is just fried chicken fried in buttermilk battered served with a side of mustard. Another one of Haiti’s food dishes that is similar is called “Legume” which is white rice,carrots, eggplant, and Chayotes smushed together. The similar dish that is served in Canada called Broccoli Wild Rice Casserole, which consists of white rice vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, onions, etc. topped with breadcrumbs. Haiti and Canada also has similar languages as well. The Haitian language is called Haitian Creole which in other words is French. English is another major language spoken in Haiti. One of Canada’s main languages is French 30.1% of canadians speak French. English is the most popular language spoken in Canada, 85.6% of canadians speak fluent

In Grenada, Avey Johnson is surrounded by the out-islanders heading to the yearly pilgrimage of the Carriacou Excursion. For those that take notice of her thinks that she is a part of the crowd as themselves making their way on their journey. Avey Johnson looks for a way to escape, she feels at a lost of the unknown, although there is a familiarity to it. “Patois she had heard for the first time in Martinique three days ago. She had heard it that first time and it had fleetingly called to mind the way people spoke in Tatem long ago. There had been the same vivid, slightly atonal music underscoring the words. She had heard it and that night from out of nowhere her great-aunt had stood waiting in her sleep.” (p 67) Even a language that she has not heard but once brings up a familiar memory from her Tatem past. This shows that although

In many ways the Jamaican accent resembles Cork a southern Ireland accent. Jamaican Standard English is grammatically similar to British Standard English. The language also merges American English and British English dialects.

Jamaica is a land of diverse cultures. It has a number of different racial ethnic groups .The largest group however is the blacks or Africans so 'Jamaica’s culture' is predominantly black. Interwoven is also the European culture which these blacks learnt from their former white slaves masters. You will find Indians living in Jamaica also. Many Indians came to Jamaica as indentured servants and stayed, they too have an input in the Jamaica’s culture.

His growing style encompassed every aspect in the rise of Jamaican music, from ska to contemporary reggae. Marley’s lyrics lifted spirits and united nations. Robert Nesta Marley is put on a higher thresh hold that any before him, he stands on the podium as the greatest musician in this century. Through reggae Marley lives on influencing many well known bands today. Marley sang of love and above all else “Jah” a god in one of the many religions worshiped in Jamaica. The religion most commonly associated with Jamaican culture is Rastafarianism. This group of free spirited natives known as the Rastafarian’s belive in the spiritual use of marijuana, known to this island as “Ganja”. They speak Patios, pronounced (pa-twaa), an extreme Jamaican slang of the English language. Rastafarians live off the land and worship freely in the green mountains of the inner island. From an economic stand point Jamaica is generally a poor country with an average family income of 2,000 dollars a year. As a result Jamaican people rely heavily on the precious U.S. dollar brought in through tourism. Jamaica’s number one source for trade is Bauxite. The mineral rock Bauxite is rich within the rocky coast of the island. Although the overall status of Jamaican society remains poor, the abundant source of fish, fruits, and spices keep the natives well fed. Curry goat and Akki (saltfish/eggs) fill the bellies of Jamaicans everyday. Among my favorites are jerk pork and

     Jamaica is a tropical island, located in the heart of the Caribbean Sea. Around the coastlines are beautiful beaches with crystal clear blue-green water. In some respects, this is the majority of what people know about Jamaica. In this orientation text you will better understand Jamaica’s history, the people who live there, the many different religions, geography, and governments that have ruled the land.

Today Spanish names still exist in the form of rivers, family names, and towns(JNHT 2). The Spanish implemented a new form of economy on the island based on shipbuilding and repairs in order to maintain the trading post in the Caribbean. Jamaica relied heavily on the trade of fruits and animal skins in order to produce revenues for the Spanish Empire. Jamaica proved to be an unworthy colony for the Spanish because of the lack of prosperity of agriculture.

The evolution of Caribbean Literature started centuries before the Europeans graced these shores and continues to develop today. Quite noticeably, it developed in a manner which transcended all language barriers and cultures. Today the languages of the Caribbean are rooted in that of the colonial powers - France, Britain, Spain and Holland - whose historical encounters are quite evident throughout the region. The cosmopolitan nature of the region's language and cultural diversity develop from the mixture of European languages with Native American languages (mainly the Caribs and Arawaks) in the formation of creoles and local patois (hybrid languages) and those of Africans brought to the Caribbean as

The languages of Belize are as follows: English 62.9% (which is the official language); Spanish 56.6%; Creole 44.6%; Maya 10.5%; German 3.2%; Garifuna 2.9%; other 1.8%; unknown 0.3%; none 0.2% (cannot speak).