Jamaican Patois

Patois, or Patwa, is not broken English. It is a creole that took most of its vocabulary from English and much of its grammar and sound system from West African languages, principally Akan, and it has its own consistent structure: no verb conjugation for tense, pronouns that do not change by case, and constructions like the doubling used for emphasis. It is the first language of most Jamaicans, with standard English used in formal settings, and the distance between them is wide enough that visitors often catch nothing at first. Louise Bennett-Coverley, known as Miss Lou, spent a career insisting it was a language, and dub poets and playwrights have written in it since.

What you actually see

• Miss Lou's work - the poetry and broadcasts that gave the language standing.
• Dub poetry - performance poetry written and delivered in Patois.
• Theatre in Kingston - the annual pantomime and the Patois stage tradition.
• The Cassidy and Cassidy-JLU spellings - the systems developed for writing it.

When to go

Year-round. The national pantomime, staged in Kingston from December, is the most accessible theatrical experience of the language. Poetry and spoken word events run through the year in Kingston.

Honest expectations

Visitors attempting Patois usually get it wrong and it can read as mockery rather than effort; listening is better received than imitating. Speed and vocabulary vary enormously by parish and setting, and even fluent English speakers catch little at first. Written forms are inconsistent because no single spelling system has been universally adopted.

Nearby

Kingston's theatres and the Institute of Jamaica hold the literary side.