As Jamaica continues to loosen its ties with the British monarchy, momentum is building to make Patois the country's official language alongside English. The proposal was recently floated by the ...

Most words in Jamaican patois, like other English Caribbean patois, are English words filtered through a distinct phonetic system with fewer vowels and different consonant sounds. Patois is written ...

KINGSTON, JamaicaKINGSTON, Jamaica — When English teacher Faith Linton first proposed translating the Bible into Jamaica’s patois tongue in the late 1950s, most people who heard the idea shook their ...

The battle lines have softened somewhat, but there is still substantial opposition to patois in the pulpit. Critics say it will dilute Scripture and undermine the already weak hold many poor Jamaicans ...

Jamaicans have proverbs, expressions, and commentary on just about everything. Marital woes? Workplace drama? The frenzied pace of life? You name it–they’ve probably got an opinion. Some of these ...

Recently, I applied for a consulting position with a DC contractor bidding for a competitive US government grant and needing 48 professionals in support of the application. The requirements included: ...

Patois is the Jamaican soul, born by the will of the people. It needs no input from Government, academics or busybodies. Miss Lou’s patois needs no aid from English etymology, phonetics or syntax, and ...