Jamaican Creole Conversations: Friends, Streets, and the Beauty of Slang
This video shared by the YouTube channel, “Jamaican Patwah”, teaches viewers Jamaican slang and how to use it with sentence examples.
1.) Trouble deh deh– Used when warning someone to be careful of a place/person/environment.
2.) Yuh Zimi– Do you understand what I’m saying. Often used at the end of a sentence to make sure a person really understands.
3.) Hush Yaw– An expression of empathy and sympathy. Could be used with someone who is sick or just lost their job.
4.) Put some clothes pan yuh awgument/ Fence up yuh awgument- Show some respect when you’re talking tome.
5.) Run a boat– Prepare a meal. (Meals come in different sizes: the canoe, the boat, and the ship. The boat could be a meal for two people while the ship would be a meal for a whole family.
The two influencers, Xiaoman and Frankie Light, are both polygots. On their perspective YouTube channels, the vloggers practice a new language they learn with strangers on the street and often shock them. This episode features Jamaica, Queens and is a good example of some basic phrases that can be used in a conversation, such as when ordering food or shopping.
“Beauty In The Struggle”. by Rytikal is explained by the channel, “Shan’s Patwa Academy”. The song highlights the artist’s love for ‘the struggle’, he worked hard to get where he is and his song’s message encourages others to follow in his path. While the chorus is easily understood by English speakers, in the verses he speaks Patois. The structure of this song seems to be an upcoming trend, where the chorus is relatable to English speakers and the verses contain more Patois.
Beauty In the Struggle
Rytikal
Yow Saint Thomas Airy Castle Yow Tekktroniic Dem fi know enuh Yow Epic
We suffer, we fight, we rise and we fall It’s just… just life We all gotta face it someday There is beauty in the struggle, you’ve made it Ugliness in the success just the same
Yeah, this a facts weh mi notice Shoutout to di dawgs weh mi grow wid Di road rough weh mi walk but mi doh slip Mi show love all when mi hear cyaa’ hold it Never give up nuh matter waah gwaan round mi Mi hold mi own all when mi dawk and lonely But there is nutt’n inna mi past, cyaa’ judge mi Because mi learn fi move on
We suffer, we fight, we rise and we fall It’s just… just life We all gotta face it someday There is beauty in the struggle, you’ve made it Ugliness in the success just the same There is beauty in the struggle, you name it So fight for what can bring you the changes But there’s ugliness in the success just the same All the love we show can leave us with pain
Me a start from nothing Suh mi nuh care who at all waah grudge me Nuh matter wah mi work hard, cyaa’ hungry A bet seh dem nuh know salt and dumpling That’s why mi do mi ting, calm and humble Mi never trip, mi nah fall nor stumble Mi a sumaddy weh walk pon bruk foot Anything at all mi waah do, a me it up to
Mi a sumaddy weh cyaa’ fail, just look Trust mi have sickle, cyaa’ stay, it muss move Nuff deh inna mi pathway, mi just prove But love deh inna mi heart straight anuh blood Mi find beauty inna di struggle Fit up every pieces inna di puzzle Mi nah wait, mi a dweet before mi get old Cause my pickney fi a do better than me even though…
We suffer, we fight, we rise and we fall It’s just… just life We all gotta face it someday There is beauty in the struggle, you’ve made it Ugliness in the success just the same There is beauty in the struggle, you name it So fight for what can bring you the changes But there’s ugliness in the success just the same All the love we show can leave us with pain
Written Jamaican Creole:
The translated version of the New Testament titled Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment not only authentically translates the book’s message, but also formally preserves the language. This documentation of language holds sentence structures, phrases, and vocabulary for future generations.
Every language has a unique ability to relay information, and the first line of Di Jamaican Nyuu Testimet starts with a profound spiritual understanding.
“Dis a di lis a Krais Jiizas faada faada dem go bak.”
(This is Jesus’ father’s father, they go way back.)
The connection to ancestry and heritage between Jesus and the Lord Himself’s Father encompasses not only a deep spiritual truth, but the unique beauty of the language itself.
A phonological feature to this verse is the rhythm as well as the element of storytelling. There is also a sense of shared religious understandings through this verse, through starting with Jesus’ relation to the family lineage we know that readers have a sense of familiarity. This line also stresses the importance of ancestry as well as family that is present in Jamaican culture.
The film JESUS, is a translation project with authentic spoken Patois.
When analyzing the comments of this Youtube video, we see how appreciated this movie is. This project bridges the universal story of Jesus Christ, viewers native to the language as well as admirers of Patois comment on how they enjoy this film.
The Rastafarian movement, and specifically Rastafarian Patwa holds the ability to inspire speakers to find their own personal enlightenment. A key element to specifically Rastafarian English, is the ability for an individual to define their own path through a sense of community as well as understandings rooted deep within their DNA. Rastafarian English becomes more than a way of communication. Conventional linguistic boundaries are purposefully broken as a key element to the formation of the language itself. Rastafarian English contains expressions that in itself are philosophies.
These videos display a natural way of life and the Rastafarian movement’s emphasis on the beauty of living in nature. Another key element in the Rastafarian movement Is the individuality each Rasta shows. There is no authority or central control, the movement is based on the discoveries of the practitioner. This allows for the language to move with the flow of one’s own self discovery. The Rastafarian uses the movement to liberate oneself from the restrictions of society, and moves past the ‘mainstream’ language restrictions which creates barriers.
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