Jamaican Patois (NOT English!)

It is said we Jamaicans speak a language we don't write, and write a language we don't speak

I'm Jamaican and my mind is blown, never seen anyone break down patois like this. Well done

I’m part Senegalese and I Can’t believe how they were able to use wollof, Akan, Igbo etc to create something so unique even though they were purposely stripped away from their true identity!!! I even noticed some of the words were similar to wollof. Jamaican patois is such a beautiful language ❤️

Am an Akan, from the Ashanti tribe and what you said was 100 correct. Most Jamaicans have a strong connection with Ghana

This dude show's more respect to patois in 16 minutes than most of us Jamaicans ever do

Jamaicans need to protect this National treasure of a language.

Loved every minute of this. I left Jamaica 40 years ago at 12. I spoke mostly standard English because my father's family were pretty well educated but I also spoke patois but were told unnu nuffi talk bad. It wasn't until I read Americanah by Chimananda Ngozi Achidie that I GOT that our Patois was real and not some bastardization of English. Nowadays I find myself just speaking patois without code switching in most settings. People know wha mi a seh an mi no try fi switch up. My sister who is older than me grew up when you never spoke patois lest people thought you were low class. Now I can see how when she speaks English she's literally translating from Patois and it's more stilted. When we jus a chat inna plain patois mi fiin' seh she express haarself much easier. The awareness of how the evil enterprise of slavery and its depredations made us Africans descendants feel bad bout who we were, mek mi noh fraid fi chat patwah no matta wheh mi deh. An di funny thing is people generally undastan wha mi a seh. I wish as kids we had know this and understood that grammar and syntax from our ancestors carried over into how we spoke English. It is so freeing to be able to embrace who we are without shame.

I am even crying hearing all this history. May God grant our ancestors eternal peace. Much respect from Uganda 🇺🇬🇺🇬🇺🇬🇺🇬

I'm Jamaican and everything you've said is spot on!

"Because I don't know where my wife is, I have to go cook dinner for myself". The pain is real.

My father is from Jamaica, and he never taught me any patois. I understand him very well. I can only speak some of it through experience and my friends. I love it and will always desire to learn it as much as possible

I am here as a German, who learnt English from TV rather then in school (of course it was a subject in school, but I learnt English prior to that by watching TV from the Uk as they had an army base near by and thus we somehow had access to certain British TV and radio). I am very impressed by this essentialy 'self-made' language. Just shows how clever the Non-white Jamaican people truly were. This isn't broken English, this is simply its own language of equal value. I'm impressed, stunned. I find it to be a beautiful form of speech.

Nyam in my native language (fula) and in serer language means "to eat" . In Wolof it means "food" or " to test the food". From Senegal-Africa! Peace and love!

I'M IMPRESSED AS A JAMAICAN I NEVER HEARD PATOIS BROKEN DOWN LIKE THIS BEFORE

I’m from Trinidad and for some reason Jamaican Patois is so easy to comprehend, it’s like basic English to me. I’ve never looked at it from this context, kudos to this man, the breakdown was very informative, I’d love to hear him break down Trinidadian, language / patois.

I'm 100% Jamaican. I usually speak standard English at home, work and when I am around foreigners. I generally speak Patwa around my friends or when I get excited. I really appreciate this video. Very well put and explain stuff I didn't know about my own native language! I will definitely share this with my non-Jamaican friends.

This was so beautifully done. I think as Jamaicans, we are able to appreciate the language a little more after seeing this video. Our use of Patois vs. English really just depends on the situation. English is used in more formal settings, while Patois is more casual. Many of us speak Patois when we're among family and friends. That being said, some of us weren't allowed to speak Patois in our homes as children. In some spaces, it is viewed as the language of the uneducated.

I am Jamaican, i use patois as needed. I used it when conversing with friends and family and for business i will speak standard English. I ususally tell jokes in patois because it gives a extra punch to the joke.

I appreciate the lesson. All my life as American Black woman. I always heard patois is broken English. Look at this it's a language dialect so much culture. When you realize your own ignorance your more acceptive of change. So I'm glad to watch this video. I love Jamaica. I love my Jamaican Handsome Man. I learned alot about his culture . I love his family as he loves mine.

😆 I love it ❤️ I'm proud to be a Jamaican.