Jamaican English, also known as Patois, is an English based
creole language used primarily on the island of Jamaica.
Significant Jamaican English speaking communities also exist
among Jamaican expatriates in Miami, New York City, and London.
Jamaican English exists mostly as a spoken language. Although
standard British English is used for most writing in Jamaica,
Jamaican English has been gaining ground as a literary language
for almost a hundred years. Claude McKay published his book of
patois poems Songs of Jamaica in 1912. Jamaican pronunciation
and vocabulary are significantly different from most other
English dialects, to the point where a native speaker of a non-
Caribbean English dialect can only understand a heavily accented
Jamaican English speaker if they talk slowly and forego the use
of the numerous idioms that are common in Jamaican English.
Interest in Jamaican English outside of Jamaica was heightened
by the proliferation of Rastafarianism and reggae and ska music
throughout the world beginning