Jamaica is often seen as an English-speaking country, and indeed, the Caribbean island nation has designated English as its official language. But in truth, the country is bilingual, with the majority of the population using both English (specifically Jamaican Standard English) and Jamaican Patois in daily life. Generally, Jamaican Patois has received little support or recognition, sidelined by the more prestigious English, but in more recent years, the profile of Jamaican Patois has risen significantly.
Jamaican Patois boasts roughly 3.2 million native speakers, at least as of 2001. Although most speakers of the language are also proficient in English, a 2007 survey in Jamaica found that 36.5% of the population was monolingual in Jamaican Patois. As an English-based creole language, Jamaican Patois is similar to English in many ways, but the two are mutually unintelligible. Jamaican Patois is an important part of the Jamaican identity, with a strong presence in music and literature, but dedicated translation services are rare—so we at TranslationServices.com have proudly launched our own Jamaican Patois translation services.
If you want a free quote for our Jamaican Patois translation services, simply ask!
Jamaican Patois: the language at the heart of Jamaica
Jamaican Patois, known locally as Patwah, is spoken all over Jamaica as the native language of the majority of citizens. Communities of Jamaican Patois speakers can also be found across the Americas in the US, Canada, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama, as well as in major UK cities. Jamaican Patois was born when enslaved people from West and Central Africa picked up the vernacular English spoken by the slaveholders, infusing this new, shared language with influences from their different native languages. As a result, Jamaican Patois has traces of various West African languages, as well as Taíno, Irish, Spanish, Hindi, Urdu, Portuguese, Chinese, and German. Most non-English vocabulary in Patois comes from Akan.
The grammar of Jamaican Patois is completely unlike that of English. For example, verbs in Jamaican Patois are not conjugated—to mark tense and aspect, the language uses preverbial particles. The sentence “I run” is Mi run in Jamaican Patois, but “I ran” is Mi did run. “I am running” is Mi a run or Mi de run. Pronouns are also different—some Patois dialects don’t distinguish between gender or case, but all varieties have separate pronouns for “you” in the singular and plural. These differences mean you’ll need an expert Jamaican Patois translator for the highest-quality translations—but luckily, that’s exactly what we have on our team.
We’re here to provide all kinds of Jamaican Patois translation services.
We’ve sourced our native-speaking Jamaican Patois translators from all over Jamaica and Jamaican communities around the world, giving us coverage of all varieties of the language, including Limonese Creole, Bocas del Toro Creole, Miskito Coast Creole, and San Andrés–Providencia Creole. Our Jamaican Patois translators are proud of their language and capable of translating both to and from it, allowing us to easily cater to your individual needs.
In terms of customization, our team offers academic translation, business translation, literary translation, localization, and more. We’d love to help clients access Jamaican Patois translation services for a wide variety of needs, including translating educational materials into the language for local children, translating marketing materials into Patois to better connect with a Jamaican customer base, translating Jamaican Patois literature into English to spread around the world, and translating apps, games, and websites into Jamaican Patois for increased accessibility. Our team even handles esoteric subject matter, so if you’re looking for an expert in a particular field, just let us know, and we’ll assign you to the right translator!
If you’re ready to get started with Jamaican Patois translation services, contact us today and place your first order!