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 ...

During the early days of National Heritage Month (October), and also during the celebration of the United Nations International Year of Indigenous Languages, there were some discussions on patois.

Growing up as a first-generation West Indian, it’s always tickled me (but made me proud) to see my culture in mainstream spaces, especially if it didn’t include Bob Marley, weed or Jerk Chicken. And ...

We may not think of Jamaica as a bilingual society, but local bloggers are assuring us that it is. English and Patois—or Patwa, as it's often written—are widely spoken, but the Jamaican mother ...

What is Jamaica’s true “official language”? Does it have two? Should it acquire a “second language” and if so, what should it be? These questions have had Jamaican commentators tied up in knots for ...

Kingsley Ben-Adir can currently be seen portraying late Reggae icon Bob Marley in the biopic One Love. Now that production is over and the cast is promoting the Reinaldo Marcus Green-directed film, ...

I recently heard Japan-based bilingualism author Adam Beck explain one of his reasons for raising his children bilingual: “I wanted them to know me, at the deepest level…and I felt like if I was going ...

Seeking to be both locally sourced and as culturally eclectic as the language it's named for, Patois is bringing pan-Caribbean flavors to West Ashley. An English-based dialect of Creole with West ...

CENTURIES ago when the world powers of the day roamed the high seas, not only were they in a race to colonise new territories, they were also engaged in a battle for the minds of its inhabitants—a ...

Tom Hanks‘ son Chet Hanks is addressing a viral video that showed him speaking in a Jamaican Patois accent on the Golden Globe Awards red carpet. On Sunday, the 29-year-old posted an Instagram video ...