I learned a lot by leaving the tv on the local stations especially the news (you know the stories where they interview the crowd)
I learned a lot by leaving the tv on the local stations especially the news (you know the stories where they interview the crowd)
that which does not kill you makes you stronger
Be careful with that way, many of the subtitles miss the point by a mile. Shottas is a perfect example....if I don't cover up the subtitles I curse worse than a Jamaican that they are mashing up the translation.
I "learned" what I knew by dating a lady that grew up in JA but moved to the UK, staying up in the hills for days or weeks at a time with locals that saw no need to speak the Queen's English, listening to the music and then having someone break it down for me....prolly other ways that I now forgot. But....now I'm lazy with Negril trips and no real need to speak it so it drifts away. Plus I get more of a kick out of not speaking it except for people are conversing about me thinking I can't understand and all of a sudden I rant on in Patois about the rudeness of them talking about me...try it!
I like this series from youtube; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2eSf...C3A9A9901BE045
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein
How about a word of the week to get everyone started?
Thank you
Beg to differ on one point - Patois is more than just a slang or accent. It is more of a language with it's own syntax and meanings. And not everyone understands everyone else immediately - some inland folks speak a patois sooooo deep that other Jamaicans who live on the coast have a bit of trouble with it. But I love the sound of it. Sometimes just by letting it flow around me and not trying too hard, the meanings manage to come thru. I may use an occasional phrase but I know I will never be able to speak it - at least not without suffering a certain amount of good natured abuse.
There are books in the form of a dictionary on the dialect in many gift shops around the town. There is also "Talrich", a small stationery store in town on the Value Master plaza, that sell such books.
I've become a part time Jamaican, having travelled there 7 times in the past 6 months. I've learned some patois conversing and texting with my friends, but mostly from references on the internet. I usually can find a translation for just about any patois I encounter. However, I have run across a posted conversation I have not been able to interprate. If someone here can help me, I would appreciate it. It goes like this:
he: Liar
she: wah me lie abt
he:mi nuh able, cah afford a light up from you
Can anyone translate this?