Question to Jamaicans:?

Question

We travel to Jamaica once or twice a year. I have picked up Jamaican language dictionaries to try to learn the language and you guys speak so fast, i can only pick up a couple of words or lines here or there. Reading on line, i can understand Jamaican, but being in the middle of a conversation loses me. Is there a way to learn to speak the language?

I have learned to never call someone the bo-------t word. i got tricked on that one.

Answer 1

i am a linguist, try getting some auditory input and you need an interactive environment. You can do this without a classroom but you must find activities which will make you think about youself in the language. start with your basic needs (money, food, shelter, safety, signs) and then move to conversation (greeting, ordering food, asking directions).

Try to balance your vocabulary development with your acquisition of grammatical structures. To speak well, you need to have memorized rules of the language so that you can generalize various verbs and adjectives on the fly.

Immersion is the best way to learn.

Native speakers will always be more advanced than you, unless you begin learning before age 12-ish.

Good luck!!

Answer 2

Being immersed in the people and culture is the best (perhaps the ONLY) way to learn proper pronunciation and contextual use of the language, HOWEVER, I would warn you that 90% of patois is driven by culturally derived emotional expression. You simply WILL NOT sound right saying most words in patwa even after being emersed for 10 years, if you werent born into it as a form of crude and spontaeneous expression.

For example, the breaths, pauses, stresses and timing for dramatic effect with the word - b*mbocl**t - are very hard to correctly mimick. Thats just ONE heated word in the vocabulary. As i said, its 90% emotional expression. Imagine that there is at least one happy excited way to use that same curse word!

You will easily learn to hear speech and interprete the language, but be realistic when it comes to speaking it. I have only seen one or two proffesional movie stars ever come CLOSE to capturing it. I believe Denzel Washington is one, but he has also failed at the same task in at least one movie.

Answer 3

yea... i know how you feel! im half jamaican and when im around mah fam its kinda hard... jus pick out key words that you already kno! kay!

Answer 4

if u have jamaican friends spend more time with them and u will understand or wen u go to jamaica spend a lot time with people there and u will pick it up in no time..if u dnt kno a couple of words jus ask and everythin be easy once u get tha hang of it.

....im jamaican n my best friend is american..at 1st she did not get it either but she started a lot more time with me and my family and now she knows almost everythin we say..

Answer 5

well me a jamaican i grew into it and when i came up here to usa i was made fun of so one thing u can do is spend sometime in jamaica maybe ull pick it up just like i pick english up

Answer 6

Van:

I recently moved to E. Flatbush in Brooklyn.  It is a predominately Caribbean based neighborhood.  Two months ago, I could not follow a conversation with my neighbors.  Familiarity from engaging in conversation has really helped me.  Jamaicans flow when they speak.  It is almost like singing, and there is a rhythm to the way they stress their vowels.  Once you get the nuances of the pronunciation you'll find that understanding what's being said is a lot easier.  

Books will not help you.  You need to put yourself out there and talk with them.

Answer 7

Well you have to be in Jamaica for awhile and then you'll pick up cause you'll hear alot of people speaking patios and sooner or later you'll pick it up too.

Or maybe you can try out this website :

http://www.speakjamaican.com

But the best thing to do is visit and learn. I mean you would'nt want a fake accent. Right ? Right !

☆ Mixed Curly Fries ☆

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(='.'=) ♥

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Answer 8

Actually my dear, I've found that, the Jamaican patois is a bit too difficult for my well pouted , perfectly developed, rounded shaped mouth. A totally relaxed face, smiling lips and flexible jaw muscles are essential assets in mastering this language. In my intense study, I'm convinced that, the ability to sing along with specific reggae songs, will also greatly enhance ones quest in conquering this native dialect. A few songs that I must recommend are, No woman no cry, and, Bad Card,  by Robert Nesta The Gong Marley, Wild Gilbert, by Lloyd Lovindeer, and Woman fi Jam by the Astronauts. These songs will comprehensively assist you in getting better  acquainted with the Jamaican patois,  one must also dance along as one sings, to adequately put ones self in the perfect learning vibe. If you're not successful with this brilliant, concise and easy method, then,

call me, me wih laan it to yuh, at a COST doh. If me ahfi pay fi laan inglish, wich nuh ave no use to me, why de rass yuh fi laan me patwa fi free wich gwen be good fi yuh, nuhting nuh free again dahlin, yuh not see de price fi gas, wen gas price goes up, cost of laaning goes up. ah hope yuh hed tuff an yuh hard fi laan, so ah can mek ah ting aafa yuh.

Bless up.

One Love.