2. Introduction
What is usually referred to as 'Black
English' in Britain, is the Jamaican
Creole or Patois, which is spoken by
the Black Caribbean community living
mainly in London.
3. History of Jamaican
Creole
There is a history of British sugar
planters in Jamaica, which was a British
colony until 1948, after which in the
1950's there was significant immigration
to London as England welcomed workers
in its post war expansion and rebuilding.
5. Personal pronouns
Person Singular Plural Person Singular Plural
First I We First Mi Wi
Second You You Second Yu Unu
Third He/she/it they Third Im Dem
i(neuter)
Standard English Black British English
6. Example:
...a mek fi dem an' fi him eye mek four.
(...making their eyes and his eyes 'make
four')
7. The verb system
Example:
Lightening, Chalice, Charlie an' Granny Roach
arrive 'bout twelve o' clock an', as dem step in
all di man dem ina di room lef' whey dem a
dhu...
(Lightening, Chalice, Charlie and Granny
Roach arrived about twelve o'clock and as they
stepped in, all the men in the room left what
they were doing..)
8. The negative
Example:
...she decide seh she noh want it any more.
...she decided that she did not want it any more.
For emphasis, double or multiple negatives are often
used.
Example:
...she decide seh she noh want none no more.
9. Tense and aspect
Example:
If me ben waak huom... [action verb]
(If I had walked home...)
Mi ben lov yu. [stative verb]
(I loved you.)
10. Example:
Whey you a dhu out yah?
(What are you doing out here?)
Example:
Mi jus' a done tell me two pickney dem
seh lang time mi no see unna.
(I have just finished telling my two
children that I haven't seen you (plural)
for a long time.)
11. Phonology
Replacement of fricatives th with plosives
t or d: thing/ting them/dem
Changes in stress patterns (all syllables
made equal)
Consonant clusters (esp word-final)
reduced: help/hep
12. Lexicon
Greater creativity in lexis
peelhead = bald man
Repetition used for emphasis in normal speech
“Fi” used for “to” in infinitve phrases: He like fi
sing
13. Stress and tone
SE JC
one wan
want waan
cat kyat
cart kyaat
arm han
horn haan
*The long vowels are to be pronounced so that
they last at least twice as long as the short
vowels.
