1. The document discusses concerns about using Jamaican Patois in translating the Bible into that language. Some of the concerns addressed include that Patois is not a separate language, it is too difficult to read, and it should not be used for serious topics. 2. The document rebuts these concerns by explaining that Patois has its own vocabulary, grammar structure, and pronunciation that distinguish it as a separate language from English. It also notes that all languages started without being written and can be written phonetically. 3. The document expresses that translating the Bible into Patois will help Jamaicans understand their faith in their heart language and that the Patois translation has been done carefully and accurately based on original Greek texts

1. Di Jamiekan Nyuu
Testiment
Context
Concerns
Connection

2. CONTEXT
Acts 2, 6&11: Now the multitude was confounded
because that every man heard them speak in his own
language…the wonderful works of God.
Aks 2, 6&11: Dem did well shak kaaz evri wan a dem
did ier iina fi dem ouna langwij wa di biliiva dem did a
se… bout di powaful sitn dem we Gad du.
Scripture is best received in our own
language

3. CONCERNS
1-5
• 1. Jamaican Patois is bad English – not a
separate Language.
• 2. There are many variations of Patois.
• 3. Patois is only for oral communication - it
cannot or should not be written.
• 4. Patois is impossible or too difficult to read.
• 5. Patois is only for light talk and comedy – it
cannot convey serious or complex thoughts.

4. CONCERNS
6-10
• 6. Use of Patois corrupts the Learning and
Speaking of Proper English.
• 7. Patois demeans the Sanctity of Scripture.
• 8. Uneducated Jamaicans will not be able to
read or understand the Patois Bible.
• 9. Resources spent on the Patois Bible could
have been better spent.
• 10. The Patois Bible translation is not
accurate.

5. 1. Patois is not a Separate Language
• All languages are defined by 3 elements:
• 1. Vocabulary (Lexicon)
• 2. Structure (Syntax, Grammar)
• 3. Pronunciation (Intonations, Drawl, Lilt)

6. A Separate Language?
• Vocabulary
• 1. Patois contains about 400 words of direct
West African usage (Twi etc.) - eg.
ackee, nyam, unu, pikni, patoo, senseh, chaka
chaka, bakra, do
do, dukunu, cata, bissy, duppy, eh eh, etc.
• 2. Patois may use English words but with
different meanings (eg.
favour, stay, catch, food, ground)
• 3. The Patois Vocabulary is 20-40% African, and
60-80% English.

7. A Separate Language?
• Structure
• 1. Patois Grammar is totally different from English
Grammar –
(verbs, pronouns, plurals, questions, adjectives, no
adverbs etc).
• 2. Structure more than anything else defines a
language.
• 3. Jamaican Patois is almost 100% African in structure
and bears striking similarities to Haitian
Creole, Surinamese Patois and many other African-
derived creoles.
• 4. Yu did nuo se, Is chuu no?, Mi a go kom, Is no so it
go, Gi mi no man, Mi neva si nobadi, are similar to Twi
in structure and very dissimilar to English.

8. A Separate Language?
• Pronunciation
• 1. Patois contains many sounds not common to
English (eg. ky as in kyar, ny as in nyuu, hn as in
gwaahn, uo as in nuo, chr as in chravl).
• 2. Patois emphasises words by
intonations, repetition or drawl (eg. it sweet
sweet, it sweeeeeet, it sweet kyaahn dun).
English is mainly monotonic and uses adverbs.
• 3. Patois sounds much more like the West
African languages than English (90% African).

9. Patois a Separate Language ?
• By the above criteria, Patois in its
purest form is a Separate
Language.
• 20-40% in Vocabulary
• 100% in Structure
• 90% in Pronunciation

10. 2. Many Variations in Patois
• 1. Most languages have variations and
dialects – English much more than Patois.
• 2. English originally was a patois of Latin and
other romance languages.
• 3. A language tends to become standardized
when it is written (especially for the Bible – eg
English, Afrikaan, Twi).
• 4. The standard writing form is usually as
used by the majority of speakers.

11. 3. Patois Not A Written Language
• 1. No language starts as a written language.
• 2. The writing follows the language – the
language does not follow the writing.
• 3. All languages can be written. Patois is no
different.
• 4. Languages are best written in their phonetic
form – i.e. no silent letters, no variations in letter
usage, consistent vowel sounds etc.
• 5. The Wycliffe Bible Translators have written
the Bible phonetically for over 700 languages
worldwide.

12. 4. Patois Is Impossible Or Too Difficult
To Read
• 1. English speakers do not learn to read
phonetically because it is not a phonetically
written language (a curse for non-English
speakers).
• 2. Written Patois is entirely phonetic with
consistent vowel and consonant sounds.
• 3. Patois is a tonal language, similar to Twi. i.e.
The natural rhythm is
musical, expressive, emotive. (known as the lilt
of the language).
• 4. Patois should not be read in a monotone.

13. 5. Patois is Only For Comedy – Not
Serious Or Complex Communication
• 1. Miss Lou is not to be misunderstood. She
used comedy to convey very serious thoughts
and commentary and to bring patois into the
mainstream of understanding and respect.
• 2. Patois and the African languages thrive on
everyday images and convey vivid
expressions.(eg.“No wan little twang”, “Yu fava
heng pon nail”, “Rain a fall but dutty tough”, “Mi
hed jus a spin”.
• 3. No language is complete in itself. Sometimes
it borrows from other languages (eg. laissez
faire, espirit de corp, rambo, cafeteria, poco poco
etc.).

14. 6. Use of Patois Corrupts the Learning
and Speaking of English
• 1. Only about 30% of CXC students in Jamaican
high schools pass English every year.
• 2. We think the majority of patois speakers
understand English, but they do so only at the
most basic levels. It is not their Heart Language.
• 3. From early life, patois speakers are told their
language is bad English and they try to improve
their language by becoming speaky spokey.
• 4. English in Jamaica needs to be understood and
taught as a separate language.
• 5. Separate languages learnt early facilitate the
learning of others. (eg. Twi and English in Ghana)

15. • 1. We think it is too frivolous (eg. Piita go
outsaid an im baal, an im baal, an im baal so til).
• 2. The language is too coarse (eg. fasi-fasi skin).
• 3. It is too uneducated and difficult to
understand. (“mikies kom”).
• 4. It is not poetic, like KJV (eg. Psalm 23).
• These criticisms are demeaning to the majority
of Jamaicans whose heart language is patois.
Why do we revert to patois when we are with
our friends, are celebrating or mourning, or just
being ourselves without any airs?
7. Patois Demeans the Sanctity of
Scripture

16. 8. Uneducated Jamaicans Wont Be
Able To Read The Bible
• 1. True, but so was New Testament writings
when first written - also the English Bible when
first written.
• 2. Scripture was first written to be READ by the
FEW, and to be HEARD by the MANY.
• 3. Hearing is the first step in learning and
understanding any language.
• 3. Everyone has to learn to read a language.
Patois is no different. Patois speakers should be
taught like everyone else.
• 4. I learnt to read patois in one day. Just get the
vowels right and the rest is easy.

17. 9. Resources Used in Writing The
Patois Bible Could Have Been Better
Spent
• 1. Every first translation is a tedious and
expensive undertaking.
• 2. The patois Bible was no more expensive
than others.
• 3. Translating the Bible into a Mother Tongue
(Heart Language) has always been a catalyst
and aid to mission and evangelisation.
• 4. The Wycliffe Bible Translators have been
doing this worldwide for nearly 80 years.

18. 10. The Patois Bible Translation Is Not
Accurate
• 1. The translation has been done directly from
the Greek by Greek Scholars who are fluent in
Jamaican patois, and not from English or any
other language.
• 2. The Patois Bible is therefore not a version of
any English Translation.
• 3. The translation has been tested by a large
team of Theologians, Linguists and Students.
• 4. It has been accepted nationally and
internationally by many denominations and
churches – mainline, evangelical, pentecostal.

19. CONNECTION
• 1. Only the New Testament has been completed
to date.
• 2. The patois translators are now beginning to
translate the Psalms.
• 3. The NT is available in CD for hearing and in
Print for reading.
• 4. It is now being read and listened to in several
churches. (patois prayers and preaching too).
• 5. I use it in my personal devotions and study
along with my English and Spanish Bibles.
• 6. WHAT A BLESSING!

20. MI DON AN TENK YU
• Tenk yu wan an aal. Mi uop se unu wi chrai fi get a
kapi a di Nyuu Testiment an riid it fi yuself. Chrus
mi, it no aad.
• Yu wi luv it an it wi bring yu nuf blesn. An a beg
yu, no kos it til yu chrai it. Memba se di Laad wok in
som chrienj wies we wi no andastan. Mi shuor se yu
wi kum ova.
• An wan muor taim, TENK YU, TENK YU, TENK YU!
Barry A. Wade, Fellow,
Caribbean Graduate School of Theology

21. CONNECTION
• Selective Readings in Narrative, Theology and
Personal Greetings from Di Nyuu Testiment:
• Narrative: Aks 9, 1-17. Saal get siev.
• Theology: Ruoman 5, 1-11. Gad put tingz rait
bitwiin wi an im.
• Personal: 2 Timoti 4, 9-22: Paal aks Timoti fi du
som sitn fi im.

22. Di Jamiekan Langwij
Fi Chransliet
1-10
• 1. Wat a wie yu fava yu pupa.
• 2. Is ou yu stie so?
• 3. Du, mikies kom.
• 4. Taata gaan a grung.
• 5. Beg yu chruo som fuud iina mi suup.
• 6. Im galang galang til im kech im yaad.
• 7. Se fe.
• 8. Wat a preke.
• 9. Mi putus swiit kyaahn don.
• 10. Wat a fululups.

23. Fi Chransliet
11-20
• 11. Im is a riil duodo.
• 12. Shi a did wan mouta masi.
• 13. A wan bunununus gal dat.
• 14. No put no guzu pan mi.
• 15. Cho man. Wa mek yu nyam di fufu laik yu a bafan.
• 16. Di bwai did av som fasi fasi kin.
• 17. Is a duppy ous dat.
• 18. No sen mi no bugu-yaga bwai fi di wok.
• 19. Im ed stie laik sen-se foul.
• 20. Mi no waan no dedi dedi pikni iina mi klaas.

24. Fi Chransliet
21-30
• 21. Eh eh! Im likl but im talawa.
• 22. A mi kombolo dat.
• 23. Whoi! Shi a wan tegereg.
• 24. Mi naa go iina a nuo kas kas wid yu.
• 25. A wan bakra bwai dat.
• 26. No bada su-su mi.
• 27. Nuf nuf janga de a riba batam.
• 28. Di miitn did chaka chaka.
• 29. Di tuu a dem a te-te.
• 30. Mi sarry ier. Mi kyaahn memba no muor.