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 ...

As a Torontonian, it’s not unusual to see white guys shake hands while greeting each other with a, wa gwaan? I wouldn’t say I particularly enjoy witnessing this — actually, it can feel quite painful — ...

The battle lines have softened somewhat, but there is still substantial opposition to patois in the pulpit. Critics say it will dilute Scripture and undermine the already weak hold many poor Jamaicans ...

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — When English teacher Faith Linton first proposed translating the Bible into Jamaica's patois tongue in the late 1950s, most people who heard the idea shook their heads. Some ...

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Walk into any government office, courtroom or classroom in Jamaica, and you’ll be expected to speak the official language, English. But venture into the street, tune into a radio ...

A push is underway to make Jamaica’s Patois an official language, on par with English, as the country weighs cutting ties to the British monarchy. By Simon Romero Photographs and Video by Alejandro ...