When I decided to come to Jamaica, I knew that patois existed, but I did not know 1. the extent to which it was used, and 2. how different it is from English. I figured that it was something that people used in their own homes and that even if they did use it around me, it would only be a few nouns here or there that were different. I was very wrong.
Most Jamaicans speak patois at home, and there are some families in which the parents can barely speak Standard Jamaican English. Therefore, in the rural communities where I am, a lot of people speak to each other in patois. After being here for almost three months, it is getting much easier to understand; if I am in the room and a part of the conversation, for the most part I will at least know what it being discussed. I struggle when I am in a crowded or noisy space, or if the people who are talking are in another room. In those situations the person might as well be speaking Hungarian or Korean because to me it bears no resemblance to the English with which I have grown up.
For an example, listen to
this song (click that link) that was very popular here all summer. It's a dancehall song called "Summertime" by the popular artist Vybz Kartel. The chorus is understandable, but deciphering the verses is more of a challenge.
The kids in our youth groups and at the schools really like trying to teach us how to speak like them. There are a lot of words and phrases that we have learned, and sort of like after spending a week in Quebec when things would come to me in French, after a full day at school listening to the kids talk to me and talk to each other, I have to stop myself from saying things certain ways. At the Basic Schools they try to teach the children standard English, meaning that they need to hear English from the teachers, not the patois. Therefore, I can't tell a student "me no know" when they ask a question, nor can I say "yeahso" if they ask where their bag is. Every once in a while I will try to "chat" like them at recess, which cracks them up to hear me trying (and failing). I always just throw "a" and "fi" into my sentences but struggle beyond that. I just end up with the mix of patois and English that people use when they speak with me. Mi a try a chat patois wit dem pickney but dem look 'pon mi like mi kiann be fi real. (I try to speak patois with the kids but they look at me like I can't be for real.)
In corresponding with everyone back at home the language isn't something I ever think to bring up, and Jamaica being known as an English speaking country, something that no one would think to ask about, but there is definitely somewhat of a language barrier. Whether it is the 3 year olds who I must tell to "take up their bags" or that "Mommy soon come to carry you to you yard" in order to be understood, or it is the adults or taxi drivers that I sometimes have to ask to repeat themselves several times, language has been an unexpected challenge since being here, but the improvement that I have found in my short time here so far makes me hopeful that I may be close to "fluent" by the end of my year here.
