Fi Wi Chatn - Fi Wi Raitn

Fi Wi Chatn -
Fi Wi Raitn

Reading & Writing Jamaican

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Fi Wi Chatn - Fi Wi Raitn

Illustrations, including that on the cover page, are from The Art of
Reading, SIL International English/Indonesian

The Gayles
Gayles for Jamaican Languages
Mannings Hill Dist,
Stony Hill P.O.
Kingston 19, Jamaica
jamaicanlanguages@gmail.com

First Edition
Copyright © 2011 Gayles for Jamaican Languages
ISBN # 198 0 19 82 20 08
Printed by Self-Print Printers
Kingston, Jamaica

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BOOK DIVISION

Part 1................................................................... 4-8

First Words: To Begin/Fi Staat Out............................................................ 5

Reading & Writing Jamaican ........................................................................ 6

Di Jamiekan Alfabet....................................................................................... 7

Part 2.................................................................... 8-22

Lesson 1: Jamaican Vowels................................................................................... 9-16

Lesson 2: Jamaican Consonants.......................................................................... 17-21

Lesson 3: Other Jamaican Sounds ................................................................... 22

Part 3..................................................................... 23-32

1. Reading Exercises: ........................................................................................ 24-28

a. Jamaican Bible Selection.......................................................... 24

b. Anancy Story ............................................................................ 25

c. Letter . .......................................................................................... 26

d. Dub-Poem...................................................................................... 27

e. Jamaican Proverbs ..................................................................... 28

2. Games: ............................................................................................................... 29-30

a. Crossword Puzzle .............................................................................. 29

b. Word Search Puzzles ...................................................................... 30

3. Resources: ........................................................................................................ 31

4. Concerns Regarding the Jamaican Bible..................................................... 32

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FIRST WORDS:

If you are Jamaican like me, it is very likely that you grew up in a home where English was
rarely spoken. If that is not the case, it is very likely you grew up hearing a lot of
Jamaicans speaking a language that is not English! Most of us refer to this language as
“Patwa.“ In this booklet, however, I shall refer to this language as “Jamaican.” Why? Well,
first, the name “Jamaican” makes us feel proud of our language. Second, referring to the
language as “Jamaican” makes us think of the origin of the language and the name of the
people who speak it. Many languages are named in this way: English came from England,
Turkish from Turkey, Moldovan from Moldova, Irish from Ireland, Finnish from Finland,
Icelandic from Iceland, Russian from Russia and Welsh from Wales!

Though we are generally proud of our language, many of us believe it should not be used
for communication in our schools, in our churches, in our business places or in any “serious”
setting. These persons believe Jamaican should be used only when we want to talk to
family and close friends, to “cuss off” people and to tell jokes and stories (e.g. Anancy and
Big Boy stories).

In 1993, the Bible Society of the West Indies, located in Kingston, told the country of its
plan to translate the Bible into Jamaican. Naturally, this made many persons angry. Why?
Well, as I just mentioned, a lot of persons believe Jamaican is only good enough for talking
about everyday things, for cussing and for telling jokes and stories. They believe the Bible
is a very, very serious and important book and that Jamaican is not a language that we use
to discuss things that are serious and important.

Wycliffe Bible Translators, Caribbean, is one of the committed supporters of the

Jamaican Bible. In fact, I am a full-time missionary with Wycliffe. Wycliffe sent me to
work at the Bible Society on its behalf. Wycliffe supports the translation project
because, like the Bible Society, it believes that God’s Word touches our hearts in a special
way when it is in the language we understand best.

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READING & WRITING JAMAICAN:

The Bible Society and its partners have a problem! Most people cannot read and write
Jamaican. In fact, some persons say that Jamaican cannot be written. Owing to this
reading/writing problem, the Society is concentrating on an audio translation of the Bible.
The Society plans to make the Jamaican Bible available in written form for whomever
wishes to have it. This guide is for those who wish to read (and write) Jamaican.

Many years ago, Fredrick. G. Cassidy and Robert B. Le Page developed a way of writing
Jamaican. This way of writing the language was revised by the Jamaican Language Unit
(JLU). JLU is located on the campus of the University of the West Indies in Jamaica.
This is how the writing system works: for each sound, there is only one and always one
letter or combination of letters. It does not matter where in the word you hear the
sound. This means that there is always consistency in spelling as what you hear or
pronounce is what you spell with the relevant matching symbol-per-sound.

In my experience, persons beginning to read and write Jamaican usually sometimes

unconciously put on a “braalin” (course) accent. Many times, this is due to their belief that
Jamaican is an inferior, course language and the mark of the uneducated person; it is used
when someone doesn’t want to be “prim and proper.” Watch out for this as you go through
the lessons. When reading out aloud, read naturally. Do not put on anything. Be yourself.

This writing/reading guide is divided into into two (2) sections. The first section contains
three (3) lessons: the first is about vowels, the second about consonants and the third
about some issues that relate to both consonants and vowels. Each lesson is accompanied
by several practice expercises that will engage your ability to see, hear, speak and feel the
language. The second section contains several different texts in Jamaican. It serves two
purposes: 1) to show you that Jamaican can be used to express anything we want; 2) to
provide you with more opportunities to practice reading and writing. The Jamaican used in
this booklet is only meant to help you to read and write the language. Not all letter
combinations used are representative of authentic Jamaican words. The authentic
Jamaican used isn’t representative of the language or of how it is used by all Jamaicans.

Before we start learning to write and write Jamaican, I’d like to make it clear than I am
not arguing against the use of Standard Jamaican English (SJE). Rather, I am
encouraging greater recognition and inclusion of our national language.

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Aa Ee
Di Jamiekan Alfabet
arinj eg
Ii Oo Uu AA / aa II / ii

invilop okro uman aatis iigl

UU / uu AI / ai IE / ie OU / ou UO / uo

shuuz ai iez kou kluoz

Bb CH / ch Dd Ff Gg

baal choch daag feda giet

Hh Jj Kk Ll Mm

hat jog kyaar leda maka

Nn Ng / ng Pp Rr Ss

niel chring pikni rat sandalz

SH / sh Tt Vv Ww Zz

shel tiebl volkieno was zip

If you have access to John McAnuf’s Jumiekan Langwig Alfabet Song and Project CD,
listen to tracts one (1), two (2), three (3), five (5) and seven (7).
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LESSON 1 – Jamaican Vowels

SHORT VOWELS

Let us start with short vowel sounds and the symbols we use to represent them. There are

five (5) short vowel sounds. These are also called single vowel. If you have access to the

John McAnuf sound files, listen to tract four (4):

Jamaican Sample Sample Picture Notes

S’t Vowels Word
________________________
________________________
a arinj
________________________

________________________
________________________
e eg
________________________

________________________
________________________
i invilop
________________________

________________________
________________________
o okro
________________________

________________________
________________________
u uman
________________________

IMPORTANT
Jamaican has no silent letters.
Only write the symbols for the
sounds you hear / say.
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LONG VOWELS

Now, Jamaican has three (3) long vowel sounds. There are easily represented by

simply doubling up the short vowel sounds (letters). If you have access to the John
McAnuf sound files, listen to tract four (4):

Jamaican Sample Sample Picture Notes

L’g Vowels Word
________________________
________________________
aa aatis
________________________

________________________
________________________
ii iigl
________________________

________________________
________________________
uu shuuz
________________________

Practice Exercise B:
Read and say the following out loud. Do one column at a time. (You can select the
exercise you prefer and or move on to the next lesson, if you think you’ve grasped this lesson well
enough.)

AA aa II ii UU uu

1 aa 2 baa 3 baabaa 4 aabaab 5 gaabaa

maa taa taataa aataat maawaa

maamaa waa waawaa aawaaw aagwaa

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DOUBLE VOWELS

Jamaican also has what are called double vowel sounds. These are a combination of

two dufferent single vowel sounds. There are four (4) of them. If you have access
to the John McAnuf sound files, listen to tract four (4).

Jamaican Sample Sample Notes

D’ble Vowels Word Picture
_______________________
_______________________
ai ai
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
ie iez
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
ou kou
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
uo kluoz
_______________________
_______________________

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LESSON 2 – Jamaican Consonants
The consonants are fairly easy to handle. Most of the symbols you will already
know, due to the exposure you have had to English. If you have access to the John
McAnuf audio files, listen to tracts one (1) and five (5).
Jamaican Sample
Consonants Word
b ball
ch choch
d daag
f feda
g giet
h hat
Sample Notes
Picture
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
See page 22
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Jamaican Sample Sample Picture Notes

Consonant Word
_______________________
_______________________
j jog
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
k kyaar
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
l leda
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
m maka
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
n niel
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
ng chring
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
p pikni
_______________________
_______________________

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Jamaican Sample Sample Picture Notes

Consonant Word
_______________________
_______________________
r rat
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
s sandalz
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
sh shel
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
t tiebl
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
v volkieno
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
w was
_______________________
_______________________

z zip

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LESSON 3 – Other Jamaican Sounds

Jamaican Sample Sample Notes

Letter Word Picture
Some Jamaicans do not pronounce

the letter ‘h’ at the beginning of a

h hat
word. They would say “at” not

“hat.”

Together, these letters stand for

pors the weak unstressed vowel sound

or
you hear sound in words such as ,

purse, her , early, Bert etc.

Together, these letters stand for

what is called a “nasal marker.” You

hn plaahn
hear this sound at the end of

Jamaican pronunciation for words

such as “can’t” and “want” - kyaahn

and waahn. When you produce this

type of sound, some air pass

through your nose. Try it!

(If you have access to the John McAnuf audio files, listen to tracts one (1), five (5) and
nine (9). Sing along as you listen. This should help you become familiar wth the
Jamaican alphabet very quickly.)

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Resources:
Writing Jamaican the Jamaican Way – You can buy this if you
want a more detailed and professionally done book to help you read and
write Jamaican well. The books and the CD that accompanies it are
available in bookstores all over the island.

Jamaican Bible – The New Testament becomes available in

2012. For now, only text of Luuk is available. Get your copy at the
Bible Society of the West Indies, opposite the Half-Way-Tree
Courthouse. Visit the project at www.jamiekanbaibl.org

Our Blog – The blog is for those who want to read and write the
Jamaican. Here, you can submit your own stories and articles
written in Jamaican for other people to read and practice. Visit the
blog at http://fiwiraitn.blogspot.com/

TVFiWi - This is a Jamaican Language Company channel which

seeks to offer a range of programming from news commentary to
interviews and much more. All of which is done in Jamaican Creole.
The channel offers programs such as Akshan Taak and Aks Mi
Kwestyan. Visit them at http://www.youtube.com/thejamaicanlangco

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CONCERNS REGARDING THE JAMAICAN BIBLE

1. There is no Standard Jamaican
Languages do not standardise themselves. The standardisation of any language results
from human efforts. Over the years, Bible Translation has helped to develop and
standardise many languages. This was the case of English and German.

1. Persons Cannot Read Jamaican

Most Jamaicans read and write Jamaican using a spelling system that makes Jamaican look
like English. Ms Lou’s books are written like that. The Jamaican Creole Translation Project
is promoting a much better way of reading and writing Jamaican. True, most persons are
not yet used to the system. It is for this reason that the Jamaican Bible will be released
pirmarily in audio format. Wycliffe Bible Translators, Caribbean, is working on a plan to
help persons read Jamaican.

2. Jamaican is Only Spoken by Jamaicans

This is true. But Chinese is only spoken in China, Turkish is only spoken in Turkey,
Moldovan is only spoken in Moldova, Irish is only spoken in Ireland, Finnish is only spoken in
Finland, Icelandic is only spoken in Iceland, Welsh is only spoken in Wales, etc!

3. We Should Concentrate on Improving English in Jamaica

In 2009, persons from the University of the West Indies completed an experiment in
some Jamaican primary schools. They wanted to see how well children learn when school
teachers teach them in both Jamaican and English. The results show that the children who
are taught in both languages do better than those who are taught only in English. This is
the experience of teachers all over the world.

4. The Jamaican Bible will Cause more Laughter than Seriousness

BSWI and its partners are very serious about what they are doing. They believe the Bible
is a respectable book and that persons who read or hear it must be able to identify it as a
book that is to be taken seriously. The Bible will be translated with this in mind. Also, the
translation will be tested in locations on the island before it is published.

5. The money could be used for more worthwhile

It is important to remember that the mission of those who are financing the project is to
make God’s word available to persons who do not have it in the language they understand
best. WBTC, for example, cannot provide for all of our society’s needs – no organisation
can. All the churches in Jamaica give spend a lot than $12 million Jamaican dollars on
education, medicine, disaster relief, poverty eradication and so on. Can the church not
invest a fraction of its budget to help its people understand God’s word better?
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_____________________________________

The Bible Society and its partners have a problem! Most persons cannot read and write

Jamaican. In fact, some persons say that Jamaican cannot be written; it can only be

spoken. Due of this reading/writing problem, the Society has decided to give more

attention to an audio translation of the New Testament. The Society plans to make the

Jamaican Bible available in written form for whoever wants to have it. This guide is for

those who want to read and write Jamaican.

Many years ago, F. G Cassidy and R. B. Le Page developed a way of writing Jamaican. This

way of writing the language was revised by the Jamaican Language Unit (JLU). JLU is

located on the campus of the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. This is how the

Jamaican writing system works: For each sound, there is only one and always one letter

or combination of letters. It does not matter where in the word you hear the sound. This

means that there is always consistency in spelling as what you hear or pronounce is what

you spell with the relevant matching symbol-per-sound.

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