The official language of Jamaica is . . . English with a twist!
The official language of Jamaica is English. Most Jamaicans speak and write standard British English but when speaking informally, conversationally, they speak in what I’ll refer to as Jamaican English. It is a combination of Jamaican Creole and, the more proper, British English. Jamaicans loosely refer to this language as Jamaican Patois (Patwa) it is a new grammatical mixture of languages of the Africans that were captured and sent to Jamaica as slaves and of their English captors with bits of Spanish and native Arawak Indian sprinkled in. 
Interestingly, some would define patois as "uneducated speech" or "a dialect different from but based upon the main spoken language of the region." What the Jamaicans speak is certainly not uneducated speech. Every dialect and every language is complex and complete in its own way. What is spoken (to different extents depending where you are in Jamaica) can be called a Creole. Anyone interested in communicating with Jamaican people, in their language, will do well to gain a better understanding of this refreshing language, one that is interesting to learn just for it's own sake. I've had so many visitors to site ask, "How can I learn to speak Jamaican?" that I researched and found two great options. One option, "Learn Jamaican" , you work from a test manual and audio. To find out if it's right for you, you can even get some free sample audio lessons by email. The second option is,
"Rastaman Vibration"
a comprehensive Jamaican language program with added information devoted to the history and essence of Rasta. How would you like to carry on a conversation in Patois with a yardie (native Jamaican)? Or sing along with your favorite Reggae tunes, and know ALL the words? “The Jabari Authentic Jamaican Dictionary of the Jamic Language” is very limited. Publication has been stopped to make way for a newer edition that won’t be available for a couple of years. If you hurry, it is currently still at www.barnesandnoble.com and “A Dictionary of Jamaican English” can be found at www.amazon.com.
CLICK HERE for a list of common Jamaican words .
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