Why Speakers and Interpreters of Jamaican Patois Are Multilingual
I was recently asked by the Court through a colleague of mine to interpret Jamaican Patois, also known as Patwah, Patwa or Jamaican Creole into and from English. The occasion was a plea hearing for an aggravated assault charge conducted virtually via Zoom. At the appointed time, I logged on and was placed in a breakout room for a pre-conference interview with the defendant and his attorney. I took the opportunity to ask the defendant what part of Jamaica he was from. He replied that he was from Kingston, the parish capital of Jamaica. His ability to speak and understand English was quite good. I was able to figure out what register of Jamaican Patois to use when interpreting for him. The attorney marveled at being able to understand a significant amount of the conversation between the defendant and me. He remarked that he had expected the Jamaican Patois to sound like Haitian Creole. I explained to the attorney that Jamaican Patois comprises of English, Spanish, Portuguese and the Afri...