Customer Reviews

A Dictionary of Jamaican English

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The book is most useful for linguistic
scholars or for those who know some Jamaican patois or creole and want to refresh their memory of certain words or expressions, or want an idea of the African/British/Spanish
origin of the words and use of the words.

I found it quite detailed, a great resource for those wanting to understand the words used in the everyday Jamaican dialect. Most Jamaicans speak and write standard British English but speak informally, conversationally, in the dialect.

An example: "If God spare" means "God willing."

Also, "Grass bottle" means broken bottle glass, which you have to avoid stepping on if it's strewn on the road or lying in the grass.

The second edition of the dictionary was printed in 1980 and reprinted in paperback in 2002. The second edition does not, however, update the dictionary. It is unchanged from the 1980 edition and may not include some current dialect.