Lesson 1 of 48 · Kingston
Produce greeting and farewell formulas with authentic melody; master th→t/d and final -a sounds.
Wi start wid di sweetest part a Patois: di greeting dem. Rule number one in Jamaica — yu MUS greet people first. Walking past smadi without a word is rude; as di proverb seh, Howdy an tanky no bruk no square (greetings and thanks cost nothing). To elders, open with Maanin, sah or Maanin, ma. To peers, Wah gwaan? (what's going on?). Standard replies: Mi deh ya (I'm here — I'm fine), Everyting criss (everything's fine), Mi aright, tank God. To ask after someone: Hou yu du? or Hou di family stay? Farewells matter just as much: Likkle more (see you later) and the beautiful Walk good (travel safely). Now the sounds. Patois has NO th sound: thing becomes ting, three becomes tree, that/this/the/them become dat, dis, di, dem, brother becomes bredda. Final -er softens to -a: water is wata, better is betta. And never say 'mon' — the word is man, with a broad open ah. Melody is meaning here: greetings swing, questions rise at the end without changing word order. Example sentences: 1) Maanin, Miss Icy! Hou yu du? — Good morning, Miss Icy! How are you? 2) Wah gwaan, mi fren? — What's up, my friend? 3) Mi deh ya, a gwaan easy. — I'm here, taking it easy. 4) Everyting cook an curry. — All is well. 5) Hou di family stay? — How is the family? 6) Dem aright, tank God. — They're fine, thank God. 7) Big up yuself! — Respect to you! 8) Likkle more — walk good, yaa! — See you later, travel safe, you hear! Common learner errors to recast gently: saying 'mon' (recast man); English th slipping in ('thank you' → tank yu; 'this thing' → dis ting); flat, bookish intonation (have them copy your rise and fall line by line); answering 'I'm fine' (recast Mi deh ya); and launching into a request without greeting first (stop, smile, recast: Maanin first, mi dear!).
| Patois | Cassidy-JLU | English |
|---|---|---|
| wah gwaan | wa gwaan | what's up, what's going on |
| maanin | maanin | good morning |
| hou yu du? | ou yu du? | how are you? |
| mi deh ya | mi de ya | I'm here; I'm fine |
| everyting criss | evriting kris | everything's fine |
| tank God | tangk Gad | thank God |
| sah | sa | sir |
| ma | ma | ma'am |
| mi fren | mi fren | my friend |
| big up | big op | respect!, shout-out |
| likkle more | likl muor | see you later |
| walk good | waak gud | travel safely, goodbye |
Chapter Four is grammar only; greetings, forms of address and the th>t/d sound changes are not treated here (sounds belong to his Chapter Three). The one grammatical point the lesson makes in passing — that questions rise in pitch without changing word order — he does confirm.
The description of the grammar is checked against the published work above. The lesson, the examples and the wording are mine.
Practise this lesson in the app →