You鈥檙e Probably Already Speaking This Jamaican Slang

Jamaica鈥攈ome to beautiful beaches, Rastafarianism, Usain Bolt.

That’s the stuff everyone seems to know about Jamaica. 黑料网 you may not know is that Jamaica is also home to an English-based 濒补苍驳耻补驳别:听闯补尘补颈肠补苍听Patois, also called听Jamaican Creole or Jamaican English. And, even if you’ve never traveled to this Caribbean island, you’ve still probably heard, and used, some Jamaican English, thanks to the influence the 闯补尘补颈肠补苍听diaspora has had throughout the world,.

So, whether you’re in South Beach or South London, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite examples of Jamaican slang in the language. Yuh ready?

irie

Are you feeling irie? Irie, pronounced听[ahy-ree],听is a Jamaican slang word par excellence. It’s a bit hard to translate, but it means something like “nice” or “pleasing.” Basically, anything “good” can be听颈谤颈别鈥�including, yes, being high, as听irie is also used听as a friendly greeting between Rastafarians.

It’s not clear exactly where the word irie comes from, but it’s possible it’s a Jamaican pronunciation of all right or a form of听high, of the cannabis variety. Irie听is so popular and positive in some circles that it’s given as a girl’s name. Talk about superlative.

yout

Jamaican Patois isn’t just about distinct words. It’s also about pronunciation. That’s the case with yout.Yout,听pronounced [yoot], is a form of youth, especially associated with Jamaican Creole and Caribbean English around the world. Yute dem, for instance, means 鈥渃hildren鈥� or 鈥測outh鈥� more generally. Dem also reflects how Jamaican English reduces TH听sounds to a T听or D.

By the 1990s鈥�2000s,听yout听became a slang equivalent for 鈥渄ude鈥� or 鈥渕an鈥� among West Indian migrants in London, New York City, and Toronto.听It can also be negative, though, suggesting a hint of callowness or having a chip on the shoulder.

fya

Another example of how the Jamaican accent affects the way words are pronounced鈥攁nd spelled鈥攊s fya.Fya听is slang form of听fire, used for anything that’s, well,听lit. It means something is “amazing,” “extremely good,” or “on point,” especially said of how someone听is feeling听or how someone looks.

But, among some Jamaican English speakers, fya can听be used to refer to marijuana. Although it’s far from the only Jamaican word for “weed” 鈥�

kaya

Kaya听is a slang word for “marijuana” closely associated with Bob Marley. The origin of听kaya听is unknown, but,听According to听Green鈥檚 Dictionary of Slang, it seems to have a relationship with the Caribbean English word听kayakiit, a medicinal herb.

In 1971, Bob Marley and the Wailers鈥攐ne of Jamaica’s most famous contributions to the world鈥攃omposed a song called 鈥淜aya鈥�听on the album听Soul Revolution.听It featured the chorus:听鈥淕ot to have听kaya听now / For the rain is falling.鈥� In 1978, they released a whole album called听Kaya, which included a reworked version of the track from听Soul Revolution, further popularizing the term听kaya听among his fans into the 1980s.

Speaking of Bob Marley …

one love

Marcus Garvey, the early 19th-century Jamaican-born black civil rights activist, sometimes concluded his speeches with the phrase听one love, as he notably did in his 1925 speech popularly called 鈥淟ook for Me in the Whirlwind.鈥�

The Rastafarian religion, founded in Jamaica, came to revere Garvey, adapting his 鈥淥ne God! One Aim! One Destiny!鈥� as the motto 鈥渙ne love, one heart, one destiny.鈥�

And so,听one love听is still used by Rastafarians and Jamaicans as a wish for unity and goodwill. It has become听strongly associated with reggae and Bob Marley, who released his beloved track “One Love / People Get Ready” in 1977. More generally, one love is used around the world to express a desire for peace and equality.

baby mama & baby daddy

You’ve definitely heard these two expressions before:听baby mama and baby daddy. These refer to the “mother” or “father” of someone’s baby, whether the parents have an active relationship together or not.听But, did you know that they might come from Jamaican slang?

The origins are disputed, but听linguist Peter L. Patrick claims that use of the expression听baby mama听(and its counterpart听baby daddy) comes from such Jamaican English forms as听baby madda听and baby fadda.听These expressions were then popularized in the US through reggae and dance music in the 1980s, particularly Linval Thompson鈥檚 1981 track 鈥淏aby Mother,鈥� which is about treating the woman carrying your child right.Baby mama went mainstream with OutKast鈥檚 2000 hit 鈥淢s. Jackson,鈥� which was dedicated to 鈥渂aby mamas鈥� mamas鈥� worldwide.

Big man ting (BMT)

Among other things like “bite my tongue,” the acronym听BMT听can听stand for Big Man Ting, referring to a “grown-up thing” (e.g., doing something adult). It was popularized by the song “BMT,” by British rapper Fredo, whose hip-hop is influenced by grime, a music genre influenced by types of reggae music.Ting, for thing here, again shows Jamaican English at work. Usually, big man ting seems to be a euphemism听for various “adult” activities, although it can more generally indicate anything that is next-level adult. Buying a fancy car, going to a fancy-shmancy restaurant 鈥� all big man ting. Among Jamaican speakers,听big man ting听is often used with the effect of “for real,” “seriously,” or “no joke.”

wagwan

Jamaican English renders the greeting听黑料网’s going on? as Wat a gwaan? Wat a gwaan has sometimes been further reduced to听wagwan听in the Jamaican diaspora, especially in London.Wagwan was popularized in London with the arrival of Jamaican immigrants in the 1980鈥�90s, associated with Jamaican diaspora street culture there.听In some instances, it鈥檚 been picked up by white people, leading some to call the usage听appropriation. Others,听like British-Jamaican rapper and MC Tyrone 鈥淏ig Narstie鈥� Lindo, think that the usage just shows the influence of Jamaican culture on London more generally.

The expression听wagwan听pops up a lot in grime music, a type of electronic dance music emerging in the early 2000s in London by artists of diverse backgrounds. It鈥檚 also found a lot in reggae and hip-hop lyrics.听Wagwan鈥榮 popularity in hip-hop started in London but quickly spread around the world.