Gadling

Time to get hip to Jamaican patois again. Why? Because my travel agent says so? Duh! Because AirJamica is running ridiculous sales and I'm sure you're dying to save a lickle, right? Then follow my lead and we'll both be jammin' hand-in-hand.

Today's word is a Patois word from Jamaica:

labrish - gossip

I'm never one to gossip, but when the agent spills the rum on a sweet opportunity to splash around in tropical island water these are tings I just can't keep to mi self! Don't listen to me though and don't be crazy mon! Go see with your own two. Just remember AirJamaica and if they ask who sent yuh tell them it wasn't me. I'm serious!

You can expand your 'Rasta Patois' in several ways. The most rewarding way is straight from the horse's mouth, so you may wish to seek the knowledge from some West Indian folks in your neighborhood. If you can't learn anything that way due to the low number of West Indian peeps in your circle, try watching films. The Rockers is an awesome and entertaining starting point. The 25th anniversary edition DVD has great features, including a small Rasta Patois dictionary. A good source on the net is Jamaicans dot com and Jahworks seems decent.

Past Patois words: satta, gwaan

Filed under: Learning, Jamaica