The Jamaican patois language has its origins highly influenced by West Africa.
Created by slaves that were brought to the island in the 1600s, the word Patois is derived from French and means “rough speech.”
Also known as Creole, the language is a mixture of broken English and other African languages with Akan being very predominant.
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The huge Akan influence in the language is as a result of the sizeable number of Akan slaves that were brought to the island from West Africa to work on plantations during the Transatlantic slave trade.
According to Ruby Madden in The Historical and Culture Aspects of Jamaican Patois, slaves were “divided into groups deliberately without a common language to prevent revolt.”
As a result, “slaves began to learn pidgin in order to communicate with each other and their masters. The children grew up in this life, learned pidgin from their parents as their first language and it evolved from pidgin to creole.”
Take a look at some of the patois words that have Akan origins below:
1. Ackee
Akan name: Ankye
Meaning: Refers to a fruit (Ackee and saltfish is Jamaica’s national dish.)
2. Adrue
Akan name: Aduro
Meaning: Medicine
3. Afasia
Akan name: Afaséɛ
Meaning: Wild yam
4. Afu
Akan name: Afúw
Meaning: Plantation
5. Anansi
Akan name: Anansi
Meaning: A Spider. It also refers to a folklore character.
6. Bafan
Akan name: Abɔfra
Meaning: A baby or toddler
7. Broni
Akan name: Oburoni
Meaning: A white person
8. Casha
Akan name: Kasɛ́i
Meaning: Thorns
9. Dokunu
Akan name: Dɔkono
Meaning: Dessert cooked in banana leaves
10. Cocobay
Akan name: Kokobé
Meaning: Leprosy
11. Kongkos
Akan name: Konkonsa
Meaning: Gossip
12. Nana
Akan name: Nana
Meaning: Grandparent
13. Poto-poto
Akan name: Mpotompoto
Meaning: Muddy
14. Red-eye
Akan name: Anibre
Meaning: Envy
15. Opete
Akan name: Opete
Meaning: Vulture
16. Accompong
Akan name: Akyeampong
Meaning: It is an Akan surname. It means “destined for greatness.”
