Bible Discourses And Education In Jamaican Creole In NWFL

In recent years, a large influx of people have been relocating from Jamaica to Northwest Florida. According to DATA USA, Jamaica is the second "most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Walton, Washington, Holmes & Bay Counties PUMA, FL."

Because of this development, Bible discourses and education will be presented in Jamaican Creole (commonly called Patwa or Patois) beginning June 11, 2023 at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Panama City Beach. A Kingdom Hall is a local place of worship used by one or more congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Kingdom Hall is located at 6530 N Lagoon Dr. Panama City Beach, FL 32408. Initially, the Jamaican Creole meetings will be held on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. and Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. Central Standard Time.

While the official language of Jamaica is English, the unofficial language is Jamaican Creole. Nearly all Jamaicans speak Jamaican Creole. What is Jamaican Creole or Patwa (Patois)? It is a language "shaped by [Jamaica's] African, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and English colonial heritage*." It is colorful, vibrant and passionate.

Jamaican Creole is primarily a spoken language and used extensively in music such as reggae. However, in relatively recent history, more attention has been directed into making Jamaican Creole into a recognized written language. For example, it wasn't until 2012 that the "New Testament" (the Christian Greek Scriptures) was translated into Jamaican Creole. This translation is called the Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment.

Jehovah's Witnesses have also been directing more attention to this energetic language. For example, on March 18, 2023, Jehovah's Witnesses held their first-ever in-person Jamaican Creole circuit assembly (a one-day meeting of multiple congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses held twice each year) in Jamaica. 694 people attended this historic event.

Then, consider their official website—jw.org. By just a click, the website can be translated into Jamaican Creole. The website makes it possible for people to easily read Bible-based articles, view videos, and download tracts, magazines, books and even the Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment (the "New Testament") in Jamaican Creole at no charge and no registration is required.

In addition, the "New Testament" in Jamaican Creole is available on the official app provided by Jehovah's Witnesses (at no charge) called JW Library. JW Library also has a translation with portions of the "Old Testament", the Hebrew Scriptures, in Jamaican Creole that can be downloaded. This app contains the materials that are found on the website as well.

English may be the professional language spoken by the people of Jamaica but perhaps it could be said that the language of their heart is Jamaican Creole.

* Visit Jamaica's website