Learn A New Language With Our dung a yaad chat Jamaican Patois Translator Mobile App

Reggae, Bob Marley, Usain Bolt, these are a few of Jamaica's greatest and most known global exports. This tiny island with a population of only 3 million definitely has a huge presence in the world thanks largely in part to our unique people, music, style and food. Ranking above them all, however, is our unique dialect known as the Jamaican creole much affectionately known as PATWA/PATOIS. So when we here at Blue Crescent Studio, a very small but hugely proud Jamaican animation studio were deciding what our first crack on app development should be centred around, we landed on the idea of a Patois translator app as a way of sharing what makes Jamaica undeniable distinct with the world.

The Dung A Yaad Chat! Jamaican Translator App is an app where you will be able to translate various words/phrases from Jamaica's native creole into English, Spanish and French. Perfect for kids and adults alike to begin their journey in learning a new language. Tourists to the island will also find this app useful as it helps to communicate with locals making your Jamaican vacation a bit more authentic.

The main components of the app are split into three categories titled Beginner, Intermediate and Expert. The Beginner category is where single Patois words are translated into either English, Spanish or French. At the Intermediate category, you will find the translation of popular Patios greetings and questions. While at the Expert category, you will find the translation and explanation of traditional Jamaican Patois proverbs. A fourth category, called Bonus, was also added to give the user a list of fun facts about the island of Jamaica and its history. 

The app as it is right now is only the beginning as we have plans to add a lot more words, phrases and proverbs for translation in the future. We also want to take on the momentous task of adding voiced annunciation for each category. 

In the meanwhile, you can try the app for yourself either in browser here or by downloading to your android phone here.

More About Jamaican Patois 
Jamaican Patois, known locally as Patois (Patwa or Patwah) and called Jamaican Creole by linguists, is an English-based creole language with West African influences (a majority of loan words of Akan origin) spoken primarily in Jamaica and among the Jamaican diaspora; it is spoken by the majority of Jamaicans as a native language. Patois developed in the 17th century when slaves from West and Central Africa were exposed to, learned and nationalized the vernacular and dialectal forms of English spoken by the slaveholders: British English, Scots, and Hiberno-English. Jamaican Creole exhibits a gradation between more conservative creole forms that are not significantly mutually intelligible with English, and forms virtually identical to Standard English.

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