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➙ Language:
Jamaican Creole English (jam)
Alternative Names
Patwa, Patois, Bongo Talk, Quashie Talk, Southwestern Caribbean Creole English
Family/Group
Creole, English-based
Area
North America
General Data
spoken in Jamaica
most speakers have some competence in Standard English
linguistic influences from Akan and Bantu (Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo)
Typological Information
vast majority of words in the JM lexicon are either monosyllabic or bisyllabic (Kouwenberg, LaCharité & Gooden 2003:106)
Reduplication Form-Function
full: pluralization, intensification, diminution, word class derivation, lexical enrichment
partial: word class derivation
Relationship Form-Function
various forms - various functions
Forms
Select Value
σ
σσ
CV
word
Functions
Select Value
diminution
intensification
lexical enrichment
other
pluralization
word class derivation
Patterns
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full
partial
Semantics
Select Value
intensity
other
plurality
similarity
Word Classes
Select Value
adjective/adverb — adjective/adverb
adjective/adverb — noun
noun — adjective/adverb
noun — noun
verb — noun
verb — verb
All Examples
⊞ References
Terminology
Glossary
Field Descriptions
© by Reduplication Project, Institute of Linguistics, University of Graz