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ENTITY · CONCEPT / TERM

Nation language

Well supported

Term coined by poet-scholar Kamau Brathwaite for the African-rooted, oral, rhythm-driven Caribbean vernacular that resists the 'dialect' label; a key framework for reading dub poetry and Patois song as literature.

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At a glance

Confidence
Well supported
Sources
Kamau Brathwaite, History of the Voice; Caribbean literary scholarship.

Coverage areas

Style, language, faith & wider cultureSociety, politics & reception

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Connections

In stories

Story · Well supportedWriting - and toasting - the Jamaican language

How Patois travelled from playground stigma to page, pulpit and microphone.

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Compiled and researched by The Jamaica Music Atlas music desk. The sources that informed it are credited above.

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