What it does
Yarn Patois translates between Jamaican Patois (also written Patwa or Jamaican Creole) and English in both directions. It's built for people who hear Patois in music, film and family conversations and want to know exactly what's being said, and for anyone learning to speak it.
How it works
Like the rest of the Yarn family, it's rule-based: a phrasebook of real expressions plus grammar rules for features such as a / deh for "is", mi for "I/me", and nuh for negation. Results are consistent and easy to correct, rather than changing from one try to the next.
A few examples
| Patois | English |
|---|---|
| Wah gwaan? | What's going on? / Hi |
| Mi deh yah | I'm here / I'm doing alright |
| Nuh worry yuhself | Don't worry yourself |
| Likkle more | See you later |
| Mi soon come | I'll be back soon |
Spelling and the community
Patois is written many different ways. There's a formal writing system used by linguists, and there's how people actually type it. Yarn aims to understand the everyday spellings, and you can suggest a better translation or vote on other people's suggestions inside the app. Suggestions are reviewed before they go live.
Good to know
- Short phrases and common expressions give the best results.
- No account needed, and translations aren't stored with your identity.