Speak Rastafarian English

Rastafarian English is a dialect primarily spoken by Jamaican Rastafarians. The Rastafarian language is much easier to learn than Jamaican Patois because it is a play on English words, rather than an entirely separate dialect like Jamaican Patois. The Rastafarian movement, which began in the 1930s in Jamaica, is based on positive beliefs like unity, peace, and one love. So Rastafarian language is a reflection of these positive beliefs.

Steps

Learning Basic Rastafarian Words

1. Understand the pronunciation of words in Rastafarian. Rastafarian survives as a spoken language, so pronunciation is very important when trying to speak Rastafarian.
   • In Rastafarian, you do not pronounce “h” in English words. So “thanks” becomes “tanks”, “three” becomes “tree”, etc.
   • Similarly, Rastafarians do not pronounce “th” in English words. So, “the” become “di”, “them” becomes “dem”, and “that” becomes “dat”.
2. Learn the use of “I and I”. In Rastafarian, “I and I”, pronounced “eye an’ eye”, is an important term. It refers to the oneness of Jah (Rastafari for their “God”, the Ethiopian Emperor Ras Tafari Haile Selassie I) in every person. “I and I” is a term that reinforces the Rastafarian belief that Jah exists in all people, and everyone exists as one people, unified by Jah.
   • “I and I” can be used to replace “you and I” in a sentence. Such as,: “And I going to de concert.” This means you and someone else are going to a concert.
   • But it can also be used when talking about something you are doing alone, or a shorthand for “me, myself, and I”. Such as: “I and I going to de concert”. This means you are going to a concert, on your own.
   • “I” is also used as a play on certain English words, such as “I man” for “inner man”, or a Rastafari believer. Rastas will say “Inity”, instead of “unity”.
3. Learn how to say “hello”, “goodbye”, and “thank you”. Most Rastafarians do not use certain words in the English language as they have devil-like connotations. For example, the word “hello” is not used because it contains the word “hell” and “lo”, referring to “low”.
   • To say “hello”, use: “Wa gwaan” or “Yes I”.
   • To say “goodbye”, use: “Me a go”, or “Lickle bit”.
   • To say “thank you”, use: “Give thanks” or “Praise Jah”.
4. Understand the words “Rasta” “Jah Jah”, and “dread.” A Rastafarian will refer to themselves as a “Rasta”, or call other Rastafarians “Rasta.”
   • “Jah Jah” is used to praise Jah or refer to Jah. For example: “Jah Jah protect mi fram mi enemy dem.” In English, this means: “Jehovah protect me from my enemies.”
   • “Dread” refers to the dreadlocks worn as a spiritual practice by Rastafarians. It is also used to describe something or someone who is a Rastafarian, or seen as a positive influence.
   • For example: “Dread, mon.” In English, this means: “Cool, man.” Or, “Natty dread.” In English, this means: “You’re cool” or “You’re a Rasta.”
   • A person who does not have dreadlocks is called a “ball head”, a play on the term “bald head”. For example, Bob Marley sings in his song “Crazy Baldheads”: “Wi guh chase dem crazy Ball head outta town.” This translates to: “We gonna chase those crazy people without dreads out of town”.
5. Learn common Rastafarian words like “Babylon”, “politricks” and “irie”. These are keywords in the Rastafarian, as they refer to important concepts in Rastafarian culture.
   • “Babylon” is the Rastafarian word for the police, who are viewed by Rastafarians as part of a corrupt government system. “Babylon”, which refers to the Biblical rebellion against God through the Tower of Babel, can also be used to describe any person or organization that oppresses the innocent.
   • For example: “Babylon deh cum, yuh hav nutten pan yuh?” In English, this translates to: “The police are coming, do you have anything on you?”
   • “Politricks” is the Rasta term for “politics”. There is a general skepticism of authority figures in Rastafarian, including politicians. So they are seen as tricksters, or full of “tricks”.
   • “Irie” is one of the most important terms in Rastafarian. It embodies the positive outlook of Rastafarian culture and their belief that “everyting irie” or “everything is alright”.
   • For example, “Mi nuh have nutten fi complain bout, mi life irie.” In English, this translates to: “I don’t have anything to complain about, my life is good.”
6. Understand the words for “man” and “woman”. Rastafarian centers on the idea of oneness with everyone. So Rastas refer to people as their “Idren”, a version of the English word “children.”
   • A boy is called a “bwoy” by a Rasta. A girl is called a “gal” by a Rasta. If a Rasta is asking another Rasta about their children, they will refer to the children as “pickney”, or “gal pickney”.
   • Rastas refer to adult males as “bredren”. Female adults are called “sistren”.
   • A Rasta man will refer to their wife or girlfriend as their “empress” or “queen”. For example: “My cyaah cum tomorrow, mi a guh spen sum time wid mi empress.” This translates to: “I can’t come tomorrow, I’m going to spend time with my girlfriend.”
7. Understand the use of positive words over negative words. Rastas replace words that have negative terms like “down” or “under” with “up” or “out”. For example:
   • Rastas will say “downpression” instead of “oppression”. This is because “op” is Rastafarian for “up”, so “downpression” indicates something is holding someone down.
   • Rastas will say “overstanding” or “innerstanding” instead of “understanding”.
   • Rastas will say “outernational” instead of “international”. This indicates the Rasta’s feeling that the rest of the world lies outside their realm or world.
8. Learn swear words in Rastafarian. There some unique sounding swear words in Rastafarian. They usually refer to bodily harm or bodily functions.
   • “Fiyah bun” is an expression used to strongly denounce someone or something.
   • For example: “Fiyah bun babylon kaaz dem eva deh taament people.” This translates to: “I denounce the police because they are always tormenting poor people.”
   • “Bag o wire” is expression that refers to a “betrayer” or “traitor”. This is a reference to a close friend of the black political leader Marcus Garvey, who betrayed him by giving away details of his escape plan.
   • For example: “Mi nuh truss deh bredren deh kaaz him a bag o wire.” This translates to: “I don’t trust that man because he is a traitor.”
   • “Bumba clot” or “Rass clot” are very strong curse words in Rastafarian. “Clot” is considered a nasty sounding word and can be tied to the verb “to clout”, or “to hit or strike”. It can also refer to a used tampon, which is where the nasty aspect of the word comes from.

Learning Basic Rastafarian Phrases

1. Practice saying “what’s up”. In Rastafarian, you would greet a friend on the street by saying “Bredren, wa gwaan?”
   • The other Rasta may respond with: “Bwai, ya done know seh mi deya gwaan easy." This means: “"I’m here just taking it easy."
2. Practice asking someone where they are from. In Rastafarian, you would ask someone where they are from or where they were born by saying: “A weh ya baan?”
   • The other Rasta may respond with: “Mi baan inna Kingston”, which translates to: “I was born in Kingston.”
3. Learn how to say “see you later”. A Rastafarian will end a casual conversation with:
   • "Yeh man, lickle more, seen?" This translates to: “Ok see you later.”
   • The other Rasta may then respond: "Lickle more." This translates to: “For sure, see you later.”
   • A conversation in Rastafarian may go something like this:
   • "Bredrin, wa gwaan?"
   • "Bwai, ya done know seh mi deya gwaan easy."
   • "Yes I, a so it go still. Not 'n na gwaan, but we a keep di faith, nuh true?"
   • "True. How de pickney dem stay?"
   • "Bwai, dem aright."
   • "Yeh man, lickle more, seen?"
   • "Lickle more."
   • The translation of this in English would be:
   • "What 's up, man?"
   • "Not much, just taking it easy."
   • "Yeah, that 's how it is. Times are hard but we have to keep the faith, isn't that right?"
   • "Yeah. How are your kids?"
   • "They're alright."
   • "Great, see you later."
   • "See you later."

Understanding Rastafarian Culture

1. Understand the history of the language. The Rastafarian language grew out of the Rastafarian movement, a religious and social movement based in Jamaica. Though largely unorganized, the Rastafarians are united on several strong beliefs:
   • The belief in the beauty of black people’s African heritage.
   • The belief that Ras Tafari Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia, is the Biblical Messiah. He is also referred to as the Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah. This is why the lion is seen as a powerful symbol by Rastafarians.
   • The belief in repatriation to Ethiopia, also referred to by Rastas as “Zion”, the true home and redemption of black people.
   • The belief in the eventual fall of “Babylon”, the corrupt world of the white man, and a reversal of the power structure of slave and master.
2. Learn the key sources of knowledge for the Rastafari movement. The Bible is the main holy text for Rastafarians. This is why Bob Marley’s lyrics, for example, are full of Biblical references to Exodus and the Holy Land.
   • Rastas take Biblical study very seriously and will cite and discuss scriptural passages. They believe the scriptures tell the true story of the black man’s history. They also feel Christian ministers have misled people by providing incorrect interpretations of the Bible, especially the use of the Bible to justify slavery.
   • Rastas also refer to other official documents like The Promised Key and The Living Testament of Rasta-for-I. But most scholars agree no central doctrine of Rastafarian exists, as Rastas are against following organized systems or schools of thought. Instead, Rastas believe a person should engage in reflection and interpretation of their experience and form their own personal convictions about the Rasta beliefs.
3. Learn the importance of “I-tal”. Rastas use the word “I-tal” to refer to food that is in its natural state. "I-tal" food has not touched modern chemicals and contains no preservatives, condiments, or salt.
   • Most Rastas follow the “I-tal” practice and some are vegetarians. Meat-eating Rastas usually abstain from eating pork, as pigs are seen as scavengers of the dead.
   • Alcohol, coffee, milk, and flavored beverages like soda are also considered not “I-tal”.
   • Often, Rastas will say: “Man a rasta man, mi only nyam ital food.” This translates to: “I am a Rastafarian, I only eat natural foods.”
4. Understand the role of cannabis in Rastafarian culture. We all know the familiar image of a Rasta with dreads smoking weed or “herb” as Rastas call it. Besides making you feel “irie”, the smoking of marijuana or “ganja” plays an important role in Rastafarian life. It is considered a sacred ritual in Rasta culture.
   • For Rastas, the “holy herb” is highly valued for its physical, psychological, and therapeutic powers.
5. Become familiar with the idea of “everliving life”. Rastas embrace the idea of an “everliving life” instead of an “everlasting life”. They do not believe in the end of life, or “last” part of life. Instead, Rastas believe in a continually living life, or having an immortal life.
   • This does not necessary mean Rastas believe they will live forever. But they consider “everlasting life” a negative outlook on the fullness or “living”-ness of life.

Tips

• Listen to reggae by artists like Bob Marley and the Wailers, Pato Banton, Patra and Damian Marley to familiarize yourself with Rastafarian pronunciation and Rastafarian culture. Pay close attention to the lyrics of the songs and try to recognize certain basic words or phrases.
• There are also Speak Jamaican tapes and videos available online. Because Rastafarian is a spoken language, it helps to hear Jamaicans speak the language to get a feel for the rhythm and tone of Rastafarian words.

Warnings

• Some Jamaicans who hear you speaking Rastafarian will consider you a poser, especially if you are white. Try speaking Rastafari to Jamaicans at a Jamaican bar or cafe and judge their reactions. Remember some people in these establishments may take offence to your attempts at Rastafarian and see it as insulting. So be prepared for some teasing from the real Jamaicans, though likely all in good fun.
• Alternatively, you can try out your Rastafarian on an easy going Jamaican friend.

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