| Deep patwa | |
|---|---|
| Region | Jamaica (Moore Town, Charles Town, Scott's Hall) |
Native speakers | None |
English Creole
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | None |
Jamaican Maroon language,Maroon Spirit language,Kromanti,Jamaican Maroon Creole ordeep patwa is aritual language and formerly mother tongue ofJamaican Maroons. It is anEnglish-based creole with a strongAkan component, specifically from theAsante dialect of modern dayGhana. It is distinct from usualJamaican Creole, being similar to thecreoles of Sierra Leone (Krio) andSurinamese Creoles such asSranan andNdyuka. It is also more purelyAkan than regularPatois, with little contribution from other African languages. Today, the Maroon Spirit language is used byJamaican Maroons and Surinamese Maroons (largelyCoromantees). Another distinct ritual language (also called Kromanti) consisting mostly of words and phrases from Akan languages, is also used by Jamaican Maroons inMyal rituals including some involvingpossession by ancestral spirits duringKromanti ceremonies or when addressing those who are possessed and sometimes used as a kind of code.[1][2] Kromanti is also a branch of theMyal religion inJamaican Maroon communities.
The term "Kromanti" is used by Maroon participants in suchMyal ceremonies to refer to their language spoken by ancestors in the distant past, prior to the creolization of Jamaican Maroon Creole. This term is used to refer to a language which is "clearly not a form of Jamaican Creole and displays very little English content" (Bilby 1983: 38).[3] While Kromanti is not a functioning language, those possessed by ancestral spirits are attributed the ability to speak it. More remote ancestors are compared with more recent ancestors on a gradient, such that increasing strength and ability in the use of the non-creolized Kromanti are attributed to increasingly remote ancestors (as opposed to the Jamaican Maroon Creole used to address these ancestors).
The language was brought along by the maroon population fromCudjoe's Town (Trelawny Town) toNova Scotia in 1796, where they were sent in exile. They eventually traveled toSierra Leone in 1800. Their creole language highly influenced the local creole language that evolved into present dayKrio.
Bilby discusses several phonological distinctions between Jamaican Creole and Jamaican Maroon Creole.[3]
Vowel epithesis: Some words in the Maroon Creole have a vowel in the final syllable, compared to Jamaican Creole. Some examples are:
Liquids: Many words that have a lateral liquid /l/ in Jamaican Creole have a trill /r/ in Maroon Creole. Some examples are:
/ai/ to /e/: There are several instances where the "deep creole" uses /e/ while the "normal creole" uses /ai/.
| "Deep" | "Normal" | |
|---|---|---|
| krem | "to climb" | klaim |
| wete | "white" | wait |
| net | "night" | nait |
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