Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Patwa

Region name: Caribbean
Total speakers: Jamaican Creole (Patwa) is spoken by 2.5 million inhabitants of Jamaica, as well as by hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans living in other Caribbean countries and across the wider Jamaican diaspora (particularly in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada).
Country usage: Jamaica, other Caribbean countries, global diaspora (including United Kingdom, United States, Canada).

Background information

Jamaican Creole (Patwa) emerged in the 1700s as a creole of English and African languages. An official writing system and a dictionary, first issued in 1967, represent this language in writing. Patwa is spoken by 90 per cent of persons resident in Jamaica and by Jamaicans living in other Caribbean countries and across the global diaspora. Language rights activists in Jamaica are seeking to have Patwa declared one of the country’s official languages.
Alternate Names : Jamaican Creole