Does Duolingo Have the Patois Language (7+ Alternatives to Learn It)

Jamaican Patois is the official as well as native language of Jamaica. If you are also traveling to Jamaica you may want to learn this language. Of course, it is hard to learn the Language on your own. Duolingo is one such platform that you can use to learn the language on your own. If you want to learn the language through Duolingo you may want to know if there are Jamaican Patois on Duolingo or not. Therefore, here I will help you to know does Duolingo have the Patois language or not. Also, I will be discussing some of the alternatives that you can use to boost the Jamaican Patois knowledge.

Quick Takeaways

• Jamaican Patois is a language that is derived from different languages including Hindi, English, Irish etc.
• Duolingo does not have Jamaican Patois.
• Following are the alternatives to learn Jamaican Patois-

1. Using books
2. YouTube
3. Podcasts
4. Watching shows in Patios language
5. iTalki
6. Memrise
7. Tandem
8. Udemy
9. Jamaicans.com

However, you must read till the end so that you get a better understanding of whether Duolingo has Jamaican patois and also its Alternatives. 

What is Jamaican Patois?

Jamaican Patois is the English-based Creole language. This language includes influences from various languages like West African, Taino, Irish, Hindi, English, Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, and German language. Most of the words spoken in this language are derived from the West African Akan language. Remember that this language is a part of Jamaican Creole and not the Haitian Creole language. The main difference between both languages is that most of the Vocabulary of Haitian Creole is taken from the French language, whereas most of the Vocabulary of Patois is taken from the English language.

Does Duolingo have the Patois language?

Duolingo is one of the platforms where you can learn a lot of various languages on your own. You can learn popular as well as nonpopular languages like French, German, Italian, etc. There are some languages that are not available on this platform such as Tagalog and Serbian. Unfortunately, Patois is one such language that is not available on the platform just like Somali or Sanskrit language. However, it teaches the Haitian Creole language which is very close to the Patois language.

Of course, it does not mean that you cannot get to learn the language. There are a lot of other alternatives which you can use to learn the Language on your own. Although I will be discussing them later on, let me first help you to understand the reasons why there is no Patois on the platform. 

What are the reasons that there is no Patois on Duolingo?

Following are the reasons why there is no Patois on the platform-

1. Less demand

There are around 3.2 million native speakers of the language in the world. Of course, the demand is low but the main reason for not having this language could be the less demand for the language among the English native speakers. As the platform is biased towards English native speakers, it could be a popular reason for not having Jamaican Patois language.

2. Closure of Duolingo incubator

Duolingo incubator was one of the features where people can voluntarily create courses for the users. This was known as a voluntary program. As it is now closed there are high chances that the team may not have received the perfect person for creating the course.

3. Closure of Duolingo forum

Duolingo forum was the community of Duolingo to vote for the language they want to learn. Further in this forum, you also post the problems you are facing. In this form, you can also ask questions and get replies to them. As it is now shut down there are fewer chances to find out which language is in demand right now.

Is Duolingo thinking of bringing the Jamaican Patois language to the platform?

At present there is a special feature known as an incubator where you can get the knowledge of what are the upcoming languages. Within this feature, you get to know the languages that are available in the upcoming 2 to 3 years. Currently, there is no information available for the Patois language. Of course, it does not mean that you will never be getting the language on Duolingo. Maybe in the future Duolingo plans to bring this language on the platform. Further, I have discussed various alternatives that you can use to learn the Patois language. 

What are the alternatives to learning the Jamaican Patois language?

Following are the alternatives that you will be using to learn the Patois language-

1. Using books

Books are the primary and the greatest resource for learning the language with better understanding. There are a lot of books in the market that you can get depending on your level of understanding. If you are a beginner, you can always search for books that also have translations in your native language.

On the other hand, if you are at an intermediate level you can search for books for intermediate learners. Further, if you think that books are very costly then you can get them online. You can also buy them from second-hand bookstores or charity shops. There are also platforms like Chegg where you can get rented books.

2. YouTube

YouTube is a perfect place to learn any skill including a new language. It is a hub of videos that you can use to increase your knowledge and your skills. Depending upon your need you can always search for the videos in the Patois language. Suppose you want to increase your vocabulary knowledge then you can search for Patois Vocabulary. Where does if you want to increase your grammatical knowledge then you can search for videos related to it.

3. Podcasts

Podcasts are basically the conversation between 2 people about a particular topic. Try to search the forecast of the native speakers on the basis of your favorite topic. Suppose you have a person who is interested in opening on company then you can always look for the podcast of people who give tips and tricks for boosting up the business. Of course, when you start listening to native speakers, it can be hard for you to understand what they are speaking.

For it, you can always search for the podcast which also has transcripts with it. Listening to the podcast is the best way to improve your listening skills and boost your knowledge. They also help you to understand how native speakers of the Patois language really talk.

4. Watching shows in Patois language

If you want to make your language learning journey interesting then the best way to learn the language is by watching your favorite shows in that particular language. Try to look for the web series and the movies in Patois language. First, keep the subtitles in Patois language and the audio in your native language. Once done, do the reverse of it. Also, try to repeat the dialogues so that you can get a deep understanding of the language and the right pronunciation of the words.

5. iTalki

iTalki is a platform where you can get to learn a new language with the help of online tutors. There are a lot of online tutors that you can get on the platform to help you learn Patois language. On this platform, you can get two types of tutors including Professionals and community tutors. The community tutors are the ones who are native speakers of the language but do not have a degree.

Whereas, the professionals are the ones who have a degree in the language they are teaching. The price you will be paying on the platform will depend on the tutor and the duration of the class. If you want you can also search for the tutors based on the teaching experience.

6. Memrise

Memrise is a platform where you will be getting 90 different languages including French, German, and Patois. Of course, it is considered a language-learning platform but it also acts as a memory booster. It is because it uses a memory trainer which helps to sharpen your memory and train it. There are different subjects like history and entertainment that you get on the platform along with different languages. You will see different sentences and words which are created in flashcard forms. And these flashcards will help you to understand the language with pictorial representations. These representations make it easy for you to stay engaged with the content. 

7. Tandem

Tandem is a platform that helps you to learn a language with the help of a specific community. In this community, you will be getting a friend who will be your language change partner. You can communicate with them with the help of text messages or audio calls. You can also get the option of a video call with your language exchange partner. This platform also provides you with the option of auto corrections and translations that will help you improve your conversational skills. This platform is free to use but there are two types of subscription plans which are divided into different subscription plans depending upon the duration plans.

8. Udemy

Udemy is a platform where you get courses on different skills including technical and nontechnical. You can use the platform to learn Jamaican patois. There are a lot of courses available to learn this language. These courses will help you to learn the words correctly and understand how to use them in conversation. Further, when you purchase the course you also get certification on completion of it. The certificate that you get on this platform is also shareable. When you purchase the course you want to get lifetime access to it. 

9. Jamaicans.com

As the name suggests this website is a perfect choice for you to learn the language on your own. On this website, you will be getting a lot of sentences that are commonly used in daily conversations. Not only this you also get a feature known as ‘SpeakJA’. On this platform, you will be getting a lot of different phrases and sentences that you will get to learn. And you will also get cultural knowledge and news in the Patois Language.

Conclusion

Duolingo is one such platform that can help you to learn the language on your own including the popular and non-popular ones. Unfortunately, Duolingo does not have Jamaican Patois. Of course, it does not mean that you cannot learn the language. There are a lot of alternatives like using books or watching shows in a particular language. You can also listen to the podcast that will help you to improve your knowledge and deepen your language understanding. If you want you can also use platforms like iTalki where you can find online tutors to teach you Jamaican patois. Also, you can use your date me to get courses in a particular language.

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