Patwa

Jamaican Patois voice-over

Native Jamaican Patois voice actors, cast for your audience and directed by our team. You hear a shortlist and approve a written quote before recording.

Tell us about your project

Samples

We send Jamaican Patois samples chosen for your script.

Request Jamaican Patois samples

Human
Real human voices
Every voice is a professional actor in a booth. No synthetic voices.
Native
Their first language
Cast from speakers who grew up with the language your audience speaks.
Directed
A director on every line
We listen for meaning, pace and pronunciation in the session, not after it.

Jamaican Patois voices

No public Jamaican Patois demos yet. We record samples on your own lines instead.

Samples on your own lines

Send a few lines of your script and we come back with Jamaican Patois voices reading them.

Tell us about your project

What Jamaican Patois voice-over is hired for

Jamaica
Patois is the everyday language, with English in formal settings.
The diaspora
Communities in the UK, Canada and the US.
Music and entertainment
A global audience hears Patois in music.

Typical projects

Consumer brands and banks
Entertainment producers
Public health bodies
Tourism

Jamaican Patois in a voice-over brief

Jamaican Patois grew from contact between English and West African languages and has its own grammar. There is no single official spelling, so the brief must state which convention the script uses. Speech ranges between broad Patois and Jamaican English depending on setting. Using a non-native speaker risks caricature. A recording brief names the audience, the intensity of Patois wanted and whether an English version will follow.

Accent and direction notes

What our director listens for in a Jamaican Patois session.

A separate language
Patois has its own grammar and words.
Written forms
There is no single written standard; the brief names the spelling.
Range of speech
Speech runs between Patois and Jamaican English.

What casting decides in Jamaican Patois

Patois or Jamaican English
The audience decides.
Authenticity
A native speaker avoids caricature.

How we work

Casting
We shortlist voices for your language, audience and tone, and explain the difference between them. You choose, and approve a written quote.
Direction
A director runs the session against your brief: meaning, pace and every agreed pronunciation. You can listen in remotely.
Delivery
Every file is checked against the script word by word and technically, then delivered in your format and naming.

What decides the price

No price list: every quote is written for your project and states usage and the delivery date.

Length: Word count or running time of the finished audio.
Use and territory: Internal, online or broadcast; where it runs and for how long.
Voice: Some languages and voice profiles are scarcer than others.
Picture and files: Recording to timecode, splitting and naming add work.