Jamaican is an English-based creole language spoken in Jamaica. It represents a history of contact among many different types of speakers drawn from many ethnic, linguistic, and social background. Except the first known inhabitants, all people were exiles or the children of exiles.
The dominant groups of immigrants were speakers of West African languages and speakers of various dialects of Early Modern English, which played an important role. Among the African languages Kwa, Manding and Kru have to be mentioned. The influence of Early Modern English to the Caribbean was brought by sailors, soldiers, indentured servants, convicts, and settlers (lower-class whites) in the form of regional and non-standard dialects, highly conservative for the most part.