Iyaric
| Iyaric | |
|---|---|
| Dread Talk, Rasta Talk | |
| Native to | Jamaica | 
Native speakers  | 31,000 (liturgical language)  | 
English creole
 
  | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – | 
Iyaric, also called Dread Talk or Rasta Talk, is a form of language constructed by members of the Rastafari movement through alteration of vocabulary. When Africans were taken into captivity as a part of the slave trade, English was imposed as a colonial language. In defiance, the Rastafari movement created a modified English vocabulary and dialect, with the aim of liberating their language from its history as a tool of colonial oppression. This is accomplished by avoiding sounds and words with negative connotations, such as "back", and changing them to positive ones. Iyaric sometimes also plays a liturgical role among Rastas, in addition to Amharic and Ge'ez.