The official language of Jamaica is English, which is used in government, media, education, and business. However, the majority of the population speaks Jamaican Patois, an English-based creole language with West African, Taino, Irish, Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, Chinese, and German influences. Jamaican Patois is spoken primarily in Jamaica and among the Jamaican diaspora, and it is also heard in other Caribbean countries, the United Kingdom, and Toronto, Canada. Jamaican Patois is a colorful, descriptive, and emphatic creole dialect that has been shaped by the islands history and culture. It is spoken by the majority of Jamaicans as a native language, and it exhibits a gradation between more conservative creole forms that are not significantly mutually intelligible with English and forms virtually identical to Standard English. Although English is the official language of Jamaica, the majority of the population speaks Jamaican Patois, and the two exist in a dialect continuum, with speakers using a different register of speech depending on context and whom they are speaking to.