Meaning
'All' — the whole of something — but it also carries the sense of 'even' or 'right up to', stressing that something extends further than expected. 'Aal now' means 'even now / still, after all this time'.
Senses
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determiner 'All' — the entire amount or every one.
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Aal a wi deh yah.
All of us are here.
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Him eat aal di food.
He ate all the food.
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adverb 'Even' or 'right up to' — emphasising that something reaches further than expected.
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Aal now him nuh come.
Even now he still hasn't come.
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Mi wait aal till dark.
I waited right up until dark.
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Origin
The Jamaican pronunciation of English 'all', with the emphatic 'even' sense developed in creole usage.
How it’s used
The 'even/still' sense ('aal now', 'aal when') is distinctly Jamaican and often trips up English speakers.
Gloss adapted from A Learner's Glossary of Jamaican, Open Grammar Project, licensed under CC BY 4.0. View the source work · CC BY 4.0