Meaning
Abroad — any country outside Jamaica, and above all the United States, Britain, and Canada where the diaspora is large. The Patois pronunciation of 'foreign', 'farrin' is heavy with the idea of opportunity, money, and a better-off life, sometimes idealised, and to 'gone a farrin' is to have emigrated in search of that promise. Central to the Jamaican experience of migration, the word gathers up the whole longing for and dream of a life overseas, along with the barrels, remittances, and separations that come with it.
Examples
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Him gone a farrin fi work.
He has gone abroad to work.
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She a send barrel from farrin.
She sends care packages from overseas.
Sending a 'barrel' of goods home from farrin is a diaspora tradition.
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Everybody waan go a farrin.
Everybody wants to go abroad.
Origin
The Jamaican pronunciation of English 'foreign', the 'o' flattened and the ending softened, used as a noun for abroad rather than an adjective.
How it’s used
Often idealised as a land of opportunity. 'Farrin mind' describes someone who acts as though they have adopted foreign, superior airs.