Meaning
The deliberately modified language of Rastafari — also called Dread Talk or I-talk — Jamaican Patois reshaped so that the sounds of words match Rastafari belief. It replaces syllables felt to carry a negative meaning (turning 'oppression' into 'downpression', 'understand' into 'overstand') and inserts the sacred 'I' to affirm the divine self (as in 'I-and-I', 'inity', 'idren'). A whole system of conscious word-sound reasoning, iyaric bends language toward truth, life, and the upful, and it is one of the deepest and most distinctive expressions of the Rastafari worldview.
Examples
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Overstand an downpression a Iyaric wod.
Overstand and downpression are Iyaric words.
Iyaric is best shown through its coined words.
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Him chat pure Iyaric.
He speaks entirely in Rastafari language.
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Iyaric mek di language reflect di livity.
Iyaric makes the language reflect the way of life.
Origin
A blend of 'I' — the central sound of Rastafari speech — with 'Amharic', the liturgical language of Ethiopia, reflecting the movement's spiritual link to Ethiopia.
How it’s used
A linguist's and insider's term for the system behind words like I-and-I, ital, overstand and Babylon. Not commonly used in casual talk, but the phenomenon it names is everywhere in Rastafari speech.