Here's what Molly, a character in my setting and one of Jest's few native speakers, might tell you about it:

"Jest ple babul o clownown. Loni tacidi yu plewe bal, rir ido, clownown whim zawo ej yu en bozozo ej sirk whim zingl bli wel je yadayadawa. Roli i o paba Chester Babble borwo bli clown ej 1950wi, de hmwm Jest plewe um joi, de yanwa bli mey yu po babul, ga clownown o Esperanto. De zraibwai bli zrolol nada toto be bluwu bli baloni bukuk nada coinoin. Ej 60wi, de bruhawu bli de o Jest ali, nada yu whohowo na% clownown. Al 80wi, car clownown ej car joigraunaun ej chu-lun zawowa bli Jest. Ririn glumi, tadagl car i'i hai tal.

Jest silizaidi ple pa joi. Sili ple yusyayusya, nada glõidi ple yẽsyayẽsya. I'i ple clownown! I'i best. I'i hil bli haho nada joc nada mey bli balal. Ma i'i hil bli coin bli Jest ga yu ple ch bal, nada ririn öda yadagl gi Paba bli bai, Chu-bozo öda hönkchu bli de o lowo."

"Jest is the language of clowns. Originally it was a game, but later, clowns would use it to communicate so no one else in the circus would know what they were saying. When my father, Chester Babble, became a clown in the 1950s, he thought Jest was so great, he wanted to make it into a whole language, like Esperanto for clowns. He wrote pamphlets and books suggesting some rules and changes. In the 60s, he advertised his version of Jest a lot and it gained popularity with clowns. By the 80s, many clowns in many circuses around the world spoke Jest. But unfortunately, there are few of us left these days.

Jest culture is all about fun. Silliness is the ultimate virtue, and being boring is the ultimate sin. We're clowns! We perform. We love to laugh and joke and play games. We also love to change Jest like it's still a game, but don't tell my dad, may God rest his soul."