Bahamian Creole Dialect
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[edit] Bahamian Creole
The language of the Bahama islands. This creole language is spoken by approximately 400,000 people in The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos and Florida. Though the Turks and caicos variety differs slightly.
Most Creole languages have a large degree of irregularity so it is difficult to establish clear rules. The Bahamas Creole is no exception and variations between the islands, villages or communities on islands are also notable Islanders from cat island can sound very different to islanders from Nassau or Abaco and on the island of Eleuthera for example there is noticable differences between the speeck of each settlement. These differences can be traced to demographic and historical causes.
The Bahamas Creole shares features with many of its sister Caribbean creoles, such as Jamaican Creole, Bajan, Trinidadian Creole and Virgin Islands Creole. There is also a very significant link to the Gullah language of South Carolina, as many Bahamians are descendants of slaves brought to the islands from the Gullah region after the American revolution.
Like most creoles The Bahamian form is constantly evolving, this has led to the development of youth slang, significantly different from the original Creole. Youth slang in the Bahamas, borrows heavily from Jamaican Creole and is associated Rasta culture; African American Ebonics have also contributed to its development.
There is much confusion over the use of the term Creole when describing the Bahamian speech, partly due to the fact that this word is associated with the large immigrant population of Haitians in the Bahamas, who of course speak Haitian Creole. This is a bone of contention for many Bahamians, who consequently dislike the application of the term Creole when describing their speech. It has also been argued that significant de-creolisation has occurred. Another note is that the Bahamian Creole is spoken by both whites and blacks, although in slightly different forms. However the deepest forms of the Creole, are spoken at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder, these people are normally, though not exclusively, black given the political history of the country. Isolated white communities on the outer islands speak a form of the Creole.
As in many Creole countries the Bahamian Creole has divided education officials in the country as to whether the language should be taught in schools, currently the English syllabus of the Bahamas ministry of education advises teachers to ensure students can speak both standard English whilst encouraging the ‘enjoyment and respect for the Bahamian dialect.’ Patricia glinton,Nicolette Bethell and Gail Suanders are among Bahamian acedemics who have studied the creole.
The ability to switch from creole dilaect to Standard English and pack is a prefected art by many of the nation's politicians. The Late former Prime minister Sir Lynden Pindling was famous for his ability to switch from the Queen's English to the broadest vernecular, for emphasis which helped him earn a place in the hearts of many Bahamians.
[edit] Pronoun usage
Pronouns are generally the same as Standard English, except for the existence or a plural form of you. This is expressed as either yinna, yenna, you all, y’all, or all a ya. Pronunciation differences mean that, they become dey.
Possessive pronouns Possesive pronouns in Bahmian creole differ from standard english, the regular pronoun form is often used.
My – I ,ma, me, ‘das I/ma/me book’, me is somewhat antiquated and is likely to only by heard by older people, or Haitian immigrants)
Your – You, ya, yuh. ‘Das ya /you book’
His/hers – he/she, ‘das he/she book’
Our – we ‘das we book’
Theirs – dey ‘das dey book’
Possesive pronouns Mine, your’s, his ,our’s, your’s (pl) and their’s
usually drop the apostrophe S and have the word ‘own’ added at the end, or may incorporate both ‘own and the aposhrophe S. Consider the various possible responses to the following expression: Who book dis is? - Whose book is this?
A. mine - my own, mine’s (my own’s,)
B. yours - yorns ( your own’s)
C. his/her’s – he/she own
D. ours - we own
E. your’s(pl) - yinna’s
F. theirs- dey own,
Bahamians have a separate pronoun form for describing actions done by alone or by a single group or party; the regular or possessive pronoun is used in conjunction with the word one.
I was the only one who sang– only me/my one sang
You were the only one there – only you/ your one was dere
He was the only one who went – only him/his one went
We were the only group to go – only we/our one gone
They were the only group to go – only their/ them one gone
This can also be applied when the proper noun is used: Only Mary one gone to Nassau – only Mary went to Nassau
Only St Augustine’s (a school) one comin’ on da trip – St Augustine’s is the only school coming on the trip.
[edit] Verb usage
Verb usage in the Bahamas differs significantly from standard English and there are a variety of forms of English verbs, used differently between different communities and contexts.A general rule is that past tenses are not used so ‘I saw you yesterday becomes – ‘ I see you yessaday’. Here are some more examples.
-I drank plenty rum last night - I drink plenny rum las night
-I ate peas and rice today – I eat peas an rice today
Past tenses often use helping verbs such as ‘did’ e.g.
-I did eat peas and rice yessaday - i ate peas and rice yesterday
-I did see you yessday - i saw you yesterday
-I did tell you already- i already told you
The following are verbs with particularly complicated uses.
To go
To go is expressed differently from Standard English, there is no evident rule, but here are some examples.
Going to - I goin/gern Nassau or i ga go nassau- I am going to (go to) Nassau.
Going to do (something) – I ga/gon/goin/gern (cook some food) – I am going to (cook some food.)
‘Gone’ - used differently than in Standard English, gone in Bahamian usually expresses having done something.
he gone tell me I fat – he told me I was fat
‘vy you gone done dat’ – why did you do that, This may also be expressed as ‘been’,
‘Gone’ can also be said to indicate that one is going to leave. I/she/you/we/ they(etc) gone- I/she/you/we/they (etc) am/are going to go now
I gone/been Eleuthera last week – I went to Eleuthera last week.
To do
The use of the verb to do in the Bahamas is complicated with variations depending on tense and context.
Does/is – this is used when describing something a person does regularly, resulting in a double verb construction , does or is inserted before the action being done.
e.g. I does do dat – I do that I does/is go (to church), - I go to church
I does/is eat ( conch erry day)- I eat conch every day
Vat you does/ is do? – What do you do?
I does/ is wan go fishin ba my ma vont let me. – I want to go fishing but my mother doesn’t let me
This construction also usually applies in the negative form but in this case is, is normally used rather than does
E.g. – I does/is don’t – I don’t
I is don’t like dat – I don’t like that
she is don’t want go – she doesn’t want to go
Past tense:Done/did This is a feature of many African based creoles in the Caribbean and the united states and the Bahamas is no exception. If did is used the verb that follows will be in the present tense, If done is used it will be in the past tense, in this case done usefully indicates ‘already’ but may be used in conjuction with ‘already’
I di(d) go dere yessaday, I done told you (already)
I di(d) do dat today, I done did dat (already)
I di(d) give him he book, I done gave him he book (already)
To be
The present tense becomes ‘is’
I am – I is We are – ve is
You are – you is you (pl), you all, yinna – you is, yinna is, you all is
He is – he is they are – they is
In addition ‘is’ is normally assimilated by the pronoun
I am – I is – I’se, I’se da king a da castle- I’m the king of the castle
We are – we is – ve’se da
The negative of 'is', almost always become aint, een, or ain
I am not – I aint, I een, I’ne
You are not – you aint, you een, y’een, or y’ain
He is not – he aint, he een, h’een,
Been is used to create the past tense in a similar way to did and done
vy you been done dat – why did you do that
he been tell me I fat’ – he told me I was fat
Other deviant uses of verbs include.
Back back - to reverse or move backward
out out- to rub, out, a teacher would do this to words written on the balckboard(outen out)
To like to- in Bahamian creole the 'to' is excluded thus 'he likes to sing/eat, etc' become he like sing, he like eat,he like tell me I fat
Word assimilation
Had to – hadde, I hadde go
Got to - gatte
Could have - Couldda
Wouldn’t have – Vunda sometimes ainda, litterally 'aint would have'.
T'een - It ain't
d'ain - there ain't
[edit] Pronunciation rules
Th – become D or T
This – dis
That – dat(* in some island this is pronouced dar, e.g. gimma dar won - give me that one)
Thursday – Tursday Thirty – tirty Think - Tink Three - tree
Oi becomes er ur
Oil – url or erl, da erl gatte be hot when you fryin chicken
Boil – burl – let da water berlJoin – Jern I Going – gern
In some islands and cases ur becomes, oi Curl - coil work – woyk, woik Burn - boyn boin Girl – goil, goyle
V and W are almost always inverted meaning, 'he drives a van' becomes, he is driwe a wan
wash - vash what - vat wednesday - venessday
[edit] Selected words and phrases
Here is a selection of some Bahamian words, many more exist.
Yinna – The plural form of you, traced to the Yoruba word ‘yin’ and also Igbo 'onu' also found in Jamaica and Barbados
Jook – To stab or poke, ‘he jook me in ma han wid he pencil’ – he poked me in my hand with his pencil, also a popular dancing motion of thrusting the pelvis forward, this word is also used more rudely meaning to have sex
Jitney - This the Bahamian word for bus, "Ah gurn ta catch da jitney"
Benne – this is a West African word for semseme seeds that is still used in the Bahamas, benne cakes are a popular snack.
Broughtupcy – to have broughtupcy, is to be well mannered. Des chirren today een got no broughtupcy – Children today are rude.
Yuck – to pull, he vas yuckin on da line once he see da fish on it’ – he pulled on the line once he saw that a fish was on it.
Yuck up my wexation- To make some one angry
chirren, chirrens- children, you may also hear, chillun and chilluns or chilren and chilrens.
Quarm - to walk proudly
Nany- foeces or to defocate
Toonkie – the female genatil organ
Cock eye – cross eyed
lookya - look here
right chea/chere/cha, - right here. on this spot.
lookted - looked
Mussy - must be. dey mussy is tink better dan we. They think they are better than us. dat mussy was da first time i bin dea.- i guess that was the first time i went there. Mussy een no one came- i guess no one came.
Nigga – man. In the Bahamas this word is generally not used as a racial slur, but used to mean man, looka dis nigga - look at this man , dis nigga come tell me i fat - he told me i was fat
bruck (up) - bahamian pronunciation of broke almost always accompanied by up Terry maan whey ya goin wit dese bruck tings? - Terry where are you going with those broken things?
Niggas dem – people, men,
grabbalicious/ gravillicious - greedy people dem to graviliciouss dese days ya, all dey wan tings tings tings - people are too greedy these days all
Conchy joe - a racial term for Bahamians of white complexion, not usually but sometimes used to cause offense.
Boongy- buttucks, looka da big boongy gal - look at the woman with the big behind
hip - Bahamians like some african languages such as Yoruba does not distinguish between the 'buttox and the hips. ooh haw (h)ip beeg eh!' - oh she has a big bum!
Check – to care, I een checkin fa dem – I don’t care
missn- - a common prefix meaning by acccident. literally missed and, i gone try shake han but i missn-hit he stomache- i tried to shake his hand but missed and hit hit stomache. i missndid did it - i did it by accident.
Chile - Child, this is one of the most frequently used words in bahamian speech particularly by woman, who will use it to adress,most people with whome they are familiar or who are younger than them. chile lookya i see Toshi yessaday, an chile sh'een look good, chile she hair all wild,chile i say 'Toshi chile, vat happen?' - Listen i saw Toshi yesterday and she diddn't look well, her hair was wild, so I said Toshi what happened to you?
chile please! - An expression of shock, amazment or displeasure. betty pregnant? vell chile please!, chile please dese chirren dese days is make me sick!- Child please, these childern today make me sick
Mama,mummy,ma - These terms are used when addressing someone an older woman, usually of ones grandparents generation,Mamma sarah how uo do?- Mama Sarah how are you some people will call there grandmother, mamma. Older people are never called simply by name, mamma miss, ma are uslually attached as titles - mamma sarah, miss. brenda, ma.ruby. if the name is unknown they will be addressed ma'am. mummy is used to refer to haitian women of any age excluding girls.
Bey. boy, maan, girl,gal - These are common forms of address between people of the same age. Bey wa ya say? - how are you, Maan lookia ,lemma tell ya summin - man look here let me tell you something. Gal how you do - how are you, to woman of same age. Bey, is used often with young males among one another often several times in one sentence. bey lookya bey,dese gals dem sweet eh bey!? - These girls are preyty arn't they?
Kill me - used when some thing is funny or shocking, 'Gal you is kill me when ya do dat' - you look funny when you do that.
ey? eh? hey? ay? - a common way of ending a question posed in Bahaimain creole.she from fox hill ey?- is she from fox hill? you ga tell mamma ey?- are you going to tell mamma? a question such as 'where are you from?,' will not carry this ending.
Likes ta die - an expesseion similar to 'kill me'. bey i likes ta die ven dar clown stat tellin he jokes.- Boy, that was so funny when that clown started tellin his jokes
Dain no chru - that is not true, literally, 'that aint no true'
cut hip/cut skin - a beating usually on the behind if yinna chillun don stop dat all a ya gettin a cut hip
Sugging – a noise made to get someone’s attention that can be but is not always rude or sexual. The lips are opened slightly, but teeth remain closed and sounds ressembling the sounds ‘s’ and ‘ k’ in sequence ‘ sksksksk’ note this is very hard for non native speakers to do.
[edit] Further reading and sources
[www.dabahamianting.com www.bahamasb2b.com www.bahamas.com www.ethnologue.com]
[edit] See also
Gullah
Virgin Islands Creole
Jamaican Creole
Antiguan Creole
Saint Kitts Creole
