Bahamian dialect
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bahamas Creole English | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Bahamas, United States, Turks and Caicos | |
| Total speakers: | 400 000 | |
| Language family: | English Creole Bahamas Creole English |
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| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | none | |
| ISO 639-2: | none | |
| ISO 639-3: | bah
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Bahamians speak an English creole or a dialect of English, known in the Bahamas as Bahamian Dialect.
Bahamian creole is spoken by approximately 400,000 people in the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the State of Florida. (Although, the creole spoken in the Turks and Caicos Islands differs slightly from that spoken in the Bahamas).
Most creole languages have a large degree of irregularity making it is difficult to establish clear rules. Bahamian Dialect is no exception.
Variations exists between the various islands, villages or communities on islands. Bahamian Dialect is spoken by both white and black Bahamians, although in slightly different forms. Bahamian Dialect also tends to be more pronounced (i) when spoken by people from the Family Islands, poorer people and people with limited education (ii) in situations of heightened emotion.
Like most creoles, Bahamian Dialect is constantly evolving. Youth slang, in the Bahamas, borrows heavily from Jamaican Creole and African-American "ebonics".
Bahamian Dialect also shares similar features with other Caribbean English creoles, such as Jamaican Creole, Bajan, Trinidadian Creole and Virgin Islands Creole. There is also a very significant link between Bahamian Dialect and 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.
In the Bahamas, Bahamian Dialect is not referred to as "Creole." If it were this would probably cause confusion as the Bahamas has a large immigrant Haitian population, whose native tongue is Haitian Creole, a French creole. Some scholars have argued that Bahamian speech has undergone significant 'de-creolisation', as a result of exposure to American media and association of stronger dialect with lack of education as has been witnessed in some other caribbean islands and former colonial societies.
As in many countries where a creole is spoken, educators are divided over whether the creole should be taught in schools. The Ministry of Education currently advises teachers to teach Standard English but encourage ‘enjoyment of and respect for Bahamian Dialect'.
The ability to switch between from Bahamian Dialect and Standard English is common among many Bahamians, a skill artfullly used by many of the nation's politicians 'to connect with the people'.
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[edit] Pronoun usage
Pronouns in Bahamian Dialect are generally the same as in Standard English.
However, the second person plural can take the forms
- yinna,
- y’all or
- all a ya
and the third person plural
- they is pronounced dey.
[edit] Possessive pronouns
Possessive pronouns in Bahmian Dialect often differ from Standard English with:
- your becoming you, ya, or yuh
- his or hers becoming he or she
- our becoming we; and
- their becoming dey.
For example:
- Das yuh book? (Is that your book?)
- No, das he book (No, that's his book)
- You see we tings? (Have you seen our things?)
- No, but das dey car over dere (No, but that's their car over there)
In addition, the possessive pronouns mine, yours (sing.), his, hers, ours, yours (plur) and theirs often become mine's, yorns, he own, she own, we own, yinna's and dey own or des.
For example: Who book dis is? (Whose book is this?)
- mine's (my own)
- yorns (yours)
- he own (his)
- we own (ours)
- yinnas (yours)
- dey own (theirs)
- des (theirs)
Bahamians have a separate pronoun form for describing actions done alone or by a single group or party:
- only me one sing (I'm the only one who sang)
- only you one was dere (You were the only one there)
- only him one went (He was the only one who went)
- only we one gone (We were the only ones who went)
- dey the only ones dat come (They were the only ones who came)
This can also be applied when the proper noun is used:
- Only Mary one gone to Nassau (Mary was the only one who went to Nassau)
[edit] Verb usage
Verb usage in the Bahamian Dialect differs significantly from that of Standard English.
Often a number of different alternatives exist for the same Standard English verb.
[edit] Irregular Verbs
[edit] To go
The verb "to go" is expressed in a number of different ways in Bahamian Dialect. There are no apparent rules but note the following examples:
1) I'm going to Freeport:
- I goin ta Freepo(r)t
- I gern ta Freepo(r)t
- I gun go to Freepo(r)t
- I gwine go to Nassau
2) I am going to cook (some food)
- I ga cook
- I gon cook
- I goin cook
- I gern cook
- I gern go cook
[edit] To do
The verb "to do" has numerous variations depending on tense and context.
For example:
- I does do dat (I do that)
- I is eat conch erry day (I eat conch everyday)
- Wot you does do? (What kind of work do you do?)
In these previous example, the verb "to be" can be substituted for the verb "to do", in that the word "does" can be replaced with the word "is". For example: I is do dat"
The verbs "to do" and "to be" can be combined for effect, as in She is don’t like dat (She doesn’t like that)
[edit] To be
In the present tense, the verb "to be" is usually conjugated "is" regardless of the grammatical person:
- I am – I is
- You are – you is
- We are – we is
- They are – dey is
In addition, note:
- I is can be pronounced I's (sounds like: "eyes")
- We is - We's
The negative of the verb "to be" usually takes the form ain" (short for ain't") I ain' gern (I am not goin)
[edit] To like to
When the verb "to like" is combined with an infinitive, the "to" in the infinitive is usually dropped.
- He like sing" (He likes to sing)
- She like lie (She likes to tell lies/She lies a lot)
[edit] Past Tense
Generally, the past tense, of a verb, in Bahamian Dialect is formed by combining the present tense, of the verb, in Standard English with a word or words that indicate that the action happened in the past.
For example:
- I drink plenny rum las night (I drank a lot of rum last night)
- I eat peas an rice today (I ate peas 'n' rice today)
[edit] To Do
The past tense in Bahamian English can also be formed by combining:
- "did" with the present tense of the relevant Standard English verb:
- I did eat peas an rice yes'dee (I ate peas 'n' rice yesterday)
- 'We did see dem at the t'ea-et-er (We saw them at the theater)
- She did tell him already (She already told him)
- "done" with the past tense of the Standard English verb:
- I done told you
In this instance, "done" usefully indicates "already" but "done" may also be used in conjunction with the word "already" as in
- I done did dat already
However, it is also possible to combine "done" with the present tense of a Standard English verb to form the past tense in Bahamian Dialect:
- I done give him back he book
[edit] To Go
In addition, the word "gone" with the present tense or past tense of the relevant verb to form the past tense.
- He gone tell her she was fat (He told her she was fat)
- Why you gone do dat? (Why did you do that?)
[edit] To Be
Similarly, the word "been" can be combined with the present tense or past tense of the relevant verb to form the past tense.
- He gone tell her she was fat (He told her she was fat)
- Why you gone done dat? (Why did you do that?)
- Why you been do dat? (Why did you do that?)
- I been Eleuthera last week (I was in Eleuthera last week)
[edit] Pronunciation differences
[edit] th
The sound "th" is usually pronounced "d" or "t" as in
- dis (this)
- dat (that)
- T'ursdee (Thursday)
- t'irty (thirty)
- t'ink (think)
- t'ree (three)
[edit] oi
The sound "oi" often becomes "er" "ur"
- oil – url or erl
- boil – burl
- going – gern
[edit] v's and w's (Androsian Bahamians)
The pronunciation of v's and w's is often inverted.
- wash - vash
- well - vell
- Wednesday - vensdee or "wensdee"
[edit] Selected words and phrases
asue or asue draw
- noun: a form of savings where a group of people pay an agreed sum of money on a periodic basic (usually monthly) and each period one member of the group takes all the money that has been paid in (i.e. "draws" their share). This practice has been traced to a Yoruba credit system, similar schemes are common in other caribbean countries, eg. the susu in Barbados
benny
- noun: sesame seeds - as in Benny Cake, a popular snack. Origin: West African, still used in Ghana.
bey
- pronoun: boy (e.g. Bey wa ya say?)
biggety
- adjective: bossy
boonghee
- noun: a person's ass/arse
brought-upcy
- noun: the state of being well mannered. From "brought up well".
- also no broughtupcy meaning: ill-mannered, or not "well raised"
broke up or bruck up
- adjective: broken
- wheh you goin wit dese bruck up tings? (where are you going with those broken things?)
bubby
- noun: a woman's breast (but note also conch bubby being a part of a conch)
to buck up
- verb: to crash into something
to check
- verb: to care, (e.g. I ain' checking for them)
chile or chil'
- noun: child
chil'en chi'ren or chirrens
- noun: children
cock-eye
- adjective: cross-eyed
Conchy Joe (pronounced kunk-y joe)
- noun: white Bahamian (sometimes derogatory, originally used to refer to the poorest whites). Originally from Eleuthra where in breeding among whites who came over as Loyalists in Revolutionary War times did not want to mix with the black population. It has come to mean more that the person is white and dumb, but it is often very derogatory and dismissive.
crabby
- noun: vagina
cut hip, cut skin, cut ass
- noun: a beating or whipping
to cut [someone's] hip/ass
- verb: to give someone a spanking, beating or whipping
cut eye
- verb: to glare or look with disproval, a pan-creole expression, found in most atlantic creoles, eg. hatian coupezuex of the same meaning.
doggy
- noun: penis
grabbalicious/ gravillicious
- adjective: greedy. Origin: from the verb "to grab"
hip
- noun: a person's ass/arse
jam up
- crowded (similar to jam packed)
- (e.g. adjective: it was all jam up in there)
- (e.g. verb: he try to jam the car up in dat small spot)
jitney
- noun: a public transport bus. Origin: Standard English
to jook
- verb: to stab or to poke
- verb: (sexual, obscene) to penetrate
lowness
- noun: a low blow
- a person who makes the low blow is said to throw lowness
- a person who accepts the low blow is said to take lowness, alternatively a person can not take lowness or, in general, take no lowness
mussy
- must be (e.g. he mussy smart - he must be smart)
nanny
- noun: feces/faeces
- verb: to defecate (origin : From Ashanti Twi word of the same meaning)
nigga
- noun: man
- (While it certainly can be, this word is generally not used, in the Bahamas, as a racial slur)
nay
- negation: no (to not have) (e.g I ain gat nay fridge)
potcake
- noun:
- 1. a mutt or mongrel dog (i.e. a dog of no discernible breed)
- 2. (less commonly) rice that hardens at the bottom of a pot
quarm
- verb: to walk proudly
sip sip or to sip sip
- noun: gossip
- verb: to be gossiping (e.g. dey was sip sipping about you)
to spry or to be sprying
- verb: to rain lightly (i.e. spitting, sprinkling)
to study
- verb: to care or be concerned (e.g. I don't have you to study)
toonkie
- noun: vagina
yinna
- pronoun: you (plural). Origin: from the Yoruba word ‘yin’
to yuck
- verb: to pull (e.g. he yuck dat door open)
[edit] Expressions
ain't for that
- to disagree with something, usually a course of action (similar to I'm not up for that)
chile please!
- an expression of shock, amazment or displeasure.
- (e.g. Betty pregnant? well chile please!)
d'ain no true
- that ain't or isn't true
ain no ting or da ain nuttin
- its not imortant or dont worry
head ain't good!
- not too smart or a little crazy, as in "not right in the head"
- (e.g. don't pay too much attention to him, his head ain't good)
- (e.g. you better not mess with her, her head ain't too good)
kill me
- used when some thing is funny or shocking
- (e.g. Gal you is kill me when you do dat)
likes ta die
- similar to kill me
- (e.g. bey i likes ta die when da clown sta't tellin' he jokes.)
- (e.g. I come to dis house to dead!)
right chere/cha
- right here (e.g. da car was right chere)
well muddo or well mudda sick
- an exclamation of surprise, shock or amazement (used similarly to "oh my god" or "wow")
to yuck up [someone's] wexation (n.b. square brackets are editorial and used to indicate missing/replaceable material)
- to make someone angry
[edit] Further reading
- Holm, John A. and Alison Watt Shilling Dictionary of Bahamian English (Lexik House: Cold Spring, New York: 1982) ISBN 0936368039
[edit] See also
- List of dialects of the English language
- Caribbean English
- Gullah
- Virgin Islands Creole
- Jamaican Creole
- Antiguan Creole
- Saint Kitts Creole
