Caribbean English

Caribbean English is a broad term for the dialects of the English language spoken in the Caribbean and Liberia, most countries on the Caribbean coast of Central America, and Guyana. Caribbean English is influenced by the English-based Creole varieties spoken in the region, but they are not the same. In the Caribbean, there is a great deal of variation in the way English is spoken. Scholars generally agree that although the dialects themselves vary significantly in each of these countries, they all have roots in 17th-century English and African languages.

Overview

The English in daily use in the Caribbean include a different set of pronouns, typically, me, meh, or mi, you, yuh, he, she, it, we, wi or alawe, allyuh or unu, and dem or day. I, mi, my, he, she, ih, it, we, wi or alawe, allayu or unu, and dem, den, deh for "them" with Central Americans.

Other features:

• Consonant changes like h-dropping or th-stopping are common.
• Some might be "sing-songish": Trinidad, Bahamas
• Rhotic: Bajan (Barbadian), Guyanese
• Influenced by Irish English dialects: Jamaican
• Influenced by African American Vernacular English dialects: Liberian or Liberian English
• An accent influenced by any of the above, as well as Spanish and indigenous languages: Central American English dialects such as the Belizean Creole (Kriol), or the Mískito Coastal Creole and Rama Cay Creole spoken in Nicaragua

However, the English used in media, education and business and in formal or semi-formal discourse approaches the internationally understood variety of Standard English, but with an Afro-Caribbean cadence.

Samples

Standard English: Where is that boy? /hwɛər ɪz ðæt bɔɪ/

• Barbados: 'Wherr iz dat boi?' ([hwer ɪz dæt bɔɪ]) (Spoken very quickly, is choppy, rhotic, and contains glottal stops)
• San Andrés and Providencia: 'Wer iz dat boi at?' ([hwer ɪz dæt bɔɪ at])
• Jamaica: 'Weh dah bwoy deh deh?' ([weh da buoy de]) (sporadic rhoticity; Irish and Scottish influence); or 'Wey iz dat boi?' [weɪ ɪz dæt bɔɪ] (non-rhotic; similar to the accents of south western England and Wales))
• Belize: 'Weh iz dat bwoy deh?' ( [weh ɪz dɑt bɔɪ deɪ]) (British and North American influence, deeper in tone)
• Trinidad: 'Wey iz dat boy?'
• Bahamas: 'Wey dat boy iz?' [Some would more likely say bey instead of boy]
• Guyana and Tobago: 'Weyr iz daht boy/bai?' (urban) or 'Wey dat boy dey?' (rural) ([weɪɹ ɪz dɑt baɪ]) (Many variations dependent on urban/rural location, Afro or Indo descent or area, and competency in standard English; Sporadic rhoticity )
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: 'Wey dah boy deh deh?' ([weɪ ɪz dæt bɔɪ deɪ]) (Non-rhotic)
• Belize, Nicaragua, the Bay Islands, Limón, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands: 'Wehr iz daht booy?' ([weɹ ɪz dɑt buɪ]) (Distinct, sporadic rhoticity, pronunciation becomes quite different from "Creole" pronunciation.)
• Dominica: 'Weh dat boy nuh?'/'Weh dat boy be nuh?' (Spoken harshly and with a deep tone)

The written form of the English language in the former and current British controlled Caribbean countries conforms to the spelling and grammar styles of Britain.

See also

References

• Freed, Kenneth (May 11, 1993). "Regional Outlook Caribbeanspeak The areas languages range from Creole to Patois, from English to French. And therein lies a growing dispute involving power and equality". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-08-22. 
• Aceto, Michael (2004). "Eastern Caribbean English-derived language varieties: morphology and syntax". A handbook of varieties of English: a multimedia reference tool, vol. 2 Editors: Edgar Werner Schneider, Bernd Kortmann: 439. ISBN 978-3-11-017532-5. 

External links

• Linguistic map of Caribbean English dialects from Muturzikin.com
• Caribbean English (British Library)
• Cross-Referencing West Indian Dictionary
• Bajan (Barbadian) dialect in NYC at the Wayback Machine (archived July 9, 2011)

Articles related to Caribbean English Dialects and accents of Modern English by continent Europe United Kingdom England   Varieties by common name Barrovian Black Country Brummie Bristolian Cheshire Cockney "Mockney" Cornish Cumbrian East Anglian East Midlands Essex Estuary Geordie Kentish Lancastrian Mackem Mancunian Multicultural London Norfolk Northern Pitmatic Potteries Received Pronunciation Scouse Southern Suffolk Sussex West Country "Mummerset" West Midlands Yorkshire   Varieties by geographic location East of England Essex Norfolk Suffolk East Midlands North Cheshire Cumbria [Barrow] Lancashire Manchester Merseyside Sunderland Tyneside Yorkshire South Kent Thames Estuary [Multicultural London] Sussex West Country Bristol Cornwall West Midlands Black Country Birmingham Stoke-on-Trent Northern Ireland Mid Ulster Ulster Scots Scotland Highlands Lowlands Wales Cardiff Gower Ireland Dublin D4 South-West Cork Supraregional Ulster Channel Islands Alderney Guernsey Jersey Elsewhere Gibraltar Isle of Man Malta North and South America United States   Varieties by common name African American Vernacular Appalachian Baltimorese Boston Brooklynese Cajun California Chicago / Detroit Chicano Delaware Valley General American Great Lakes High Tider Miami Midland Midwestern New England New Mexican New York New York Latino Old Virginia Ozark Pacific Northwestern Pennsylvania Dutch Philadelphia Pittsburghese Rhode Island Southern Texan Upper Midwestern Western Vermont Yat Yeshivish Yooper   Varieties by geographic location Delaware Valley / Mid-Atlantic Philadelphia Baltimore Midland Pittsburgh Midwest Inland North / Great Lakes Upper Midwest Upper Michigan New England Boston / Maine Rhode Island Vermont New York City New York Latino North South Acadiana Appalachia Miami New Orleans Down East Ozarks Texas West California New Mexico Pacific Northwest Canada Aboriginal Maritimer Cape Breton Lunenburg Newfoundland Ottawa Valley Twang Pacific Northwest Quebec Caribbean Bahamas Barbados Dominican Republic Jamaica Puerto Rico Trinidad Elsewhere Bermuda Falkland Islands Guyana Oceania Australia Aboriginal General Strine Southern Torres Strait Western Elsewhere Fiji New Zealand Palau Solomon Islands Other continents Africa Cameroon Kenya Liberia Malawi Namibia Nigeria Sierra Leone South Africa Uganda Asia Bangladesh Brunei Burma or Myanmar Hong Kong India Malaysia Nepal Pakistan Philippines Singapore Sri Lanka English-speaking world Click on a coloured area to see an article about English in that country or region   Further links Articles English-speaking world History of the English language British Empire English in the Commonwealth of Nations Lists List of countries by English-speaking population List of countries where English is an official language   Countries and territories where English (or English Creole) is the national language or the native language of the majority Africa Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Americas Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda The Bahamas Barbados Belize Bermuda British Virgin Islands Canada Cayman Islands Dominica Falkland Islands Grenada Guyana Jamaica Montserrat Saba Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands United States United States Virgin Islands Europe Guernsey Ireland Isle of Man Jersey United Kingdom Oceania Australia New Zealand Norfolk Island Pitcairn Islands   Countries and territories where English is an official language, but not the majority first language Africa Botswana Cameroon The Gambia Ghana Kenya Lesotho Liberia Malawi Mauritius Namibia Nigeria Rwanda Sierra Leone Somaliland South Africa South Sudan Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe Americas Puerto Rico Asia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Hong Kong India Pakistan Philippines Singapore Europe Gibraltar Malta Oceania American Samoa Cook Islands Fiji Guam Kiribati Marshall Islands Micronesia Nauru Niue Northern Mariana Islands Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tokelau Tuvalu Vanuatu Dependencies shown in italics.