Bahamian dialect, as it is commonly called in the Bahamas,[5][6] suffers from limited research, possibly because it has long been assumed that it is simply a variety of English.[7] In actuality, the language of Bahamians exists on a continuum ranging from more standard Bahamian English at one end to a unique creole language at the other end.[8] One study identified four distinct Bahamian speech varieties ranging from less to more prestigious: basilectal, mid-mesolectal, upper-mesolectal, and acrolectal.[9]
The creole (or basilectal) varieties tend to be more prevalent in certain areas of the Bahamas.[10] Islands that were settled earlier, or that have a historically large Black Bahamian population, have a greater concentration of individuals exhibiting creolised speech; the dialect on the other hand is most prevalent in urban areas.[11] Individual speakers have command of lesser and greater dialect forms. Still, it may be spoken by both Black and White Bahamians, sometimes in slightly different forms.
The debate as to whether Bahamian dialect is a variety of English or a distinct creole language is a fairly recent one having started at the beginning of the 1980s. As it was, for a long time, considered to be a simple variety of English, very little research was carried out on it compared to other Caribbean English varieties.[13]
There was no consensus that Bahamian English might include a creole as late as the 1970s, as attempts to categorise the language, in terms of lexicon, phonology and syntax, overlooked variation.[14] A 1978 dissertation was the first to suggest that Afro-Bahamian dialect might be a creole existing somewhere between Black American English and "creoles such as Gullah, Jamaican and Guyanese Creoles".[14] Linguists and academics now maintain that what is commonly referred to in the Bahamas as Bahamian dialect is a continuum[14][8] ranging from an English dialect on one end to an English-based creole on the other end, with regional and sociocultural markers and differentiations along the spectrum. The dissertation suggested that Bahamian English was a creole that had been decreolised,[14] however, there is some evidence of the reverse: that is that creolisation of Bahamian English increased when American Loyalists arrived in the Bahamas with African slaves.[15] The dissertation covered only some settlements on a few islands and also assumed that Bahamian dialect split along ethnic lines.[14] Bahamian dialect is more varied than once thought.[14] Linguists Becky Childs and Walt Wolfram note that "few Caribbean varieties have such a full range of potential English input dialects" as Bahamian English.[16]
What Bahamians refer to as Bahamian dialect, academics often refer to as a creole,[13][17]:18 though no consensus exists.[18] Both the mesolectal and basilectical varieties are referred to as Bahamian dialect,[6] while research into educated (or acrolectal) varieties of Caribbean English (or varieties that differ little from English) is still lacking when compared with basilectal varieties that differ significantly.[17]:18
Pronunciation
There is a tendency for speakers of BCE to drop /h/ or, in a hypercorrection, to add it to words without it so harm and arm are pronounced the same. The merger occurs most often in the speech of Abaco and north Eleuthera.[19]
Some speakers have merged /v/ and /w/ into a single phoneme and pronounce words with [v] or [w] depending on context (the latter appearing in word-initial position and the former appearing elsewhere).[20] Outside of White acrolectal speech, speakers have no dental fricatives and English cognate words are usually pronounced with [d] or [t] as in dis ('this') and tink ('think').[19] Other characteristics of Bahamian Creole English in comparison to Standard English include:[19]
Merger of the vowels of fair and fear into [ɛə]
Free variation of the "happy" vowel between [ɪ] and [i].
The vowel of first merges with that of fuss (into [ʌ]) among some and with the vowel of foist (into [ʌɪ]) in others.
As the creole is non-rhotic; /r/ is not pronounced unless it is before a vowel. For example, "Hard" turns in to "Haad" with the "a" being lengthed in the absence of the rhotic.
Final clusters are often simplified, especially when they share voicing (gold > gol, but not milk > *mil).
Pronouns in Bahamian Creole English are generally the same as in Standard English. However, the second person plural can take one of three forms:
yinna,
y'all or
all a ya
Possessive pronouns in BCE often differ from Standard English with:
your becoming ya
his or hers becoming he or she
and
their becoming dey.
For example, das ya book? means 'is that your book?'
In addition, the possessive pronouns differ from Standard English:[citation needed]
English
Bahamian
mine
mines
yours
yawnz (s.) or yawz (s.)
yinnas (pl.)
his
he own
hers
har own
ours
ah own
theirs
dey own/ders
When describing actions done alone or by a single group, only.. one is used, as in only me one sing ('I'm the only one who sang') and only Mary one gern Nassau ('Mary is the only one who is going to Nassau')
Verbs
Verb usage in the BCE differs significantly from that of Standard English. There is also variation amongst speakers. For example, the word go:
Similarly, verb "to do" has numerous variations depending on tense and context:
I does eat conch erry day ('I eat conch every day')
Wa you does do? ('what kind of work do you do?')
"He gone dat way" (used while pointing in a direction, means that is where the person went).
In the present tense, the verb "to be" is usually conjugated "is" regardless of the grammatical person:
I am – I is or "Ise” (pronounced "eyes")
You are – You is or "You's", pronounced "use"
We are – We is or "We's", pronounced "weez"
They are – Dey is or "Dey's"
The negative form of "to be" usually takes the form "een" I een gern ('I am not goin')
While context is often used to indicate tense (e.g. I drink plenny rum las night = 'I drank a lot of rum last night'), the past tense can also be formed by combining "did", "done", "gone", or "been" with the verb:
She tell him already ('she already told him')
I dun (done) tell you
He tell her she was fat ('he told her she was fat')
Why you do dat? ('why did you do that?')
I bin (been) Loutra last week ('I went to Eleuthera last week')
Lexicon
In 1982, Holm and Shilling released a 228 page Dictionary of Bahamian English containing over 5,000 words, including words both familiar to other English speakers as well as purely Bahamian terms.
Bahamian Creole English contains links with British and American English, West African languages, and Spanish. Holm and Shilling also attempted to identify links between Bahamian terms to other English-based creoles, like Gullah.[11]
Examples
asue: a cooperative savings system traced to a Yoruba custom of éèsú or èsúsú;[21] similar schemes are common in other Caribbean countries, e.g. the susu in Barbados.
benny: sesame seed, grown locally and used in the popular treat benny cake[22] found in various forms throughout the African Diaspora.
Jook: to stab or poke, possibly from the West African word of the same meaning.[23] This word is found in many Caribbean creole languages.
↑ {{cite journal |last1=Donnelly |first1=Janet L. |title=Basilectal Features of Bahamian Creole English |journal=International Journal of Bahamian Studies |year=1997 |publication-date=2008-02-18 |volume=9 |pages=17–34 |doi=10.15362/ijbs.v9i0.28 |doi-access=free |url=https://cob.journals.publicknowledgeproject.org/index.php/files/article/view/28 |publisher=University of The Bahamas |language=en |quote-page=21 |quote=Bahamian Creole English (or Bahamian English Creole) is popularly known in The Bahamas as Bahamian Dialect.
1 2 Donnelly, Janet L. (1997). "Basilectal Features of Bahamian Creole English". International Journal of Bahamian Studies. 9: 17–34. doi:10.15362/ijbs.v9i0.28. ISSN2220-5772. Bahamian Creole English (or Bahamian English Creole) is popularly known in The Bahamas as Bahamian Dialect... A good many Bahamians speak a more mesolectal variety (which is still referred to as Bahamian Dialect) but there remain a large number of basilectal speakers.
↑ McPhee, Helean (2006). "Is Bahamian Dialect a Creole?". www.cavehill.uwi.edu. Archived from the original on 2011-06-25. Retrieved 2025-08-31. In comparison to many of the English-based creoles of the Caribbean region, limited research has been conducted on what Bahamians commonly refer to as "Bahamian Dialect." This lack of research on "Bahamian Dialect" is perhaps due to the fact that for many years, Bahamians have assumed that this language is simply a variety of English.
1 2 Donnelly, Janet L. (1997). "Basilectal Features of Bahamian Creole English". International Journal of Bahamian Studies. 9: 17–34. doi:10.15362/ijbs.v9i0.28. ISSN2220-5772. Within The Bahamas there exists a language continuum ranging from the basilectal through mesolectal to acrolectal, each variety impacting on the others. A good many Bahamians speak a more mesolectal variety (which is still referred to as Bahamian dialect) but there remain a large number of basilectal speakers. The basilect is quite distinct from the acrolect and contains most of the same features that are attributed to many of the other English-based creoles of the Caribbean and its environs.
↑ Schreier, Daniel; Trudgill, Peter; Schneider, Edgar W.; Williams, Jeffrey P. (2010-03-04). The Lesser-Known Varieties of English: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-1-139-48741-2. Albury (1981)... found variation of simple past marking within Afro-Bahamian, differentiating four distinct groups of speakers: basilectal, mid-mesolectal, upper-mesolectal, and acrolectal.
↑ Donnelly, Janet L. (1997). "Basilectal Features of Bahamian Creole English". International Journal of Bahamian Studies. 9: 17–34. doi:10.15362/ijbs.v9i0.28. ISSN2220-5772. Some of these features are pervasive throughout the Bahamian archipelago while others tend to be more restricted to the southeastern islands, which have been historically more removed - physically, economically and socially - from the mainstream.
1 2 McPhee, Helean (2006). "Is Bahamian Dialect a Creole?". www.cavehill.uwi.edu. Archived from the original on 2011-06-25. Retrieved 2025-08-31. In comparison to many of the English-based creoles of the Caribbean region, limited research has been conducted on what Bahamians commonly refer to as "Bahamian Dialect." This lack of research on "Bahamian Dialect" is perhaps due to the fact that for many years, Bahamians have assumed that this language is simply a variety of English.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Schreier, Daniel; Trudgill, Peter; Schneider, Edgar W.; Williams, Jeffrey P. (2010-03-04). The Lesser-Known Varieties of English: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-1-139-48741-2. The assumption that Afro-Bahamian English is monolithic is, in fact, false, but continues to this day despite the fact that Albury (1981), in a Master's thesis, found variation of simple past marking within Afro-Bahamian, differentiating four distinct groups of speakers: basilectal, mid-mesolectal, upper-mesolectal, and acrolectal. The assumption that Afro-Bahamian is monolithic is further complicated by the fact that there are few clear ethnic boundaries in the Bahamas
↑ Schreier, Daniel; Trudgill, Peter; Schneider, Edgar W.; Williams, Jeffrey P. (2010-03-04). The Lesser-Known Varieties of English: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. p.161. ISBN978-1-139-48741-2. Despite these difficulties impeding concise description, some generalities can be made about Bahamian English. For one, no study of Anglo-Bahamians has found evidence of past creolization (e.g. Shilling 1978; Reaser 2004). No consensus exists, however, on the creole status (past or current) of Afro-Bahamians. Shilling (1978) concludes a creole history and subsequent decreolization whereas, at least in one community on Abaco Island, Reaser (2004) finds no compelling evidence for a creole past. Hackert (2004) convincingly demonstrates that the language variety spoken in the urban centre of Nassau is best thought of as a creole, though it is not conclusive whether creolization is an older or current process. Generally speaking, islands that were settled earlier and historically have had higher percentages of Afro-Bahamians are more likely to have residents whose speech exhibits creole-like features.
Reaser, Jeffrey (2010), "Bahamian English", in Schreier, Daniel; Trudgill, Peter; Schneider, Edgar W.; Williams, Jeffrey (eds.), The Lesser Known Varieties of English: An Introduction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.158–170
Wells, John Christopher (1982), Accents of English: Beyond the British Isles, vol.3, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
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