| Bahamian English | |
|---|---|
| Region | The Bahamas |
| Ethnicity | Bahamians |
Indo-European
| |
Early forms | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | baha1263 |
| IETF | en-BS |
Bahamian English is the set of varieties of the English language native to the Bahamas. English is the country's official language. Bahamian dialect is the vernacular speech of the Bahamas, spoken by the majority of the population, while Standard Bahamian English is the language of the professional class, used in the media and business and also the target written language in compulsory education.
These language varieties differ based on factors like education, regional origin, socioeconomic status, and to some extent race. [1] Due to the country's British colonial past, the standard written English for official use and education remains largely British-based with regard to grammar, spelling, and vocabulary. [2]
Because of the Bahamas' proximity to the United States as well as US cable media, the 21st-century Bahamian media industry and younger speakers may be more influenced in their pronunciations by General American English or Black American English. [3]
Bahamian dialect, as it is called in the Bahamas, is the first oral language of most Bahamians, resulting from intricate patterns of language contact of numerous English dialects and English creoles. [4] [5] Bahamian dialect's classification as a variety of English, a distinct creole (or former creole) language of its own, or a diverse mixture is a matter of ongoing linguistic investigation. [6] [7] [8] Additionally, regional, racial, and socioeconomic markers and differentiations exist in the country, making Bahamian English a complex set of varieties along a linguistic continuum. [1] [9] [10] [11]
The name Bahamian dialect is derived from the fact that it was originally thought to be a simple dialect of English. [8] However, beginning with the research of Allison Shilling in the latter part of the 20th century, it began to be suggested that Bahamian dialect was in fact a creole. This view has been revised over the years, and linguists and academics, now believe that what is commonly referred to as Bahamian dialect is a more complex set of varieties along a language continuum. [12] [13] Generally, the term Bahamian dialect excludes Standard Bahamian English. According to a 1990s study:
Although Bahamian Dialect appears to be a dialect of English, it is actually more a creole - though it has decreolized over the years. Its overall grammar is systematically different from that of standard English and yet the two share many of the same features. This serves to enhance the illusion that the two are different dialects of the same language. [13]
Bahamian dialect differs from English spoken around the world in its grammar, [14] pronunciation, and lexicon. Bahamian dialect is not a formally written language; [15] therefore, when expressed for example in text messages, it is written in a makeshift phonetic manner.
A minority of Bahamians speak a high-register or Standard Bahamian English that differs little in its grammar, idiom, and lexicon from other standard English varieties worldwide.
Phonology and pronunciation can differ widely and is influenced by a number of factors, including class, formal education (private vs government), national background (eg. expats), time abroad, and use of affected or learned accents (eg. certain professions). Code switching is also common. [16] [17]
Standard Bahamian English can be spoken with a Bahamian accent and, particularly among native Bahamians, may incorporate words, phrases, or expressions from Bahamian dialect.
British English is the target written language of the Bahamas. It is the language taught and learned in schools, although usually by teachers and pupils speaking otherwise speaking a more Bahamian creole variety. It is also the primary written language in business, Parliament, media and courts.
There is no central authority that prescribes official usage of English, for example, with respect to spelling, grammar, punctuation or style. However, local written English tends to favour British English spellings, eg. colour, defence, realise, programme, licence, catalogue, centre.
The dd/mm/yyy date format is generally, although not religiously, used in the Bahamas, as is the 12-hour clock.
Generally, the imperial system of measurements is used in the country, eg, to measure distances, weight, and heights. However, the metric system is also used in schools, eg, in science.
Not all Bahamians have the same accent, as the level of cultivation of every speaker's accent differs and is influenced by region and socioeconomic factors.
The phonology of Bahamian English is believed to be derived from those of Bermudian English, Canadian English, Cockney English, RP, Scottish English, Black American English, [18] and Gullah. [19] The English accent of both black and white Bahamians is traditionally non-rhotic, [20] due to being British-influenced, but often now rhotic among some younger speakers through American influences. [3]
Bahamian vowel phonetics are basically shared with both General American English and British Received Pronunciation, except the following may be distinct: [20] [21]
| Vowels | ||
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia diaphoneme | Bahamian English | Example words |
| /æ/ | [ä] | bath, man, trap |
| /ɑː/ | [ɑ] | blah, father |
| /ɒ/ | bother, lot, wasp | |
| [ɑː] (lower class), [ɔː] (higher class) | dog, loss, cloth | |
| /ɔː/ | bought, taught, saw | |
| /aɪ/ | [äː] (Black), [äi] or [ʌɪ] (White) | ride, shine, try |
| [äi], [ʌɪ] (also White) | bright, dice, pike | |
| /aʊ/ | [aː,ɑɔ] (Black), [aɛ,aø] (White) | now, ouch, scout |
| /eɪ/ | [eɪ>eː] | lake, paid, rein |
| /ɔɪ/ | [əi,ɔi] | boy, choice, moist |
| /oʊ/ | [ou>oː] (Black), [ɵu] (White) | goat, oh, show |
| Vowels followed by /r/ | ||
| /ɑːr/ | [ɑ̈ː] | barn, car, park |
| /ɪər/ | [eᴈ] | fear, peer, tier |
| /ɛər/ | bare, bear, there | |
| /ɜːr/ | [ɜː], [əi] (also Black) | burn, first, herd |
| /ɔːr/ | [oᴈ] | hoarse, horse, poor |
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. [22] In addition to British and American English influences, due to the country's colonial past, some vocabulary is derived from West African languages and Spanish influences. [23] Amongst British sources, Holm found a wide variety of influences, with 43% of British dialect words in Bahamian English coming from Scotland and the North Country, 14% from Ireland and 11% from the West Country. [24]
Some distinctive Bahamianisms include:
Bahamian English has also come under the influence of American English due to a boost in tourism after the country gained independence, along with the resulting diffusion of American media. [33] With its historical position as a former British colony but its proximity to the United States, Bahamian English tends to favour some British English terms, some American English terms, and also use a combination of both. For example:
| Words shared with American English | Words shared with British English |
|---|---|
| gasoline | socket |
| cell phone | maths |
| sweet pepper | |
| sidewalk | |
| candy | |
| chips | |
| ground beef | |
| hood, trunk, windscreen | bumper |
| parking lot | car park |
| trash | |
| sweater | |
| stroller, baby carriage | pram |
| cookie | biscuit |
| pants | |
| nursery | kindergarten |
| liquid paper | |
| aluminum | |
| vacation |
Although most Bahamians share some characteristic features, a number of structures are sensitive to ethnic, socioeconomic, and geographic factors.
Despite that fact most Bahamians refer to their mother tongue as Bahamian Dialect, linguists prefer to use the term Bahamian Creole English
British-based standard Bahamian English is the official language [...] Although standard Bahamian is non-rhotic, many Bahamians view r-full American pronunciations as "correct" and try to imitate them, even to the extent of introducing a hypercorrect /r/ in [...] Baharmas.
There are a number of linguistic and sociolinguistic issues relating to this archipelago. One question concerns the significance of different founder English varieties that range from British and American English dialects to Gullah and other creoles in the African diaspora. Few Caribbean varieties have such a full range of potential English input dialects.
We can conclude that the development of Bahamian, Gullah and AAVE did not involve the restructuring of English to as great an extent as did the development of creoles like Sranan and Jamaican, and that the most likely cause for this was the relatively high proportion of native speakers of English... Both creole-influenced dialect of English (AAVE) and an English-influenced variety of creole (Gullah) were brought into contact with a variety probably somewhere between the two (Bahamian) when the Loyalists brought their slaves to the Bahamas in the 1780s.
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.... No consensus exists, however, on the creole status (past or current) of Afro-Bahamians...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.
More important, it seems to me that a continuum, post-Creole or not, must have some systematic educational socio-economic correlates... it is extremely easy to find similarities between BBD and other Afro-American English. Although the fit is not perfect, the Bahamian features I have examined could place BBD on a continuum with both Black English and Caribbean Creoles
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.
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
spoken by c. 250,000 in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas
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
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.
In addition, there is a basilectal-acrolectal continuum with respect to creole features that applies primarily to the Afro-Bahamian population; however, this dimension tends to be more relevant to the grammatical description of Bahamian English than to phonology.
There is no official orthography for Bahamian and, thus, when it is in a written form, varying techniques of eye dialect are employed depending on the writer. These devices are far from uniform - even within the same piece of writing. It would therefore be useful to try to standardize the representation so as to reflect the differences in pronunciation without having to rely on a specialized knowledge of phonetics. However, this is a matter which will have to be addressed at a later date.
We should keep in mind that every speaker shows some variation in speech. In societies such as The Bahamas, people may easily code switch from one variety to another, without realizing that they are actually using two different language systems.
One further complication for such a description is that many Bahamians are skilled register-shifters and may have access to both creole and non-creole varieties. Thus, even defining speech norms for a single speaker is a complicated task
Songs and stories in the Bahamian dialect illustrate the "genetic relation existing between the tales and music of the Parallels from accessible collections of American, and of native African, folklore are indicated.
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