Bahamian English

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Bahamian English
Region The Bahamas
Early forms
Language codes
ISO 639-3 –
Glottolog baha1263
IETF en-BS
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Bahamian English is English spoken in The Bahamas and by the Bahamian people. The standard for official use and education is largely British-based with regard to spelling, vocabulary, and pronunciation. [1] However, Bahamian English also contains a unique pronunciation system and certain vocabulary, along a scale with the local Bahamian (Creole) dialect. Moreover, perceptions of a standard are more recently changing toward American English; in particular, 21st-century news-industry and younger Bahamian speakers are often more influenced in their pronunciations by General American English or sometimes even African-American Vernacular English. [1]

Contents

Pronunciation

The phonology of Bahamian English is believed to be derived from those of Bermudian English, Cockney English, RP, Scottish English, African-American Vernacular English, and Gullah. [2] The English accent of both Black and White Bahamians is traditionally non-rhotic, [3] due to being British-influenced, but often now rhotic among some younger speakers. [1]

Bahamian vowel phonetics are basically shared with both General American English and British Received Pronunciation, except the following may be distinct: [3] [4]

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

There is little or no distinction between the [v] and [w] sounds in Bahamian English. [5] The contrast is often neutralized or merged into [v], [b] or [β], so village sounds like [wɪlɪdʒ], [vɪlɪdʒ] or [βɪlɪdʒ]. The final example is especially common among White speakers. This also happens in Vincentian, Bermudian and other Caribbean Englishes.

The cheer-chair merger of vowels is common, combining certain vowels before /r/.

Dental fricatives are usually changed to alveolar plosives (th-stopping):

The sound /h/ is often inserted into words that are not spelled with the letter H, leaving "up" to be pronounced as [hʌp]. However, it is also frequently dropped from words that are spelled with an H, so "harm" is left to be pronounced as [ɑ̈ːm]. [6] [7]

The sibilant fricatives /z/ and /ʒ/ may be devoiced and pronounced as [s] and [ʃ] respectively.

Grammar

The grammar is not so different from the US ( as per Zaka ).

When emphasizing a word in Bahamian English, it is common to repeat it. [8] (the car was going fast → the car was going fast fast)

The past participle is not indicated using the verb "have" in Bahamian English. Instead, it is indicated with the verb "be", especially among white speakers. (I have already washed the clothes → I am already washed the clothes) It can also be omitted and replaced by "done", with the verb left in its present-tense form. (I done wash the clothes) This practice is common among both white and black speakers. [6]

For some speakers (particularly black speakers), the present progressive is written using the present participle preceded by "does be" (I does be washing the clothes). Among white speakers, it is more common to just use "be" when talking in the third person. (They be washing the clothes) [6]

The possessive indicator 's is often omitted. [6]

Questions retain the same syntax as statements; the subject and verb do not switch their positions. (What is she doing? → What she is doing?) Thus, the use of "ain't" is highly important to distinguish an interrogative sentence from a declarative sentence. [6]

Vocabulary

Much of Bahamian terminology is derived from British English, West African languages, and Spanish, due to the country's colonial past. [8] 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. [6]

Some distinctive Bahamianisms include:

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Ammon, Ulrich; Dittmar, Norbert; Mattheier, Klaus J. (2006). Sociolinguistics: An International Handbook of the Science of Language and Society. Walter de Gruyter. p. 2069. ISBN   978-3-11-018418-1. 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.
  2. ↑ Reaser, Jeffrey; Torbert, Benjamin (2008-12-19). Bahamian English: morphology and syntax. De Gruyter Mouton. doi:10.1515/9783110197181-101. ISBN   978-3-11-019718-1.
  3. 1 2 Wells, J. C. (1982). Accents of English. Vol. 3: Beyond the British Isles. Cambridge U. Press. pp. 565–570, 589–590. ISBN   978-0-521-28541-4.
  4. ↑ Childs, Becky; Wolfram, Walt (2004). "Bahamian English: Phonology". In: A handbook of varieties of English, 1. pp. 438-441.
  5. ↑ Childs, Becky; Wolfram, Walt (2008). "Bahamian English: phonology". In Schneider, Edgar W. (ed.). Varieties of English. Vol. 2: The Americas and the Caribbean. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. pp. 239–255.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Linguistic Features".
  7. ↑ Aceto, Michael (2020-12-31), "Eastern Caribbean English-derived language varieties: phonology", A Handbook of Varieties of English, De Gruyter, pp. 481–500 (486), doi:10.1515/9783110197181-033, ISBN   978-3-11-019718-1 , retrieved 2024-10-06
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Smith, Rogan (19 July 2021). "16 Bahamian Words You Need to Know | This Bahamian Gyal".
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Storr, John Frederick (1964). Ecology and Oceanography of the Coral-Reef Tract, Abaco Island, Bahamas. Geological Society of America. ISBN   978-0-8137-2079-1.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "15 Phrases to Know Before Visiting the Bahamas". 22 December 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Bahamian Slang | This Bahamian Gyal". 27 May 2018.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Bahamas Slang Bahamian Speak Talk". Archived from the original on July 6, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Bahamas words and phrases 2022 | 15 fun sayings and quotes". 30 June 2018.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Talkin Sex Stuff". 21 March 2013.
  15. 1 2 3 "Ting's to Say".
  16. 1 2 How to Buy and Sell Real Estate in the Bahamas: Insider's Guide. Matthew Simon. 12 March 2012. ISBN   9781438250519.
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