Turks and Caicos Creole

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Turks and Caicos Creole
Caicosian Patwah
Turks and Caicos Patwah
Native to Turks and Caicos Islands
Native speakers
49,309 (2023) [1]
English Creole
Official status
Regulated by not regulated
Language codes
ISO 639-3 tch
Glottolog turk1310
Linguasphere 52-ABB-ao

Turks and Caicos Creole, or Turks and Caicos Patwah, also called Caicosian Patwah, is an English-based creole spoken in the Turks and Caicos Islands; a West Indian territory in the Lucayan Archipelago.

Contents

The Turks and Caicos Island Creole variety has not been thoroughly studied, but is a dialect of Jamaican Patwah which shares many of the same words such as Aks (Ask), Dis (This), Gyal (Girl), and Mosi (Must be); [2] which is due to the fact that the Turks and Caicos Islands were formally a part of Jamaica for over 114 years (1848 - 1962), and shares a common Cromanty heritage with Jamaica. [3] [4] [5] Caicosian Patwah has also been influenced by Bermudian Creole English, as the islands were initially settled by Bermudian salt-rakers following the Taíno genocide and British colonization, and were a de facto part of Bermuda for over 126 years (1673 - 1799). [6] [7] The language is also reportedly mutually intelligible with Bahamian Creole and as of (2023) the number of speakers of Caicosian Patwah is approximately 49,309. [8] [9]

Words

WordMeaning
Aks *Ask
ChileUsed to represent emphasis on a sentence (well chile he een tell me nuttin bout that)
Chyl / Chyln **Child / Children
Dis *This
Een **aren't (They een goin today), or isn't (That een right), or don't (I een no nuttin bout that), or haven't
Gyal *Girl
Kech *Catch
Kottarugl *Dance
Mesple Mammee apple
Mosi *Must be
Ripsaw Mento [10] / Burru [11]
ScotchBurn / Scratch
Switcha Lemonade / Limeade / Soft drink
Tingz *Things
TareklyTomorrow
Val / Vel **Well (usually the 'W' and 'V' are exchanged with each other, e.g. vednesday: Wednesday, weil: veil)

[12] [13] [14] [15]

(Shared: Turks & Caicos / Jamaican Patwah) *


(Shared: Turks & Caicos / Bermudian Patwah) **

See also

Further reading

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References

  1. Turks and Caicos Creole at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Cassidy, F. G., Le Page, R. B. (2007). Dictionary of Jamaican English. (Second ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 253, 305.
  3. Lucas, C. P. (1905). ″A Historical Geography of the British Colonies.″ Vol. 2. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 134.
  4. Cawley, Charles (2015). ″Colonies in Conflict: The History of the British Overseas Territories.″ Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 323 - 326.
  5. Keegan, William F., Hofman, Corinne L. (2017). ″The Caribbean before Columbus.″ Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 151 - 195.
  6. "Gold Bermudians - The Unheard Voice of Mary Prince". In Her Words - The Unheard Voice of Mary Prince. Dr. Dana Selassie. 2024. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  7. Cawley, Charles (2015). ″Colonies in Conflict: The History of the British Overseas Territories.″ Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 315 - 320.
  8. "Statistics Department | Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands". www.gov.tc. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
  9. Ethnologue report for Turks and Caicos Creole English
  10. "Me and the Kingston Drummers(my drummer bros)". Kingston Drummers. Clarky di handdrummist. 2020. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  11. "Drummers link up in maroon town Portland, Jamaica". Portland Drummers. Clarky di handdrummist. 2020. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  12. "Jamaican Patwah Dictionary - Learn Patwah".
  13. "Bermemes - Learn Bermudian words and phrases".
  14. "Bermewjan Vurds".
  15. "The Caribbean Dictionary".