Anguilla Languages

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Anguilla

Languages

Description

Today most people in Anguilla speak a British-influenced variety of standard English, which is the official language. Other languages are also spoken on the island, including varieties of Spanish, Chinese and the languages of other immigrant communities. However, the most common language other than Standard English is the island's own English-lexifier Creole language. Although classified as a dialect of Leeward Caribbean Creole English spoken in Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Montserrat due to a common British colonial history, it is actually closer to the British Virgin Islands and Saint Martin varieties of Virgin Islands Creole. The number of speakers of Anguillan Creole is below 10,000. Anguillan Creole does not have the status of an official language.

Below we have rules words and phrases that are common locally. Here are four quick rules when trying to understand Anguillian Language (Dialect): *Anguillian Language 101 (WhatWeDoInAnguilla)

• Rule 1: Subject Verb Agreement?! There is no need for that! A statement or question might sound odd to the ears at first but once you realise that grammar weighs little in dialect, you’ll get used to it.
• Rule 2: Fewer words and/or letters the better! In dialect, there’s no need to be long-winded so you might notice that a few words or letters are missing from sentences. For example, “You goin’ down dere?” or “I goin’ yes”.
• Rule 3: “Does” does have great importance in Anguillian dialect. It is used to denote actions that are habitual. For example, “He does get on my nerves”. This means that the person in question often times provokes the speaker.
• Rule 4: Knowing the little words is fundamental.
  • The = De/Di
  • That = Da/Dat
  • There = Dere/Dey
  • You/Your = Yuh
  • It = Ti
  • Us = We
  • I; A/an; Of = Uh (pronounced like “uh” but it is not always used in the written form”)
  • His = He
  • Her = She

Word List(s)

Virgin Islands Creole

• Virgin Islands English Creole Word List (YellowPigs)
• Virgin Islands Creole-to-English translations (Live Journal)

Alphabet and Pronunciation

Virgin Islands Creole

• Virgin Islands Creole Grammatical structure and pronunciation (Wikipedia)

Language Aids and Dictionaries

• How To Speak Anguillian (Facebook)
• Dictionary of Anguillian language (Stanford)

Virgin Islands Creole

• Virgin Islands Creole Grammatical structure and pronunciation (Wikipedia)
• Seaman, George A. Virgin Islands dictionary. St. Croix, V.I.: Crown Printing, 1976. Available at: WorldCat.

Additional Resources

• Anguillian Language 101 (WhatWeDoInAnguilla)
• Anguilla (Everyculture)