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Barbados

Languages

Description

English is the official language of Barbados, and is used for communications, administration, and public services all over the island. In its capacity as the official language of the country, the standard of English tends to conform to the vocabulary, pronunciations, spellings, and conventions akin to, but not exactly the same as, those of British English. It is used in print, in the media, in the judicial system, in government, and in day-to-day business.

A regional variant of English referred to locally as Bajan is spoken by most Barbadians in everyday life especially in informal settings, in music, or in social commentary. In its full-fledged form, Bajan sounds markedly different from the Standard English heard on the island. The degree of intelligibility between Bajan and general English depends on the level of creolised vocabulary and idioms. A Bajan speaker may be completely unintelligible to an English speaker from another country. Bajan is influenced by other Caribbean English dialects.

• Bajan or Barbadian Creole - English-based creole language with African and British influences spoken on the Caribbean island of Barbados. Around 1,000 people use English as their main language and 286,000 use Bajan as their main language.
• There was no indigenous language on Barbados

Note: When West African captives were taken to Barbados and enslaved, they were forced to speak English. But they didn't learn it very well and the result was Bajan. It was the how the slaves communicated with each other without their masters understanding. Bajan continues to evolve as new idioms, jargon, expressions, and terminology are added. It is not a written language, only spoken. There are dialectal variations across the island. How To Speak Like A Bajan - The Ultimate Guide

Word List(s)

• The A-Z of Barbados - includes some Bajan words
• How to translate Bajan English into Standard English - contains most common expressions
• 10 Wise Bajan Sayings

Although most words in Bajan Creole are English in origin, many words are borrowed from West African languages. The largest portion contributed to Bajan is from the Igbo language as shown in the list below.

wunna

You all from the Igbo word unu, which means you (plural).

obeah

From Igbo obia, 'doctoring, mysticism, or oracle'.

Bim

From Igbo bé mụ́, 'my place, people, kindred', common nickname for Barbados

de, deh

From Igbo dị̀, 'present in'

eye-water

calque from ányá mmírí (eye + water), tears

duppy

From Twi adope.

Cou-cou

Part of the local national dish, but comes from "Fou Fou" in Africa.

nyam

(Pronounced "ng-yam" or "yamm") Means to eat ravenously or greedily, as in "Don't yamm the food like that boy!" – In Manjaku (language spoken in Guinea-Bissau) and in Pulaar it means to chew (pronounced "nyam"); it also means chew in Luo (language spoken in East Africa).

jook/juk

From the Fula word jukka 'poke, spur'

soso

From the Igbo language word soso 'only'

hard-head

From ísí íké, (head + hard, strength), 'obstinate'

Alphabet and Pronunciation

Pronouns in Bajan Creole do not diverge too far from Standard English, but there are differences. As with other similar creoles, Bajan does not differentiate subject and object pronouns, nor possessive pronouns, except in the case of the first person singular. Another difference is the word for the plural you, which is wunna, similar to the Jamaican word unnu / unna or Bahamian yinna. Here is a list of pronouns in Bajan creole:

Singular			Plural
Bajan	Standard		Bajan	Standard
I/me/my	I/me/my		we	we/us/our
yuh	you/your		wunna	you all/your
he she it	he/him/his she/her it/its		dem	they/them/their

The word "yuh" is interchangeably pronounced /ju/ or /jə/.

Language Aids and Dictionaries

Speaking Aids

• How To Speak Like A Bajan - The Ultimate Guide

Dictionaries

• Barbados Pocket Guide - Dictionary

Additional Resources

• Blackman, Margot. Bajan proverbs. Montreal: n.p., 1982. Available at: WorldCat.