NOTES-Linguistic Features of Caribbean Creole English

Text. p. 365-373
Caribbean Creole English has distinctive features- It is an English Lexicon Creole Language.
There are many English words that make up the language. Also the syntactic structure and the
rules of grammar makes it a language.

Lexical Features- Vocabulary- Mainly derived from English and also other languages-
Europe, Africa, Asia. Some Creole words are English words but they mean something different
in English.
Examples- text p. 367
In Caribbean Creole English some English words have been compounded to create nouns,
adjectives and verbs not found in English. Many are for body parts eg. Eye-water, hand- middle
etc. Text p. 367-368
This compounding is a feature of West African lexical ordering.
Hand- middle - Fanti-“nsa mu”- hand inside
Eye-water - Twi – “eni nsu” – eye water
Compound adjectives- “hard-ears”- stubborn / “craven boy”-greedy – p. 368
Reduplication- Base words are repeated to form new words. It is a dynamic and economic
function of Creole English which enables it to be utilized in ways not possible in the English
language.
Examples of reduplication- Bahamian Creole – “back- back” – to reverse.
Jamaican Creole- “gyaal-gyaal”(many girls)- It can also signal a plural quality.
It can be used as intensifying adjectives to indicate degree or intensity with the addition of the
vowel suffices “I” to the base form of the word. So the expression “freni freni” does not mean
many friends but to be very friendly. Expression created by reduplication can function as both
nouns and adjectives. Text.p. 368

Phonological Features- The sound system of Caribbean Creole English is not identical to
that of English. In territories which have a Post-creole language continuum, like Jamaica,
Guyana, Antigua, St.Kitts and Montserrat, there will be aspects of the sound system that are
independent of English.
Example: There is no difference in Creole pronunciation between “t” and “d” and between “th”
and “d”. The English word , “this” is pronounced “dis”, “with” pronounced “wid” and “these”
pronounced “dese”.
Final consonance clusters tend to be devoiced for some words in Caribbean Creole English. So
“becomes” is pronounced “become”. Sometimes the final consonant ending is deleted altogether
as with “child” which is pronounced “chil”.

Colloquial Aphesis- The omission of unstressed syllables. Initial unstressed syllables are lost in
pronunciation so “against” becomes “gainst”. In Jamaican Creole English, the consonants “q”
and “c” are rarely pronounced in the basilect, instead they are replaced by the consonants “k”
and “s”. So “call” becomes “kaal”. p.369
Jamaican Creole English is not stressed- timed instead it is syllable –timed. This means each
syllable receives equal emphasis- Jamaica (Jamaaka), daughter (dawta).

Epenthesis (E-pen-thesis)- This is a process in which pronunciation is completed by inserting a

vowel between either of the two consonants “m” or “n”. This is a unique pronunciation found
only in Jamaican Creole for words in which the consonant “s” precedes the consonant “m” or
“n”. The word “Smith” becomes “Simit” with the insertion of the vowel “I”.
Another feature of Jamaican Creole is the alternation in the pronunciation of the consonances “v”
and “b” in certain words. So, “never” becomes “nebba” and “shove” becomes “shub”. This may
have resulted because of the influence of West African Languages. In the Niger- Congo language
family (Twi and Yoruba) there is no “v” sound as there is in English. The “v” sound is
interpreted as “f” or “b”.

Grammatical Features
Possession-
In Caribbean Creole English to show possession “fi” is used. In English it is the apostrophe “s”.
Pluralization- Caribbean Creole English plurals are signaled the use of the word “dem”.
The word “dem” can also be used as a pronoun “Dem a come” (They are coming).
The word “dem can also be used to show possession “A fi dem house” (It is their house).
The word “dem” can also be used as demonstrative pronoun “Dem boy ready now” (Those boys
are ready now).
Copula Verb Construction- Linking verb
In English, a copula links the subject of a sentence to the predicate. It is derived from the verb
“to be”. Creole English can have a zero copula structure.
English- “I am happy”
Creole- “Mi happy”.
English – “Jane is sick”
Creole- “Jane sick.”
Active / Passive Verbs

Active voice describes a sentence where the subject performs the action stated by the verb. In
passive voice sentences, the subject is acted upon by the verb.

Harry ate six shrimp at dinner. (active)

At dinner, six shrimp were eaten by Harry. (passive)
The saltwater eventually corroded the metal beams. (active)
The metal beams were eventually corroded by the saltwater. (passive)
Creole English verbs do not have a distinct passive form. The verb “drink” is normally active in
English but in the Creole English expressions, “ Dat can drink”- Passive. The verb “out” passive
in English. Active in Creole- “A out mi try fi out di fire but it wouldn’t out.”
Indirect Speech- “Say” is used to indicate indirect speech – “John tell mi sey…”
The Past Tense- Verb forms do not change in Caribbean Creole English to signal the past tense.
The verb “did” can be used to indicate a past action- “Him did see mi…”
Gender Distinction – “Him” may be used to refer to both male and female. The absence of sex
discrimination is a feature of West African languages.
A disappearing feature of the basilect variety of Jamaican Creole English which is reported to
be observed in Belize is the use of the masculine third person pronoun “him” to refer to both
male and female. It may even be used to refer to the neuter gender as well. Eg. “Im have twin
last week”.
Habitual Action- The auxiliary verb “does” is used to signal habitual action in territories like
Barbados, Bahamas, Guyana and the Eastern Caribbean. Eg. “We does eat late every evening.”
In Jamaican Creole the “does” is absent. Eg. “John go a river everyday.”
Guyanese Creole- “John a / does go a river everyday.”

Future Tense- The future marker most commonly used in territories like Belize, Jamaica, and
the Bahamas is the word “wi” but in the Eastern Caribbean the preferred marker is “go” which is
alternated with “goin” and “gwain” .Eg. Jamican Creole (basilect) “ Paul wi lef fi merka neks
wiik.”
Syntax
In Creole English the ordering and placement of phrases and sentences are used to highlight and
emphasize different aspects of meaning. In Jamaican Creole, the focus of each sentence shifts
based on their structuring. Eg. “Is Pam eat de mango” the focus is on Pam the doer of the action,
but in the sentence “Is de mango Pam eat” the focus shifts from the subject Pam to the object
“mango” as the focus of the sentence.
The Linguistic History of the Caribbean- An Overview
Text. p. 261-267
Pre- Columbian Indigenous Languages
-There were people living in the Caribbean before Columbus came. They were called the
Amerindians because they are the earliest inhabitants of the Americas.
-According to Ervin Rouse, there are :Tainos (classic)- Kalinagos, the Mayans
Settlement of the Tainos in the Americas
ClassicTainos
-Found in parts of Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. Also the eastern tip of
Cuba.
-They are called classic because they were not developed culturally nor linguistically.

The Eastern Tainos

-Found in US Virgin Islands and Leeward Islands.
The Western Tainos
-Found in Jamaica, Central Cuba and the Bahamas.
-Considered to be peaceful and docile although this is not necessarily so in some cases, eg. In
Hispaniola.
-The Settlement of the Caribs (Kalinagos)
- Island Caribs- Found in the Windward Islands and Puerto Rico.

The Spanish Linguistic Heritage p. 261-267

The Columbian Exchange

The Spanish who first colonized the Caribbean and the Americas were responsible for the
decimation of Taino culture and ultimately Taino language in what Alfred W. Crosby (1972) call
the Columbian exchange. By this cross cultural exchange, the Spaniards retained both cultural
and linguistic artifacts from their interaction with the Tainos. The Tainos, were not so fortunate
as they succumbed to the effects of overwork, malnutrition, epidemics of introduced diseases,
outmarriage and rebellion according to Crosby. By 1524 the Tainos had ceased to exist as a
separate linguistic and ethnic group.
-When the Europeans came these people had a language, however, the Europeans called them
preliterate because they did not have a written language. Even though their language wasn’t
written down it served their needs for communicating. The ancestral language that has been
retained is Lokono and this is found in Guyana. The Island Caribs still speak Igneri.
-Europeans influence Amerindian culture and vice versa.
- Many Amerindian words entered into the Spanish language eg. Batey the land around a
sugar factory or a country mansion.
- The word “bohios” – small rural Spanish houses which were derived from the name of
the rectangle houses used by the Tainos.
- They ate cassava from the Tainos- casaba
- Corn, canoe (canoa), hammock (hamaka)
- Words entered the English language from the Amerindians : barbeque, savannah,
cannibal, cacique, hurricane, hurucan- god
- When the Spanish came they had negroes among them called Ladinos. They were
brought by the Portuguese and Spanish.
- The Africans and the Kalinagos created a pidgin in order to communicate which is called
Garifuna., which exists today and it is being spoken by the group called the Black
Caribs. Garifuna is a combination of the African and the Amerindian language.
- Spanish is a language, which is still spoken in Caribbean territories where it is not spoken
daily. Eg. Spanish is a major language spoken in Trinidad and a second language in
Jamaica.
- In Cuba, Yoruba is still spoken, this language originated in Nigeria.
- There is a mixture of Yoruba and Spanish language called Lucumi.
- The Spanish have this religion called Santaria. This religion is found in New York and
Miami.
- The Spanish influence can still be found in Jamaica: Port Maria, Savanna- La- Mar ( the
plains by the sea), Ocho Rios, Rio Bueno
- When you go to the market and ask for “brata” / “brawta” it comes from the Spanish
word which means cheap.
- The word maroon comes from a Spanish word “Cimarron” which means wild.
- The first maroons came about when this man called Cromwell captured Jamaica and the
remaining slaves were freed. The English tried to capture them for over 100 years.
- Today the maroons have their own lifestyle which is different from mainstream society.
The Dutch Linguistic Heritage
-The Dutch came to the Americas to look for salt to preserve their fishing industry.
-The linguistic presence of the Dutch is limited or minimal because they did not come to
colonize the natives but to trade, unlike the English who wanted vast amounts of land for
settlement.
-The Dutch mainly settled in the Lesser Antilles. Dutch is the official language of Surinam, the
Netherlands Antilles and the Dutch Virgin Islands. Dutch based creole is spoken in these
territories also in the Berbice and Essequibo regions of Guyana. Everywhere else the natives
speak Spanish. In the Netherland Antilles, English and Spanish are major second languages.
The decline of Dutch as a language in the region is illustrated in the case of Papiamentu- A
creole based language spoken in the Netherland Antilles. Papiamentu is a combination of the
Amerindian vocabulary with the inclusion of Dutch and English words.
Today Papiamentu is classified as a Spanish / Portuguese based creole rather than a Dutch based
one.
THE LINGUISTIC HISTORY OF THE CARIBBEAN- THE ENGLISH-p.291-296
INFORMATION FOR THE MAP
Assignment -On a map of the Caribbean colour code and identify the different language
communities. Create a table detailing in groups the language community, official language,
creole language, indigenous language, ancestral languages where they exist.

The Social Political and Cultural Role of Language

Text.p.123-128
Each speaker of a language unconsciously accepts and participates in the cultural ideologies
(beliefs, attitudes, and values systems) of that language.
-Turn Taking-In face-to-face discourse, participants alternate between being producers and
interpreters of the spoken text. This alternation of input during a conversation is known as turn
taking.
-Power- in discourse has to do with those who hold positions of superiority, controlling, and
constraining the contributions of those who have less power in the verbal transaction.
-Directive Speech Acts- involves orders and questions which the dominant participant in the
discourse may use.

Language,Discourse and Power:

In recent times, oppressed and once subjugated peoples have been asserting their own
accounts of events which differ sharply from imperial accounts. They reject the notion of
a single legitimate account of the past which is referred to as a master narrative,
accepting instead that there are histories of a place instead of one privileged history.
Gender and Languge: There is an ongoing debate as to whether language is inherently
sexist and whether there is such a thing as a genderlect, which is different lexical and
grammatical choices that men characteristically make as opposed to those made by
women.