Misplaced Pages

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Bajan English" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Bajan English" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Barbadian or Bajan English (/ˈbeɪdʒən/ BAY-jən) is a dialect of the English language as used by Barbadians (Bajans) and by Barbadian diasporas.

Pronunciation

Barbadian English is fully rhotic and full of glottal stops. One example of Barbadian English would be the pronunciation of departments, which is IPA: [dɪˈpaːɹʔmənʔs]. It is also notable, in comparison with standard American or British English, for the first vowel in price or prize.

• The realization of the KIT vowel /ɪ/ in Barbadian English is pretty much the same as in American English, the default [ɪ].
• The DRESS vowel /ɛ/ is [ɛ].
• The TRAP vowel /æ/ is usually [a].
• The LOT vowel /ɒ/ is usually [ɑ] or [ɒ].
• The STRUT vowel /ʌ/ is the same as in the US English, [ʌ].
• The FOOT vowel /ʊ/ is [ʊ].
• The FLEECE vowel /iː/ is [iː]. HAPPY is best identified as an allophone of this phoneme, thus /ˈhapiː/.
• The FACE diphthong /eɪ/ varies by region and education/class: it manifests in educated speech generally as [eː] or sometimes , and in rural and uneducated speech as the vowel [ɛ].
• The PALM vowel /ɑː/ is mostly [aː]. The BATH diaphoneme is mostly to be identified with this vowel (see trap-bath split)
• The THOUGHT vowel /ɔː/ is [ɑː] or [ɒː].
• The GOAT diphthong /oʊ/ is generally [oː] or .
• The NEAR /ɪər/ and SQUARE /ɛər/ sequences are both , resulting in the near-square merger.
• The START sequence /ɑːr/ is .
• The NORTH sequence /ɔːr/ is usually or .
• The FORCE sequence /ɔːr/ and the CURE sequence /ʊər/ are both usually .
• The NURSE vowel /ɜːr/ is [ɤ].
• The GOOSE vowel /uː/ is mostly [uː].
• The PRICE diphthong /aɪ/ is generally .
• The CHOICE diphthong /ɔɪ/ is either or .
• The MOUTH diphthong /aʊ/ is .
• The final LETTER vowel /ər/ is .
• The final HORSES vowel /ɪ/ is .
• The final COMMA vowel /ə/ is [ə].
• The TRAP and LOT vowels are not merged in Barbadian English. However the vowels of LOT, CLOTH, and THOUGHT are generally merged.

See also

• Barbados

References

1. ^ Schneider, E.W., and Kortmann, B. " A Handbook of Varieties of English: Morphology and syntax ". Mouton de Gruyter, 2004. In ,
2. Michelle Straw, Peter L. Patrick. " Dialect acquisition of glottal variation in /t/: Barbadians in Ipswich ". Language Sciences 29 (2007) 385–407. In ,

v t e English-speaking world
Further links Articles English-speaking world History of the English language British Empire English in the Commonwealth of Nations Anglosphere Lists List of countries by English-speaking population List of countries where English is an official language   Countries and territories where English is the national language or the native language of the majority Africa Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Americas Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda The Bahamas Barbados Belize Bermuda British Virgin Islands Canada Cayman Islands Dominica Falkland Islands Grenada Guyana Jamaica Montserrat Saba Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands United States United States Virgin Islands Europe Guernsey Ireland Isle of Man Jersey United Kingdom Oceania Australia New Zealand Norfolk Island Pitcairn Islands   Countries and territories where English is an official language, but not the majority first language Africa Botswana Cameroon Eswatini The Gambia Ghana Kenya Lesotho Liberia Malawi Mauritius Namibia Nigeria Rwanda Sierra Leone Somaliland South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe Americas Puerto Rico Asia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Hong Kong India Pakistan Philippines Singapore Europe Gibraltar Akrotiri and Dhekelia Malta Oceania American Samoa Cook Islands Fiji Guam Kiribati Marshall Islands Micronesia Nauru Niue Northern Mariana Islands Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tokelau Tuvalu Vanuatu Dependencies shown in italics.

This Barbados-related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e

This article about the English language is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e

• Dialects of English
• Caribbean English
• Languages of Barbados
• Barbados stubs
• English language stubs