| Also Known As: Barbadian Creole English
Description:
Bajan (occasionally called Barbadian Creole or Bajan Patois) or Barbadian Dialect, is an English-based creole language spoken by persons on the West Indian island of Barbados. Bajan uses a mixture of West African idioms and expressions along with British English to produce a unique Barbadian/West Indian vocabulary and speech pattern. Bajan is similar and distinguishable from the dialects of neighbouring Caribbean islands, as many of the other Caribbean islands are based on Irish- or Scottish-based English pronunciation such as Jamaican Patois.
Bajan uses a mixture of British English and West African syntax, with much of the pronunciation of words sharing similarities with the lilt of the West Country dialects of England. though it is becoming more American than British. Due to emigration to Province of Carolina, Bajan has also influenced American English and the Gullah language spoken in the Carolinas. Regionally Bajan has ties to Belizean, jamaican patois and Guyanese Creoles. Bajan was first created when West African slaves were brought to the island and forced to speak English, with an existing West African understanding of language semantics. Bajan later became a means of..... full article at Wikipedia |
Location of Bajan Language Speakers
<googlemap zoom="3" width=400 height=300 lat="13.159433" lon="-59.529963" type="map">
13.159433, -59.529963, Barbados</googlemap>
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