| Also Known As: Saint Kitts Creole English,Kittitian Creole English,Leeward Caribbean Creole English,Montserrat Creole English,Anguillan Creole English,Kokoy Creole English
Description:
Antiguan Creole is a Creole language spoken in Antigua and Barbuda.
There are subtle differences in Antiguan Creole's usage by different speakers, and Antiguans often use it in combination with Standard English. The tendency to switch back and forth from Creole to Standard English often seems to correlate with the class status of the speaker. Persons of higher social status tend to switch between Standard English and Antiguan Creole more readily, due to their more extensive formal education in the English-language school system. Creole usage is more common, and is less similar to Standard English, as speakers descend the socioeconomic ladder.
In the years before Antigua and Barbuda's independence (in 1981), Standard English was widely spoken. However, after independence, perhaps as an avenue of defiance, Antiguans came to think that speaking dialect was a part of their culture and therefore acceptable, even preferable.
Many of the words used in the Antiguan dialect are derived from English or African origins. The dialect was formed when slaves owned by English planters imitated the English of their masters but pronounced it with their own inflections. This can be easily seen in..... full article at Wikipedia |
