Bahamas Language
The english spoken is known as bahamian english which is a product of british english coupled with rich linguistic influences rooted in the african languages of the slave trade.
Bahamas language. For instance if you hear day clean they mean daybreak and first fowl crow means the first cry a rooster makes in the morning. These idioms are typical of bahamian english. A profile of the languages in bahamas.
Bahamian creole or bahamian english which is spoken by most people and haitian creole which is spoken by about 25 of the population. English is the official language and is widely spoken. How many languages are spoken in the bahamas.
Here the locals combine british english with language taken from their native african irish or scottish heritage. Foreign languages spoken in the bahamas. The official language of the bahamas is english.
Bahamian slang is intermingled with american english as well as british words and slang. Please note that these slang language is also widely spoken in the turks caicos islands neighbours of the bahamas. Because of this combination you will hear a unique language found only on the islands of the bahamas.
Laurente gibbs a bahamian writer and actor was the first to coin the latter name in a poem and has since promoted its usage. A very colorful and interesting sound. The language has also been shaped by diverse settlers and british colonialism.
Many people speak an english based creole language called bahamian dialect known simply as dialect or bahamianese. More about the bahamas. See language lists maps statistics and more.
One is an english based creole language and the other is a french based creole language. The official language of the bahamas is english but they also speak a local dialect called bahamianese the bahamian dialect is based based on the west country england accents along with south hiberno english dialects with strong influences from west african languages. With a basic knowledge of english it is possible to communicate with the bahamians since most of them understand the language.
The bahamas is a top tourist destination attracting visitors from all over the world. Language in the bahamas. Until 1973 the bahamas like many other caribbean nations was a commonwealth and property of the british empire.
The original inhabitants the lucayan indians survived through fishing and a developed trading system with cuba and haiti flourishing until 1492 when the bahamas were first discovered by europeans under columbus.
