Bermudian English
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Bermudian English is a regional dialect of English found in Bermuda, a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic. Standard English is used in professional settings and in writing, while vernacular Bermudian English is spoken on more casual occasions.<ref>Ruth Thomas, "Notes on Bermudian Language", in "Bermuda connections", Smithsonian Folklife Festival. 2001. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2001.</ref> The Bermudian dialect began to develop following settlement in the early 17th century and retains traits of Elizabethan English.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="auto">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Petrone, Kelly. Welcome to the Bermuda Department of Tourism's Media Information Kit Template:Webarchive, Corbin & Associates, Ltd</ref> Bermudian Creole is also spoken in Bermuda, especially among younger Bermudians.<ref name=":2">Tom McArthur (ed.), Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. ISBN. pp. 116, 352.</ref><ref>Bourne, Stephen (2005). Black in British frame. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-8264-7898-6.</ref>
Casual observers tend to have difficulty in placing the Bermudian dialect, as it differs from those that are clearly British, American, or Caribbean; they also note that the accent tends to vary between individuals.<ref>Weller, Anthony. Celebration Bermuda Template:Webarchive, The New York Times, June 15, 2003</ref> It is often said to sound American or West Indian to a British ear, and quaintly British to American listeners.<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
CategorisationEdit
Often described as one of the least researched dialects of English, Bermudian English was never creolised and is technically a koiné — a dialect arising from contact between multiple varieties of the same language.<ref name=":1" /><ref>Cecilia Cutler, Stephanie Hackert and Chanti Seymour, "Bermuda and Bahamas", in Ulrich Ammon (ed.), Sociolinguistics. An International Handbook. 2nd ed. Vol. 3. Walter de Gruyter, 2006. Template:ISBN. p. 2066.</ref> It has been influenced by British and Irish Englishes, Caribbean Englishes (including early influence from Bahamian English and Turks and Caicos Creole, as well as later influence from Jamaican Patwah), North American Englishes, and Azorean Portuguese.<ref name=":3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> While some scholars have argued for its inclusion as a dialect of American English,<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":2" /> English writer and historian Rosemary Hall says it should be considered in a category of its own. Hall says, "While it's true that Bermudian English shares a range of words and sounds with British, American, and Caribbean Englishes, it also has many unique features, meaning it's probably most accurate to say that it's a dialect in a category of its own."<ref name=":1" /> Scholars have also noted that there are differences between the English used by white Bermudians, which may be closer to North American English; and that used by Black Bermudians, which may be closer to Caribbean English.<ref name=":3" />
The first detailed scholarly study of Bermudian English conducted by Harry Morgan Ayers in 1933, stated this type of speech "would create least remark, if indeed any, between, say, Norfolk, Virginia, and Charleston, South Carolina". Bermuda was settled from England, as an extension of the Colony of Virginia, Charleston and the Carolina Province were settled from Bermuda, and Bermuda retained close links with both into the 19th century. The start of Bermuda's tourism industry in the latter 19th century would see transport connections move to the North East of the United States, from where most of its visitors continue to come.<ref name=":4">Harry Morgan Ayres, "Bermudian English", American Speech 8:1 (1933), p. 4. Available online to JSTOR subscribers Template:Webarchive</ref>
In certain aspects of vocalization, some Bermudian English dialects are close to some versions of Caribbean English,<ref>Cecilia Cutler, "English in the Turks and Caicos Islands: A look at Grand Turk" in Contact Englishes of the Eastern Caribbean, ed. Michael Aceto and Jeffrey P. Williams. John Benjamins: 2003, pp. 51–80. Template:ISBN. p. 60.</ref> and some would bracket all these varieties to the broad region of the "English-speaking West Indies".<ref>John Wells, Accents of English 3: Beyond the British Isles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982. Template:ISBN. p. 561.</ref> West Indian workers arrived on the island from the 1900s, primarily working in construction, while Americans arrived due to a US airbase stationed on the island from 1941 to 1995.<ref name=":3"/> There is evidence to suggest that the St. David's dialect could actually be a decreolised English variety.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Azorean Portuguese influenced Bermudian English to a lesser degree, as a result of immigration after slavery was made illegal on the island in 1834.<ref name=":3" />
PhonologyEdit
The dialect's most evident characteristic is a variation in letter/sound assignment. The switching of {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}},<ref>Dependents information on Bermuda, United States. Dept. of the Air Force, 1956, page 3</ref> characteristic of many dialects in Southern England during the 18th and 19th centuries,<ref>On the Opposite Sides of the Continuum: Standard British English and Cockney. A Historical Outline of the Parallel Developments of the Two Varieties Template:Webarchive, Matteo Santipolo, Università degli Studi di Padova, Department of Linguistic and Literary Studies</ref> and of {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (similarly to the dialects of English speakers of Gaelic heritage), when combined with a front vowel, can both be seen in the title of a humorous glossary, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Bermudian Words).<ref>Peter A. Smith and Fred M. Barritt, Bermewjan Vurds - a Dictionary of Conversational Bermudian Template:Webarchive. Hamilton, Bermuda: Lizard Press, 1988.</ref>
Bermuda was administratively part of continental British America until the 1783 independence of the colonies that became the United States of America, and thereafter was part of British North America, within which it was grouped with the Maritimes until 1867, at which point, as an Imperial fortress, it was left out of the formation of the Canadian dominion and remained under the administration of the British Government, which increasingly grouped Bermuda for convenience with the British West Indian colonies (usually termed the West Indies and Bermuda or the Caribbean and Bermuda).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
It is unclear whether any similarities between Bermudian English and Newfoundland English date from this period, or pre-date it. The use of {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is interchangeable and vowels are often elongated. [θ] and [ð] turn into [f] and [v], respectively. Bermudian is also non-rhotic, like British English or the New York accent. There's a simplification of codas like 'best' and 'soft" become {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. Coda [ɫ] is semivocalized to [w].Template:Cn
Bermudian CreoleEdit
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Bermudian Creole is a creolized form of Bermudian English (similar and related to the English-based creoles: Caymanian English, Turks and Caicos Creole, and San Andrés–Providencia Creole). It is a dialect of Jamaican Patwah, which is also spoken in Bermuda, especially among Bermuda's younger generations.<ref name="auto"/><ref name=":0"/>
Bermudian Creole is significantly influenced by Jamaican Patwah and shares many of the same words such as Bredren (Friend), Di (The), Gwine (Going), and Wahm (What's happening).<ref>Cassidy, F. G., Le Page, R. B. (2007). Dictionary of Jamaican English. (Second ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 148, 217. https://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Jamaican-English-Frederic-Cassidy/dp/9766401276</ref><ref>Chang, Larry (2014). Biesik Jumiekan: Introduction to Jamaican Language. Washington DC: Chuu Wod (Gnosophia Publishers). pp. 195, 199, 205. https://www.amazon.com/Biesik-Jumiekan-Introduction-Jamaican-Language/dp/0977339181</ref> Which is due to a shared heritage, and the close familial ties that many Bermudians have to Jamaica, such as Premier David Burt (politician),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Wayne Caines (MP),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and former Premier Ewart Brown.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Similarly Bermuda has also produced a number of internationally renowned Dancehall and Reggae artists such as Mishka (musician), and Collie Buddz, who are both native Creole speakers.
Common Bermudian WordsEdit
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| lang}} | Good friend |
| lang}} | At the back of / Behind |
| lang}} | Bermuda / Bermudian |
| lang}} | Friend |
| lang}} | Boy |
| lang}} | Wow |
| lang}} | Chatting / Gossiping / Time-wasting |
| lang}} | Nice / Cool / Awesome |
| lang}} | To handle in a rigorous manner |
| lang}} | The |
| lang}} | Bermuda |
| lang}} | T-shirt / Sweater / Outfit |
| lang}} | Junkanoo |
| lang}} | Food / Meal |
| lang}} | Angry / Irritable / Bad-tempered |
| lang}} | Going |
| lang}} | Daydreaming |
| lang}} | Soda |
| lang}} | I understand |
| lang}} | Party |
| lang}} | Sausage |
| lang}} | What's happening |
| lang}} | Worthless / Wreckless |
| lang}} | Scold / Reprimand |
| lang}} | Youth |
<ref name=":1"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (Shared words: Bermudian / Jamaican) *