{{Short description|English as spoken in Barbados}} {{more citations needed|date=January 2019}} {{distinguish|text=Bajan Creole, an English-based creole language}} {{Infobox language | name = Barbadian English | altname = Bajan English | familycolor = indo-european | nativename = | pronunciation = | region = Commonwealth Caribbean | speakers = | date = | fam2 = Germanic | fam3 = West Germanic | fam4 = North Sea Germanic | fam5 = Anglo-Frisian | fam6 = Anglic | fam7 = English | fam8 = Caribbean English | ancestor = Proto-Indo-European | ancestor2 = Proto-Germanic | ancestor3 = Old English | ancestor4 = Middle English | ancestor5 = Early Modern English | stand1 = | script = English alphabet | nation = | minority = | isoexception = dialect | lc1 = | ld1 = | lc2 = | ld2 = | linglist = | lingua = | guthrie = | ietf = en-BB | image = | imagecaption = | map = | mapcaption = | coordinates = }} {{English language}} {{IPA notice}} '''Barbadian''' or '''Bajan English''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|eɪ|dʒ|ən}} {{respell|BAY|jən}}) is a dialect of the English language as used by Barbadians (Bajans) and by Barbadian diasporas.<ref name="Schneider"> Schneider, E.W., and Kortmann, B. " A Handbook of Varieties of English: Morphology and syntax ". Mouton de Gruyter, 2004. In ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Dptsvykgk3IC],'' </ref>
==Pronunciation== {{see also|English vowels}} Barbadian English is fully rhotic and full of glottal stops. One example of Barbadian English would be the pronunciation of ''departments'', which is {{IPA|en|dɪˈpaːɹʔmənʔs|generic=yes}}. It is also notable, in comparison with standard American or British English, for the first vowel in ''price'' or ''prize''.<ref name="Schneider"> Schneider, E.W., and Kortmann, B. " A Handbook of Varieties of English: Morphology and syntax ". Mouton de Gruyter, 2004. In ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Dptsvykgk3IC],'' </ref><ref name="Straw"> Michelle Straw, Peter L. Patrick. " Dialect acquisition of glottal variation in /t/: Barbadians in Ipswich ". Language Sciences 29 (2007) 385–407. In ''[https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2006.12.025],'' </ref>
* The realization of the {{smallcaps2|KIT}} vowel {{IPAc-en|ɪ}} in Barbadian English is pretty much the same as in American English, the default {{IPAblink|ɪ}}. * The {{smallcaps2|DRESS}} vowel {{IPAc-en|ɛ}} is {{IPAblink|ɛ}}. * The {{smallcaps2|TRAP}} vowel {{IPAc-en|æ}} is usually {{IPAblink|a}}. * The {{smallcaps2|LOT}} vowel {{IPAc-en|ɒ}} is usually {{IPAblink|ɑ}} or {{IPAblink|ɒ}}. * The {{smallcaps2|STRUT}} vowel {{IPAc-en|ʌ}} is the same as in the US English, {{IPAblink|ʌ}}. * The {{smallcaps2|FOOT}} vowel {{IPAc-en|ʊ}} is {{IPAblink|ʊ}}. * The {{smallcaps2|FLEECE}} vowel {{IPAc-en|iː}} is {{IPAblink|iː}}. {{sc2|HAPP<u>Y</u>}} is best identified as an allophone of this phoneme, thus {{IPA|/ˈhapiː/}}. * The {{smallcaps2|FACE}} diphthong {{IPAc-en|eɪ}} varies by region and education/class: it manifests in educated speech generally as {{IPAblink|eː}} or sometimes {{IPA|[eɪ]}}, and in rural and uneducated speech as the vowel {{IPAblink|ɛ}}. * The {{smallcaps2|PALM}} vowel {{IPAc-en|ɑː}} is mostly {{IPAblink|aː}}. The {{sc2|BATH}} diaphoneme is mostly to be identified with this vowel (see trap-bath split) * The {{smallcaps2|THOUGHT}} vowel {{IPAc-en|ɔː}} is {{IPAblink|ɑː}} or {{IPAblink|ɒː}}. * The {{smallcaps2|GOAT}} diphthong {{IPAc-en|əʊ}} is generally {{IPAblink|oː}} or {{IPA|[oə]}}. * The {{smallcaps2|NEAR}} {{IPAc-en|ɪər}} and {{smallcaps2|SQUARE}} {{IPAc-en|ɛər}} sequences are both {{IPA|[eː{{IPAplink|ɹ}}]}}, resulting in the near-square merger. * The {{smallcaps2|START}} sequence {{IPAc-en|ɑr}} is {{IPA|[aːɹ]}}. * The {{smallcaps2|NORTH}} sequence {{IPAc-en|ɔr}} is usually {{IPA|[ɑːɹ]}} or {{IPA|[ɒːɹ]}}. * The {{smallcaps2|FORCE}} sequence {{IPAc-en|oʊr}} and the {{smallcaps2|CURE}} sequence {{IPAc-en|ʊər}} are both usually {{IPA|[oːɹ]}}. * The {{smallcaps2|NURSE}} vowel {{IPAc-en|ɜːr}} is {{IPAblink|ɤ}}. * The {{smallcaps2|GOOSE}} vowel {{IPAc-en|uː}} is mostly {{IPAblink|uː}}. * The {{smallcaps2|PRICE}} diphthong {{IPAc-en|aɪ}} is generally {{IPA|[ʌɪ]}}. * The {{smallcaps2|CHOICE}} diphthong {{IPAc-en|ɔɪ}} is either {{IPA|[ʌɪ]}} or {{IPA|[oɪ]}}. * The {{smallcaps2|MOUTH}} diphthong {{IPAc-en|aʊ}} is {{IPA|[ʌʊ]}}. * The final {{smallcaps2|LETT<u>ER</u>}} vowel {{IPAc-en|ər}} is {{IPA|[ɤ]}}. * The final {{smallcaps2|HORS<u>E</u>S}} vowel {{IPAc-en|ᵻ}} is {{IPA|[ɪ]}}. * The final {{smallcaps2|COMM<u>A</u>}} vowel {{IPAc-en|ə}} is {{IPAblink|ə}}. * The {{smallcaps2|TRAP}} and {{smallcaps2|LOT}} vowels are not merged in Barbadian English. However the vowels of {{smallcaps2|LOT}}, {{smallcaps2|CLOTH}}, and {{smallcaps2|THOUGHT}} are generally merged.
==See also== * Barbados
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{English dialects by continent}} {{English official language clickable map}}
Barbados Barbados English
{{Barbados-stub}} {{English-lang-stub}}