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Part of
Language Contact in Africa and the African Diaspora in the Americas: In honor of John V. Singler
Edited by Cecelia Cutler, Zvjezdana Vrzić and Philipp Angermeyer
[Creole Language Library 53] 2017
► pp. 123–144

Bahamian Creole English

Yesterday, today and tomorrow

Following Singler (1990, 2008), I study the sociohistorical development of The Bahamas from 1492 to present day in order to identify possible influences on the language varieties spoken in The Bahamas, especially Bahamian Creole English (BahCE). I conclude that creolisation of BahCE did not occur until American loyalists arrived with their slaves in 1783, which suggests that BahCE did not develop from a pidgin, a point that Alleyne (1971) and Singler (2006: 161–162) believe to be true for most Caribbean creoles. Moreover, the situation in The Bahamas provides additional evidence that sociohistorical factors play an important role during both creolisation and decreolisation in that the language variety that developed on each island was influenced by its specific social history.

Keywords: Bahamian Creole English, creolisation, decreolisation, stylistic variation
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The Bahamian society
  • 3.Sociolinguistic history of The Bahamas
    • 3.1Early settlement: 1492–1782
    • 3.2The loyalists and post-slavery days: 1783-early 1960s
    • 3.3Black majority rule and independence: 1967–present
  • 4.Decreolisation and the (post)-creole continuum
    • 4.1Overview
    • 4.2Decreolisation in the Bahamian context
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 12 July 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/cll.53.06sey
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