Saint Kitts Creole
Encyclopedia
Saint Kitts Creole is a dialect of Leeward Caribbean Creole English spoken in Saint Kitts and Nevis
by around 40,000 people. Saint Kitts Creole does not have the status of an official language.
Saint Kitts Creole has much the same history as other English Caribbean creoles. Its origin lies in 17th century West African slaves, who, when brought to the islands to work on sugar plantations, were forced to quickly learn British English because their labour required it. Their English was mixed with some West African words and, in some cases, West African language structure. The French, who occupied the island from 1625 to 1713, had only a small impact on the creole
spoken today, unlike in the formerly French islands of Dominica
and Saint Lucia
, which speak a French-based rather than English-based creole.
Saint Kitts Creole today is spoken on the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis (although Nevisians refer to the language as 'Nevisian' or 'Nevis creole'), mainly in rural areas, and is spoken especially heavily in Capesterre, Christ Church Nicola Town, Cayon, and Nevis. Today's use of the creole involves a higher proportion of standard English, possibly due to access to foreign media. Usually, only residents in rural areas and Nevis are strong creole users, although mesolectal forms of the language are employed by the majority of the population. Popular Jamaican culture and music have also played a role, as Jamaican idioms are being used more and more in the Saint Kitts creole, as well as throughout the region.
Saint Kitts pronunciation is similar to the pronunciation on neighbouring islands of Antigua and Montserrat, but with slight differences that are mostly noticeable only to residents of the Leeward Islands.
Questions ending in "is it" have the "is it" replaced with "y be" (i bee); e.g. who is it? - who y be?, what is it? - wha y be?
Words used to intensify adjectives, such as "very" and "extremely", are rarely used. To replace "very", the adjective in question is repeated. E.g: "de gyul look bad bad" - the girl looks very ugly. To replace "extremely" the word "so tail" is used. "So tail" is placed at the end of the adjective. e.g: "de gyul look bad so tail" - the girl looks extremely ugly. The use of "so tail" indicates a very strong emphasis or intensification.
A unique aspect of Saint Kitts Creole is to end certain sentences in the speech with the words "burdee", "poopa" or "daady buh". The meaning of the phrase varies with context, but they tend to be used to emphasise the sentence they attach to. e.g.: "Tall poopa" - not at all(extreme). "Hush buhdee" - hush buddy (used when extremely annoyed).
"Is dey dem pikni does wash dem skin." - There is where the children bathe (their skin).
"Unno kno who e tis u a play wit u kno.." - You do not know with whom you are messing.
Saint Kitts and Nevis
The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis , located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island nation in the West Indies. It is the smallest sovereign state in the Americas, in both area and population....
by around 40,000 people. Saint Kitts Creole does not have the status of an official language.
Saint Kitts Creole has much the same history as other English Caribbean creoles. Its origin lies in 17th century West African slaves, who, when brought to the islands to work on sugar plantations, were forced to quickly learn British English because their labour required it. Their English was mixed with some West African words and, in some cases, West African language structure. The French, who occupied the island from 1625 to 1713, had only a small impact on the creole
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
spoken today, unlike in the formerly French islands of Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
and Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia is an island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 620 km2 and has an...
, which speak a French-based rather than English-based creole.
Saint Kitts Creole today is spoken on the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis (although Nevisians refer to the language as 'Nevisian' or 'Nevis creole'), mainly in rural areas, and is spoken especially heavily in Capesterre, Christ Church Nicola Town, Cayon, and Nevis. Today's use of the creole involves a higher proportion of standard English, possibly due to access to foreign media. Usually, only residents in rural areas and Nevis are strong creole users, although mesolectal forms of the language are employed by the majority of the population. Popular Jamaican culture and music have also played a role, as Jamaican idioms are being used more and more in the Saint Kitts creole, as well as throughout the region.
Saint Kitts pronunciation is similar to the pronunciation on neighbouring islands of Antigua and Montserrat, but with slight differences that are mostly noticeable only to residents of the Leeward Islands.
Pronunciation
Saint Kitts Creole is pronounced similarly to the creoles of neighbouring islands, namely Antigua and Montserrat. Usually only long time residents in the islands can mark the slight differences. In rural areas and in Nevis, aʊ (as in "house") is usually pronounced [oʊ] (as in "hose").Grammar
In Saint Kitts creole, words are rarely pluralized by adding an ending to the word. The word is usually followed by the word 'dem' to indicate the pluralization. e.g. de gyul dem - "the girls." Note that if the standard English form of the word is not pluralized with an 's', e.g. children, the plural form of the word in Saint Kitts creole will be the standard English plural form followed by 'dem', e.g. "children dem."Questions ending in "is it" have the "is it" replaced with "y be" (i bee); e.g. who is it? - who y be?, what is it? - wha y be?
Words used to intensify adjectives, such as "very" and "extremely", are rarely used. To replace "very", the adjective in question is repeated. E.g: "de gyul look bad bad" - the girl looks very ugly. To replace "extremely" the word "so tail" is used. "So tail" is placed at the end of the adjective. e.g: "de gyul look bad so tail" - the girl looks extremely ugly. The use of "so tail" indicates a very strong emphasis or intensification.
A unique aspect of Saint Kitts Creole is to end certain sentences in the speech with the words "burdee", "poopa" or "daady buh". The meaning of the phrase varies with context, but they tend to be used to emphasise the sentence they attach to. e.g.: "Tall poopa" - not at all(extreme). "Hush buhdee" - hush buddy (used when extremely annoyed).
Example Sentences
"Ahwee a go dung by e fiel by d house go pik nuts." - We are going down to the field by the house to pick peanuts."Is dey dem pikni does wash dem skin." - There is where the children bathe (their skin).
"Unno kno who e tis u a play wit u kno.." - You do not know with whom you are messing.
Example words
Some words in Saint Kitts creole are listed below. Some are unique, but others are commonly used in or originated from neighbouring islands.- Jumbie- an undead spirit/ ghost
- Jumbie fyah - a fire which goes down and rises up again due to "jumbie" spirits
- Jumbie press - the instance in which someone feels that they cannot move while in bed
- Yampi - mucus in the eye
See also
- BajanBarbadosBarbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
- Bermudian EnglishBermudian EnglishBermudian English is a regional accent 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"...
- Jamaican CreoleJamaican CreoleJamaican Patois, known locally as Patois or Jamaican, and called Jamaican Creole by linguists, is an English-lexified creole language with West African influences spoken primarily in Jamaica and the Jamaican diaspora. It is not to be confused with Jamaican English nor with the Rastafarian use of...
- Virgin Islands CreoleVirgin Islands CreoleVirgin Islands Creole, or Virgin Islands Creole English, is an English-based creole spoken in the Virgin Islands and the nearby SSS islands of Saba, Sint Eustatius and Saint Martin, where it has been known as Netherlands Antilles Creole English....