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I think there are elements of Bajan speech that are distinctly influenced by dialects/accents of the British isles (i.e., the glottal stop). There's also some shared phonology with the pronunciation of words like "cannot" as "khan not." I don't know if it's the most "British" sounding of the Caribbean accents but certain features of speech in present-day Britain are certainly evident in Bim.
There's no one "British" accent and accents within the same island will vary based on class and education. However, the Bajan accent is rhotic whereas most British accents are non-rhotic so I wouldn't say the Bajan accent is particularly close to any UK dialect, even though there are of course many influences from the UK in Bajan speech but those are more Scottish and Irish in origin.
There's no one "British" accent and accents within the same island will vary based on class and education. However, the Bajan accent is rhotic whereas most British accents are non-rhotic so I wouldn't say the Bajan accent is particularly close to any UK dialect, even though there are of course many influences from the UK in Bajan speech but those are more Scottish and Irish in origin.
In John Wells' "Accents of the British Isles," he says that the Barbadian accent is most reminiscent of speakers from the West of England. On Pages 583-84.
Quote:
The most easterly of the Caribbean islands, Barbados was a British colony without interruption from 1627 until independence in 1966. It has thus been English-speaking almost twice as long as, say, Trinidad. The distance between broadest dialect and standard English is smaller in Barbados than elsewhere. Barbadians are in demand as school teachers in other islands, inasmuch as they enjoy a reputation for speaking good English.
The most striking characteristic of Barbadian English, when compared with that of other parts of the West Indies, are full rhoticity, the use of a glottal allophone of /t/, and the quality of the PRICE vowel. To an English ear Barbadian is very reminiscent of the west of England; in particular, it puts one in mind of the speech of pirates, as popularly portrayed.
Barbados' earliest settlers came mostly from the West of England.
Quote:
As a consequence of the English Civil War, the Commonwealth seized Royalist estates and forced their owners to go abroad, further affecting migration to Barbados. 'Most of the immigrants came from the West Country [Cornwall, Somerset, Devonshire, Gloucestershire, Dorset and Wilshire], Bristol being the port from which most West Indian trade was conducted' (Tree 1972, 16).
Records show that the early colonists also included country folks from Wales, Scotland and Ireland (Burton 1997, 15). The southwestern region of England supplied 78.6 percent of the total number of servants shipped from Bristol to Barbados in the seventeenth century (Niles 1980, 24). Members of Barbados' poor white population were known as Red Legs and comprised farmers and townsfolk from Devon and Somerset who supported the Duke of Monmouth's abortive 1685 attempt to capture Bristol and were sent with 10-year indentures to the West Indian colonies.
So it's a bit of a misconception that the Red Legs are primarily the descendants of Scots and Irishmen whereas the wealthy landowners were of English ancestry. The Red Legs came mostly from the West of England as well.
Good video on different accents on the British Isles. Note what she says at the 1:53 mark: "And when you go down to Cornwall, things get a little more pirate-y."
Apart from the Cayman accent, would you say the Bajan accent is the most British?
When people from Barbados speak "Bajan" they speak in a creole which shares many features with that of neighboring Anglophone Caribbean countries. In fact there is a frequent use of the word "wunnu" which is directly connected to the Jamaican "oonoo", which has Igbo origins. In fact some declare that "Bim" is a word derived from Igbo origins. The word "juk" meaning to bore some one with a sharp object as in "I juk she with my knife," also reported has Igbo origins. Juk is used every where in the Anglophone Caribbean.
While Barbadians have more archaic rural British features in their accent than is true for other Caribbean islanders, and there are historic reasons for this, I will not say that Barbadians sound "British". It is that strong "r" sound which relates to West English.
The people who truly sound British are the Bermudians, though they aren't a Caribbean people.
So it's a bit of a misconception that the Red Legs are primarily the descendants of Scots and Irishmen whereas the wealthy landowners were of English ancestry. The Red Legs came mostly from the West of England as well.
I was told that there is a distinct split between the "Celtic" and the Anglo white Bajans. The Red legs were Celtic, coming from Cornwall and surrounding areas. The elite whites come from diverse British backgrounds, and would gave sought a more "mainstream" British identity, as this brought more prestige.
In John Wells' "Accents of the British Isles," he says that the Barbadian accent is most reminiscent of speakers from the West of England. On Pages 583-84.
The bit about Bajan teachers being in demand in the Caribbean, "because they speak better English" isn't true, and I don't know if it ever was. Bajan AND Guyanese teachers were in demand because the standard of education in the colonial era was higher than elsewhere.
In fact the Bajan accent is seen as comedic in the rest of the Anglophone Caribbean, and is certainly NOT what one would aspire to possess. I would argue that the accent of the EDUCATED Trinidadian might be held in better esteem.
The bit about Bajan teachers being in demand in the Caribbean, "because they speak better English" isn't true, and I don't know if it ever was. Bajan AND Guyanese teachers were in demand because the standard of education in the colonial era was higher than elsewhere.
In fact the Bajan accent is seen as comedic in the rest of the Anglophone Caribbean, and is certainly NOT what one would aspire to possess. I would argue that the accent of the EDUCATED Trinidadian might be held in better esteem.
You can certainly argue that but it would be nice if you could provide a source to support your claims.
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