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Antiguan and Barbudan English

Not to be confused with Antiguan and Barbudan Creole.

Antiguan and Barbudan English
RegionAntigua and Barbuda
Early forms
Dialects
Latin (English alphabet)
Unified English Braille[1]
Official status
Official language in
Antigua and Barbuda (de facto)
Language codes
ISO 639-3–
GlottologNone
IETFen-AG
Part of a series on the
English language
Features
Societal aspects
Dialects (full list)

Antiguan and Barbudan English (ABE) or Antiguan and Barbudan Standard English is a dialect of English used in Antigua and Barbuda. ABE co-exists with Antiguan and Barbudan Creole and is considered a Standard English rather than a creole, vernacular, or semi-creole. ABE is used in all educational and administrative circumstances.

History

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The English language was brought to Antigua and Barbuda by settlers in the 1620s. The first confirmed English settlement in Antigua and Barbuda was established in 1632.[2] In 1674, the first sugar plantation was established in the country. This is when the first African slaves were brought to the country, and soon, the majority of people in Antigua and Barbuda were of African descent.[3] When speakers of Antiguan English made contact with these Antiguan slaves, Antiguan and Barbudan Creole emerged.[4]

During the colonial era, ABE remained the dominant dialect of English in Antigua and Barbuda, being used in official documents and in formal settings. By the twentieth-century, a culture of code-switching emerged, especially in the education system, where ABE was used as the official language of academic communication.[5] When Antigua and Barbuda gained independence in 1981, the ability to read in English was mentioned in the Constitution as a requirement to serve in Parliament, but English was never mentioned as the official language.[6] As of July 2025, no law in Antigua and Barbuda establishes ABE or any other language as official.[7][8]

As of the last census in 2011, most immigrants living in Antigua and Barbuda come from an English-speaking country. This includes the top four countries that send immigrants to Antigua and Barbuda.[9]

Phonetics and phonology

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The dialect is generally non-rhotic, and glottal stops are rare. Questions usually do not have the rising intonation that other dialects may have, and vowel length distinctions are less prominent. Open vowels are also present, and diphthongs have been known to be pronounced as monophthongs (time is /taːm/ and face is /fɛs/). Trap and bath may be pronounced with an open /a/ sound.[10]

Vocabulary

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While ABE is influenced by British English, non-British terms are frequently used. Prominent examples include parking lot instead of car park[11] and traveler instead of traveller.[12] Additionally, other distinguishing terms may be used in various circumstances,[13] such as bilbush for Phyllanthus epiphyllanthus, sling for sugar in its liquid state, tango for meat from old cattle, and whitewood for Terminalia buceras. ABE has a large number of loanwords from Antiguan and Barbudan Creole, mostly to refer to local objects, although acrolectal Creole remains distinct from ABE. Code switching between ABE and Creole is referred to in Creole as prap taakin.[14][15]

Unlike dialects of English such as Cayman Islands English, Antiguan and Barbudan English is considered a form of Standard English rather than a local vernacular. Thus, ABE is used by the government and all educational institutions. While genetically related to ABC, ABE is neither a creole nor a semi-creole.[5]

Formal

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ABE, rather than British English, is explicitly taught as a second language in Antiguan and Barbudan primary schools. Children are taught there is a clear distinction between ABE, local vernacular, and Antiguan and Barbudan Creole. Loanwords from ABC are considered to be in the same category as loanwords in English from other foreign languages. Only about six percent of the population, mostly expats, speak English as a native language. In place names, apostrophes are nearly always omitted, for example Bolan's becoming Bolans, Willikie's becoming Willikies, and Seaton's becoming Seatons. A notable exception is the largest city in the country, St. John's. -ze is generally preferred to -se. The following is a list of formal terms:[16][17][18][19][20][21]

  • African (an immigrant or resident of Africa)
  • African descendant (formal only; a black person; an Afro–Antiguan and Barbudan)
  • aging (BrE. ageing)
  • airplane (BrE. aeroplane)
  • Amerindian (a legal term for a person of indigenous origin)
  • area (an urban neighbourhood)
  • artefact (artifact also common)
  • analyze (BrE. analyse)
  • annex (BrE. annexe)
  • Asian (an Asian person who is not Arab, Chinese, or East Indian)
  • bay (beach)
  • boatyard (shipyard)
  • bonnet (vehicle hood)
  • bush (forest)
  • cane peel (outer covering of sugar cane)
  • cane tap (sugar cane leaf)
  • centre (some proper nouns use center)
  • checker (BrE. chequer)
  • cheque (AmE. check)
  • chips (french fries; usage decreasing)
  • Christmas bush (Pimenta racemosa)
  • Creole (an Antiguan and Barbudan person descended from slavery or the plantocracy)
  • coal pot (a type of cooking device)
  • community (official equivalent to human settlement)
  • curb (BrE. kerb)
  • day-care (crèche)
  • dialogue (AmE. dialog)
  • disk (BrE. disc)
  • East Indian (Indo-Caribbean)
  • elevator (lift)
  • encyclopedia (BrE. encyclopaedia)
  • favour (AmE. favour)
  • fillet (AmE. filet)
  • flush (a body of water)
  • ghaut (InE. ghat)
  • garbage (BrE. rubbish)
  • golden (now dated; a person who is not black or white)
  • grade (legally referred to as a form)
  • gray (BrE. grey acceptable)
  • holiday (vacation)
  • housebreaking (burglary)
  • House of Assembly (House of Representatives of Antigua and Barbuda; used in media)
  • icebox (refrigerator used in technical situations)
  • ice water (water with ice)
  • inquiry (BrE. enquiry)[22]
  • Irish potato (white potato)
  • iron band (steel band)
  • junior secondary school (intermediate school/middle school)
  • laundromat (BrE. launderette)
  • latrine (outhouse)
  • license (BrE. licence)
  • line (queue)
  • liquorice (AmE. licorice)
  • (local) dialect (Antiguan and Barbudan Creole)
  • lower house (House of Representatives of Antigua and Barbuda; in everyday use)
  • Marygalante (Marie-Galante)
  • mixed (a multiracial person)
  • mutton (meat from old sheep)
  • new extension (a housing development)
  • offence (offense also used in legislation)
  • organize (BrE. organise)
  • overseas (abroad)
  • path (road)
  • parasol (umbrella)
  • parking lot (BrE. car park)
  • principal (BrE. headteacher)
  • pre-school (nursery school)
  • quarrel (to argue)
  • rural (any area that is not urban, including suburbs)
  • salt pond (a saline lake)
  • sheet metal roof (in contrast with metal roof)
  • slate (chalkboard)
  • Syrian or Lebanese (officially any Arab person, persons not from said countries tend to refer to themselves by their nationality)
  • sugar mill (sugarcane mill)
  • sum (addition)
  • town (generic term for a settlement larger than a city)
  • truck (BrE. lorry)
  • tire (BrE. tyre)
  • upper house (Senate of Antigua and Barbuda; in everyday use)
  • vex (to be angry; not considered an advanced term)
  • white (a European person of non-Portuguese origin)
  • zone (school district)

Informal

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Most speakers of ABE are bilingual in Antiguan and Barbudan Creole, thus, certain acrolectal Creole terms may be used in informal or semi-formal contexts.[18][14]

  • bony (skinny)
  • bex (vex)
  • black led (pencil)
  • breed (relating to pregnancy)
  • breeze (washing powder)
  • chuck (to shove or push)
  • chups (sucking of teeth to express disagreement)
  • current (electricity)
  • manchineel tree (a general term used to refer to poisonous trees)
  • mock money (counterfeit currency)
  • muma (mama, mother)
  • nose hole (nostril)
  • operation (surgery)
  • raw back (Antiguan and Barbudan Creole)
  • Spanish (a Hispanic Antiguan and Barbudan)
  • spitch (to dive into water)
  • tata (stutter)
  • yap (to talk)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Unified English Braille (UEB)". Braille Authority of North America (BANA). 2 November 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  2. ^ Lanaghan. Antigua and the Antiguans. p. 12.
  3. ^ "Unearthing Antigua's slave past". BBC News. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  4. ^ Ballester, Teresa Galarza (2014). "An outline of the social history of the creole language of Antigua (West Indies)" (PDF). Language and Migration. University of Alcalá. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  5. ^ a b McDonald, Natalie (May 2012). Language Hegemony in Education: An Antiguan Perspective (PDF). Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  6. ^ "Antigua and Barbuda: Constitution, 1981" (PDF). laws.gov.ag. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  7. ^ "Laws or Acts of Parliament In Alphabetical Order". laws.gov.ag. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  8. ^ Knight, Elizabeth (10 August 2024). "Official language of Antigua and Barbuda". Axarplex. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  9. ^ "Q58. Country of birth" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 December 2024.
  10. ^ Hector, H. X. (14 December 2024). "Antiguan and Barbudan English: A basic overview". Axarplex. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  11. ^ Michael (15 July 2021). "Committal adjourned for alleged parking lot thief". Antigua Observer Newspaper. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  12. ^ Radio, ABS TV (3 June 2021). "CHANGES TO COVID-19 TESTING PROTOCOLS FOR TRAVELERS - ABS TV Radio Antigua & Barbuda". Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  13. ^ George, Elesha (27 November 2023). "Climate-Proofing Education: How Antigua & Barbuda Is Tackling Rising Temperatures". islandpressbox.com. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  14. ^ a b "ANTIGUA & BARBUDA'S CULTURAL HERITAGE". 22 April 2016. Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  15. ^ "Our National Symbols". ab.gov.ag. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  16. ^ Knight, Elizabeth (11 February 2025). "Estimated main languages of the Antiguan and Barbudan population". Axarplex. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
  17. ^ Minahan, James B. (14 March 2013). Ethnic Groups of the Americas: An Encyclopedia. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 979-8-216-08135-7.
  18. ^ a b Joseph, Jerene (19 March 2019). Antigua and Barbuda Dictionary. Independently Published. ISBN 9781090590541.
  19. ^ https://statistics.gov.ag/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2011-Antigua-and-Barbuda-Population-and-Housing-Census-A-Demographic-Profile.pdf
  20. ^ https://statistics.gov.ag/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Education-Statistical-Digest-2012-2015.pdf
  21. ^ Allsopp, Richard; Allsopp, Jeannette (2003). Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage. University of the West Indies Press. ISBN 978-976-640-145-0.
  22. ^ https://laws.gov.ag/glossary/inquiry/