Bajan or as called by the industrialised world Barbadian Creole is an English-based creole language spoken by persons on the West Indian island of Barbados. Bajan uses a mixture of West African idioms and expressions along with English to produce a unique Barbadian/West Indian vocabulary and speech pattern. Bajan is easily distinguishable from the dialects of neighbouring Caribbean islands, as many of the other Caribbean islands are based on Irish- or Scottish-based English pronunciation such as Jamaican Creole. A creole language, or just creole, is a well-defined and stable language that originated from a non-trivial combination of two or more languages, typically with many distinctive features that are not inherited from either parent. ... Map showing the distribution of African language families and some major African languages. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots 2 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification    - by Kenneth I... Jamaican Creole, also known to foreigners as Patois/(Patwa) or simply Jamaican, is an English/African-based language --not to be confused with Jamaican English nor with the Rastafarian use of English-- used primarily on the island of Jamaica. ...

Bajan uses a mixture of English and West African syntax, with much of the pronunciation of words sharing similarities with the Scouse accent of Liverpool, England. Bajan was first created when West African slaves were brought to the island and forced to speak English, with an existing West African understanding of language semantics. Bajan later became a means of communicating without always being understood by the slave masters. Unlike other Caribbean creoles, Bajan is rhotic and has a strong tendency to realize word-final /t/ as a glottal stop [ʔ]. Thus the Bajan pronunciation of start, [stɑːɹʔ], contrasts sharply with the pronunciation of other Caribbean speakers, [staːt]. For other uses, see Syntax (disambiguation). ... Look up pronunciation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... This article is about the city in England. ... This article is becoming very long. ... West Indian redirects here. ... English pronunciation is divided into two main accent groups, the rhotic and non-rhotic, depending on when the phoneme (the letter r) is pronounced. ... The glottal stop or voiceless glottal plosive is a type of consonantal sound, used in many spoken languages. ...

The word Bajan is merely a Bajan pronunciation of the word Barbadian ("Bar-bayyd-ian"); however, with the deeper accents which once prevailed in Barbados the word sounded more like Barbajan ("Bar-bayy-junn") and eventually it was just shortened to Bajan. For a short time before and after independence from Britain, Bajan was a somewhat negative term used to mean an un-educated Barbadian, but the term now is no longer still seen as such.

Today, Bajan is a popular term for citizens of Barbados, in addition to the official name, which is Barbadian. In general, the people of Barbados speak standard English on TV and radio, in courthouses, in government, and in day to day business, while the more relaxed dialect of Bajan is reserved for less formal situations. English is also usually used when talking formally or to tourists. Though English is the native tongue of all Barbadians, most native Barbadians opt to speak Bajan amongst themselves or when in a very relaxed setting. Barbados is an independent island nation situated on the boundary of the Atlantic Ocean. ...

Bajan phrases

• Bukra - a Caucasian
• Daa fuh lik yuh - that's what you get
• Deemen - we('re) ex: Deemen gain owt (We're going out)
• Fete - a party / to party
• How yoo? - how are you?
• How yuh gain? - how are you doing?
• How yuh meen? - what do you mean?
• Krapo - a toad
• Lime - to hang-out
• Likrish - to be greedy for food
• Nyam or yam - to eat
• Part yoo iz? - where are you?
• waloss! - oh my goodness!
• Wa yuh seyin? - what's up?
• Wunna - you (plural) ex: "Wha part wunna gine? (Where are you

all going?)"

See also

• Barbadian culture

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External links

• Bajan Dialect
• Dictionary of Bajan Slang
• Communicating with Bajans
• FunBarbados.com - Island Jargon
• Bajan at Ethnologue
• Caribbean Poetry-Barbados
• Barbados dialect

• Language of Barbados

• from the Society of International Education journal, discusses the origins of Bajan language
• bajanfuhlife-taking you into the life of all things bajan