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THE FIRST BEGINNING
The Very Start
The native language of the Barbadian people is English. The “Queen’s English”, to be exact.
Yet, if one were to travel across Barbados, one would quickly notice something more prevalent among the people—our own rhyme and rhythm, our own Bajan Dialect.
Bajan, as we call it, is considered a dialect and not an official language. The history of dialects and Creoles in the Caribbean is long and complex and the linguistic background of Bajan dialect is no different. Bajan dialect, like other non-standard language varieties in the Caribbean—and across the world—does not have a standardised written code, yet it is as rich and vibrant as the languages that we consider ‘official’.
To an unfamiliar ear, however, Bajan will almost certainly sound like a completely different language. Bajanisms is the term given to the unique elements of our dialect, as well as our embodiment of what it means to be Bajan.
What started as a social media hashtag blossomed into an overwhelming desire to share my culture with the world.
This book seeks to (re)introduce, entertain and enamour the reader to a language I love, from the place I was born and raised and that will always be home.
Welcome to #bajanisms
