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Saint Kitts Creole has much the same history as other
English Caribbean creoles. Its origin lies in 17th-century enslaved West Africans, who, when brought to the islands to work on sugar plantations, were forced to learn British English quickly because their labour required it. Their English was
440:
forms of the language are employed by the majority of the population. They may sound
Jamaican, but the Jamaican patois has no influence on the Saint Kitts and Nevis accent. Saint Kitts pronunciation is similar to the pronunciation on the neighbouring islands of
461:
Saint Kitts Creole is pronounced similarly to the creoles of neighbouring islands, namely
Antigua and Montserrat. Usually only longtime residents in the islands can mark the slight differences. In rural areas and in Nevis,
494:- "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
397:
mixed with 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
1027:
529:- "The girl looks very ugly." Alternatively, the phrase "so tail" is placed after the adjective to indicate a strong emphasis or intensification; for example:
742:= a very light skinned person. Originally used to describe Portuguese descendants who populated a village, located in the hills above western Sandy Point
182:
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Words used to intensify adjectives, such as "very" and "extremely", are rarely used. Instead, the adjective in question is repeated; for example:
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700:= get away from me (with the connotation that the person being dismissed wants to go and do their own thing despite the speakers feelings.)
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Some of the Saint Kitts Creole words listed below are unique, but others are commonly used in or originated from neighbouring islands.
420:(although Nevisians refer to the language as "Nevisian" or "Nevis creole"), mainly in rural areas, and is spoken especially heavily in
1013:
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In Saint Kitts Creole, words are rarely pluralized by adding an ending to the word. The word is usually followed by the word
1141:
365:
38:
754:= a young person, especially one who tries to act older than their age or disrespects those who are older than they are.
1207:
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548:, the meaning of which vary with context but tend to be used to emphasise the sentence they attach to; for example:
436:, possibly due to access to foreign media. Usually, only residents in rural areas are strong creole users, although
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spying surreptitiously on someone to try and catch them in some inappropriate act, or to surprise them.
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966:
563:" is often traditionally inserted where it would not appear in Standard English sentence structure.
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902:- If you extend your charity to undeserving persons, they will be ungrateful/you will regret it.
668:= A Boo or jeer (also used to describe the action of sticking one's tongue out at another person)
44:
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A unique aspect of Saint Kitts Creole is to end certain sentences in the speech with the words
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by around 40,000 people. Saint Kitts Creole does not have the status of an official language.
1171:
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706:= young coconut; the flesh inside of a young coconut which has a jelly-like consistency
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Pig bin arkse e mammee wah mek e mouth so long, e mammee tell um wait for you time
449:, but with slight differences that are mostly noticeable only to residents of the
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694:= (Go and bag your face) You are so repulsive that you should cover your face.
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730:= take care of e.g. Mind the baby; take heed e.g. Mind what you're doing.
406:
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897:
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489:
432:), and Nevis. Today's use of the creole involves a higher proportion of
959:
748:= rude with the connotation of indiscretion and acting inappropriately.
446:
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Examples of other linguistic divergences from
Standard English are
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918:- you can't have two persons in charge in a small environment.
635:- We are going down to the field by the house to pick peanuts.
409:, which speak a French-based rather than English-based creole.
468:
429:
417:
808:= painful gas trapped inside the stomach or other body parts
507:
Questions ending in "is it?" have the "is it" replaced with
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characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see
476:(as in "house") is usually pronounced (as in "hose").
401:
spoken today, unlike in the formerly French islands of
633:
Ahwee/Awe a go dung by e fiel by d house go pik nuts.
412:
Saint Kitts Creole today is spoken on the islands of
899:
Sorry fuh mawgah dawg, mawgah dawg tun roun bite yuh
981:
641:- There is where the children bathe (their skin).
177:for phonetic transcriptions, with an appropriate
1184:
87:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
979:
926:- People know who they can trouble/mess with.
556:- "hush buddy" (used when extremely annoyed).
1021:
980:Allsopp, Richard; Allsopp, Jeannette (2003).
647:- You do not know with whom you are messing.
608:. I already bought it. Also can be said as -
650:
915:Two man crab cyarn live in de the same hole
837:
53:Learn how and when to remove these messages
1028:
1014:
910:- When you are older you will understand.
213:Learn how and when to remove this message
118:Learn how and when to remove this message
16:Spoken language in Saint Kitts and Nevis
988:. University of the West Indies Press.
892:
366:question marks, boxes, or other symbols
1185:
1009:
984:Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage
639:Is dey dem pikni does wash dem skin.
627:
488:to indicate the pluralization. e.g.
424:, i.e. the east coast of St. Kitts (
129:
59:
18:
567:I does only buy taman jam from she.
533:- "The girl looks extremely ugly."
13:
1193:Languages of Saint Kitts and Nevis
573:Whey yuh does be goin erry mawnin?
569:I only buy tamarind jam from her.
167:for transliterated languages, and
147:of its non-English content, using
14:
1224:
1213:English language in the Caribbean
1203:Languages of the African diaspora
1198:English-based pidgins and creoles
923:Monkey know wah limb to climb pon
34:This article has multiple issues.
965:
645:You know who e tis u a play wit.
464:
456:
387:Leeward Caribbean Creole English
286:Leeward Caribbean Creole English
134:
64:
23:
873:Stop play = Stop kidding around
802:= what family do you come from?
42:or discuss these issues on the
1037:English-based creole languages
973:
948:
800:Who yuh fah\who yuh people be?
575:Where do you go each morning?
183:multilingual support templates
1:
941:
879:E suit you = Serves you right
722:Mi arm, Mi moddas, Mi fardas
7:
929:
882:In deh, in deh! = Take that
687:= (Forward) insolent, rude
10:
1229:
922:
914:
906:
898:
624:I am on my way to buy it.
585:Yuh does guh by dey house?
552:- "not at all" (extreme).
479:
426:Christ Church Nichola Town
253:(undated figure of 39,000)
1047:
876:Y'ain hear = I know right
858:M'ain know = I don't know
820:= mucus in the eye, from
736:= stupid; a stupid person
718:= an undead spirit/ghost.
651:Example words and phrases
587:Do you visit their home?
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340:
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1208:Creoles of the Caribbean
1167:Turks and Caicos Islands
864:Tek een = Faint/pass out
838:More commonly used words
680:Duttyfoot/slack/pan/kite
531:De gyul look bad so tail
73:This article includes a
861:Lef me = Leave me alone
852:Ent it? = Isn't that so
746:Outta place/outta order
500:
490:
102:more precise citations.
752:Pissytail lil boy/girl
674:= Skinny, malnourished
354:This article contains
233:Nevisian, Nevis Creole
843:O me monkeys! = O My!
610:Ah did buy it arready
515:); e.g. Who is it? -
391:Saint Kitts and Nevis
242:Saint Kitts and Nevis
893:Traditional proverbs
867:Ar-you/Awu = You all
772:= sexual intercourse
596:. I usually buy it.
527:De gyul look bad bad
145:specify the language
143:This article should
1057:Antigua and Barbuda
870:Arwee/Awe/Arbee =Us
855:Wha mek? = How come
784:= She is a busybody
622:Ah goin guh buy it.
955:Saint Kitts Creole
849:Boy aye! = Aw man!
579:I does do dah too.
383:Saint Kitts Creole
291:Saint Kitts Creole
228:Saint Kitts Creole
75:list of references
1180:
1179:
963:(16th ed., 2009)
698:Guh whey yuh goin
628:Example sentences
618:. I will buy it.
380:
379:
362:rendering support
358:phonetic symbols.
282:Northern Antilles
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185:may also be used.
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814:= gyrating dance
796:= why , how come
692:Guh bag yuh face
581:I also do that.
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434:Standard English
385:is a dialect of
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766:= ungodly music
712:= coconut water
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360:Without proper
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519:What is it? -
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364:, you may see
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457:Pronunciation
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501:children dem
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179:ISO 639 code
175:}}
169:{{
165:}}
159:{{
155:}}
149:{{
144:
114:
105:
94:Please help
86:
50:
43:
37:
36:Please help
33:
1132:Saint Kitts
833:= take heed
770:Ride/riding
710:Jelly water
554:Hush buhdee
491:de gyul dem
407:Saint Lucia
368:instead of
108:August 2024
100:introducing
1187:Categories
1142:San Andrés
1117:Montserrat
995:9766401454
960:Ethnologue
942:References
888:Dey = They
885:Dem = Them
827:, 'blind'.
760:= pass gas
672:Bony/Mawga
559:The word "
550:Tall poopa
447:Montserrat
438:mesolectal
422:Capesterre
389:spoken in
39:improve it
1041:Caribbean
778:= scratch
546:daady buh
521:Wha e be?
517:Who e be?
414:St. Kitts
329:Glottolog
317:ISO 639-3
196:June 2020
45:talk page
1162:Trinidad
1152:Suriname
1122:Rama Cay
1067:Barbados
1052:Anguilla
930:See also
782:She fass
724:= oh my!
685:”Forward
682:= a slut
403:Dominica
374:Help:IPA
279:Southern
273:Atlantic
1102:Jamaica
1092:Grenada
1077:Bermuda
1062:Bahamas
1039:of the
825:áşąnyampi
794:Wha mek
764:Quelbeh
740:Moosheh
660:Coop =
513:eee bee
498:, e.g.
480:Grammar
443:Antigua
370:Unicode
276:Eastern
188:See why
96:improve
1157:Tobago
1137:Samaná
1127:Roatán
1097:Guyana
1072:Belize
992:
812:Wukkup
790:= them
788:Um/dem
776:Scraab
734:Moomoo
716:Jumbie
538:burdee
399:creole
347:aig-KN
1107:LimĂłn
818:Yampi
704:Jelly
542:poopa
430:Cayon
418:Nevis
81:, or
990:ISBN
822:Igbo
758:Poop
728:Mind
666:Baae
561:does
509:e be
445:and
416:and
405:and
342:IETF
335:None
152:lang
957:at
806:Win
544:or
496:dem
486:dem
356:IPA
172:IPA
1189::
612:.
540:,
504:.
469:aĘŠ
453:.
428:,
157:,
85:,
77:,
48:.
1029:e
1022:t
1015:v
998:.
511:(
472:/
466:/
376:.
322:–
216:)
210:(
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194:(
190:.
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115:(
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106:(
92:.
55:)
51:(
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