Caribbean English - Definition and Overview

Caribbean English is a dialect of the English language spoken in the Caribbean. In the Caribbean, there is a great deal of variation in the way English is spoken.

Examples of the English in daily use in the Caribbean include a reduced set of pronouns, typically, me, we, he, she, and they (pronounced "day" or "deh").

A simple statement, "I don't know" could be stated, "Me na' know" in the case of Jamaica. "I ain' know" in the case of Barbados, or "I eh' know" in Trinidad_and_Tobago.

Caribbean countries where English is an official language or where English-based Creoles are widespread include:

• Anguilla
• Antigua and Barbuda
• The Bahamas
• Barbados
• Belize
• British Virgin Islands
• Cayman Islands
• Costa Rica
• Dominica
• Grenada
• Guyana
• Jamaica¹
• Montserrat
• Netherlands Antilles (St. Maarten, Saba, St. Eustatius)
• Nicaragua
• Panama
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Turks and Caicos Islands
• US Virgin Islands

American English is used as a second language in Puerto Rico.

See also

¹Jamaican English

Example Usage of Caribbean