Virgin Islands Creole
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Virgin Islands Creole is a linguistic variety spoken in the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. Its ISO code is cpe. Virgin Islands Creole does not have the status of an official language.
Virgin Islands Creole is not to be confused with Negerhollands, a Dutch-based creole that was once spoken in the Danish West Indies, now known as the U.S. Virgin Islands.
In the present-day U.S. Virgin Islands, Virgin Islands Creole came about when slaves in the Danish West Indies who were unable to communicate with each other due to being taken from different regions of West Africa with different languages, created an English-based dialect with a West African-based sentence structure in order to communicate. This English-based dialect formed throughout the 18th and 19th century on St. Croix, as the Dutch-based Negerhollands (which was widely spoken on St. Thomas and St. John at the time) was dying out. British occupation of the Danish West Indies from 1801 to 1802 and 1807 to 1815, as well as the preference for English as a trade and business language in the busy port of Charlotte Amalie, helped establish the English-based creole over Negerhollands. By the end of the 19th century, the English-based dialect completely replaced Negerhollands (now a dead language) as the native dialect of the U.S. Virgin Islands. There was a small but continued use of Negerhollands well into the 20th century.
Virgin Islands Creole developed in the present-day British Virgin Islands as well. With both territories sharing a common "Virgin Islands culture" as well as a similar history based on colonial domination and slavery, it was inevitable that the creole would be spoken (although with slight variations) in both the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.
In one form or the other, Virgin Islands Creole still exists today as the native dialect of the Virgin Islands. The dialect is similar to other Anglophone Caribbean dialects in countries such as St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Jamaica.
Virgin Islands Creole is strictly an informal form of communication and is a constantly changing dialect peppered with various slang terms and expressions. The language of government, education and the media is American English in the U.S. Virgin Islands and British English in the British Virgin Islands.
As with other Caribbean creoles, Virgin Islands Creole is generally an unwritten idiom, and no standard spelling system exists. Writers who attempt to represent it use English orthography (see below).
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[edit] Virgin Islands Creole-to-English translations
[edit] Phrases/Expressions
- Wha you sayin – what's up
- Hail up – hi, hello
- Ya – here (St. Croix)
- Heh – here (St. Thomas, St. John, BVI)
- Cyan – cannot
- Safe – alright, or okay
- Wha pa' he/she/you deh? – Where is/are he/she/you?
- Whe' he/she/you deh? – Where is/are he/she/you?
- Me'en know – I don't know
- Deh deh – It is here/It is there (St. Croix)
- He/she ain deh deh – He/she isn't there (St. Croix)
- I/he/she gone to come back – I/he/she left and am/is returning shortly
- I/he/she deh ya – I/he/she am/is here (St. Croix)
- Come ya – come here (St. Croix)
- Come heh – come here (St. Thomas, St. John, BVI)
- I's – I am
- You's – you are
- Ayo – you all
- Deh – there
- Dem – them (can also be added at the end of any noun to make it plural, as in "de hass dem")
- Dat – that
- Dah – that
- Ting – thing
- Tek – take
- Mek – make
- Wha – what
- Geh – get, or have
- Geh from ya – go away (St. Croix)
- Geh from heh – go away (St. Thomas, St. John, BVI)
- Nah – no
- Ih – it, as in "ih real hot outside" (it is really hot outside)
- Ah – of, as in "I geh two ah dem" (I have two of them)
- Ah nex – another, as in "I geh ah nex one" (I have another one)
- Vex – upset (vex is also an English word, but it is used much more often in Virgin Islands Creole than in standard English)
- Tief – to steal
- Jook/Chook – to stab or poke
- Schupid – stupid
- Parah – crazy, paranoid
- Bus' off – to leave
- Cahn – marijuana
- Bun – to smoke, usually refers to smoking marijuana
- Wuk up – to dance (usually specific to calypso or soca music)
- Breeding – the state of being pregnant
- Breed – to impregnate
- Dealin – when a couple is not yet officially dating, but are on their way to be; the equivalent to the stateside phrase "talking"
- Mahgah/Meeguh – meager, extremely skinny
- All ah we – all of us
- Cheese and bread – a remark of surprise
- Eh eh – a remark of surprise
- Mehson – literally "my son," commonly used at the beginning or ends of sentences, akin to the American English slang use of "oh, man!"
- Deh man – use is similar to "mehson."
- Yuh chek? – asked at the end of a sentence, akin to saying "you know?"
- Chek you latah – see you later
- Uh huh pampa leh-leh – a remark made by school children when another student has gotten in trouble
- Coo-coo – the act of defecation, or feces (commonly said by children)
- Rample – to mess up, as in "Don' rample up de bed I mek up, mehson!"
- Quelbe – official music of the Virgin Islands
- Quadrille – native dance of the Virgin Islands
- Bahn ya – literally "born here," a commonly used phrase in Virgin Islands society, used by some to determine whether someone is or is not a "native Virgin Islander." For example, someone might say "my parents are from Antigua, but I'm a Virgin Islander, because I bahn ya!"
- Bam! – said after someone has made a stupid joke. Its use is common in St. Croix.
- Wraut up – cursed out
- Lyah – liar
- Ah good! – serves you right (St. Croix)
- Ihs good! – serves you right (St. Thomas)
- Foh true? – you serious?
- You sick de man? – are you crazy?
- Chek yah – come here,
- Watch yah! – look at this. Term of endearment used before, after, or during an argument. (St. Croix)
- Ignohrant – one who gets "vex" quick.
- Gahn een – someone who is crazy; lost their mind.
- Lime/Limin – location of a party or hangout; hanging out.
- Pickin Whelks – wearing pants with pant legs that are obviously too short.
- Disgustin – being extremely playful; harrassing
- Mos Defenetly – that is true; in high agreement with.
- Neva Dat – never, ever (a instant reaction or response)
- Nah Dat Deh – no sir
[edit] Nouns
- Chil'ren – children
- Mudda – mother
- Fadda – father
- Nene – godmother
- Pepe – godfather
- Gongolo – millipede
- Gyul/gyal – girl
- Pussman – a male player
- Yankee – a person from the United States
- Garot/Gasso - a person originally from an Eastern Caribbean island not including the U.S. and British Virgin Islands
- Papa - a person from Puerto Rico
- Santo - a person from the Dominican Republic
- Babylon - the United States, the police, or the government
- Lahlah – idle gossip
- Melee – malicious gossip
- Licks – spanking (a form of child discipline)
- Donkey years – many years
- Hass – horse (St. Croix)
- Cyar – car (St. Croix)
- Banah – a person's behind
- Jumbie – an evil spirit
- Mocko Jumbie or Moko Jumbie – a popular carnival figure who is a masked, costumed person on stilts who scares away evil spirits
- Pardna – a friend, companion or close associate
- Quat – a quarter
- Bubbla – water fountain
- Tahmon – tamarind (St. Thomas)
- Tambrahn – tamarind (St. Croix)
- Jam – a party
- Grave yahd – the cemetery
- Boss – big man
[edit] Profane words/expressions
- Antiman – a gay person
- Bud/charlie/wood – penis
- Skin-back charlie – circumcised penis
- Pum pum/tun tun/pokey – vagina
- Rass – ass
- Ram – euphemism for rass, not as vulgar
- Sket/skettel – a sexually promiscuous woman
- Pump – to masturbate
- Jam – to gyrate on, or dance closely to
- Muddascunt – literally the Virgin Islands creole pronunciation of "mother's cunt," its use is similar to "motherfucker."
- Geh yo muddascunt! – a common insult
- Bull – to engage in sexual intercourse
- Bun rice – to pick one's underwear out from between one's buttocks
- Well sah! could you beat a shit like this – being in the state of shock and left with out words
[edit] Pronunciation
The prounciation differs from standard English in various ways.
In Virgin Islands Creole, the "th" sound is often ommited from speech, and is replaced by the "t" sound. As with many other Caribbean creoles, the "t" sound in various words is stressed harder than in non-Caribbean forms of English where the "t" sound is more soft.
The vowel pronunciation of Virgin Islands Creole differs from "proper English." For example, the suffix "er" in English — the neutral vowel sound or schwa — is pronounced as "ah" æ (for example: computer is pronounced "computah" [kompu:tæ], and never is pronounced "nevah" [nevæ]). Also, like other Caribbean creoles, there is a simpler set of pronouns than in English, and conjugations occur less often. For example, the English phrase "I gave it to her" would translate to "I give it to she." The "a" sound is often pronounced with the "ah" sound, resulting in a word like "ants" being pronounced "ahnts."
[edit] See also
- Saint Kitts Creole
- Antiguan Creole
- Jamaican Creole
- Trinidadian Creole English
- Bajan
- Caribbean English
- Bermudian English
[edit] External Links
- Zoop Zoop Zoop: Traditional Music and Folklore of St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John Includes many songs in Virgin Islands Creole.
