Bahamian English is a group of varieties of English spoken in the Bahamas and by members of the Bahamian diaspora. The standard for official use and education is British-based with regard to spelling, vocabulary, and pronunciation; however, perceptions of the standard are more recently changing towards American norms. In particular, 21st-century news-industry and younger Bahamian speakers are often more influenced in their pronunciations by General American English or sometimes even African-American Vernacular English.
Pronunciation
The phonology of Bahamian English is believed to be derived from those of Bermudian English, Cockney English, RP, Scottish English, African-American Vernacular English, and Gullah, according to Reaser and Torbert (2004).
The Bahamian accent is traditionally non-rhotic, but often now rhotic among younger speakers.
The realization of vowels in Bahamian English is as follows. The vowels below are named by the lexical set they belong to: The Kit vowel: The same as in American English, the default . The Dress vowel: The vowel is . The Trap vowel: This vowel is mostly . It can change to before a bilabial plosive and before an alveolar plosive, with the former being especially common among black speakers and the latter being especially common among white speakers. The dialect does not feature the trap-bath split. The Lot vowel: As mostly of the US, this vowel is usually . The Strut vowel: It is the same as in the US English, . However, it is also possible for it to vary between and . The Foot vowel: It is . The Fleece vowel: It is or a diphthong . The Face diphthong: It is generally or . The Palm vowel: It is mostly . The Thought vowel: The vowel is . The dialect features the lot-cloth split. The Goat diphthong: It is generally or . The Near diphthong: It is or . The Square diphthong: It is . The Start vowel: It is . The North diphthong: usually . The Force diphthong: usually . The Cure diphthong: usually . The Nurse vowel: It varies among , and . The Goose vowel: It is mostly . The Price/Prize diphthong: It's generally . The Choice diphthong: It is or . It changes to in some words, like "foil" and "moist". The Mouth diphthong: It varies among , and . The happY vowel: It is pretty much the kit vowel: . The lettEr-horsEs-commA vowel is (schwa).
Vowels are often nasalized before .
There is poor distinction between the and sounds in Bahamian English. The contrast is often neutralized or merged into , or , so village sounds like , or . This process is especially common among white speakers. This also happens in the Vincentian, Bermudian and other Caribbean Englishes.
Dental fricatives are usually changed to alveolar plosives (th-stopping): Voiced th becomes /d/, e.g. "That" turns into "dat"; "Those" > "Dose"; "There" > "Dere"; "They" > "Dey". Unvoiced th becomes /t/, e.g. "Thanks" becomes "tanks"; "Throw" > "Trow"; "Three" > "Tree".
The sound changes to in the letter combination "str", leaving words like "strangle" to be pronounced as .
The sound is often inserted into words that are not spelled with the letter H, leaving "up" to be pronounced as . However, it is also frequently dropped from words that are spelled with an H, so "harm" is left to be pronounced as .
The sibilant fricatives and are devoiced and merged to .
Grammar
The grammar is not so different from the US ( as per Zaka ).
When emphasizing a word in Bahamian English, it is common to repeat it. (the car was going fast → the car was going fast fast)
The past participle is not indicated using the verb "have" in Bahamian English. Instead, it is indicated with the verb "be", especially among white speakers. (I have already washed the clothes → I am already washed the clothes) It can also be omitted and replaced by "done", with the verb left in its present-tense form. (I done wash the clothes) This practice is common among both white and black speakers.
For some speakers (particularly black speakers), the present progressive is written using the present participle preceded by "does be" (I does be washing the clothes). Among white speakers, it is more common to just use "be" when talking in the third person. (They be washing the clothes)
The possessive indicator 's is often omitted.
Questions retain the same syntax as statements; the subject and verb do not switch their positions. (What is she doing? → What she is doing?) Thus, the use of "ain't" is highly important to distinguish an interrogative sentence from a declarative sentence.