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Bahamian English is a dialect of English spoken in the Bahamas and by Bahamian diasporas. It should not be confused with Bahamian Creole (which is, however, also an English based dialect).

List of Bahamian English Words

This is a list of some of the most common Bahamian English words and their meanings:

• Bey- a synonym for "boy", or a synonym for "hey" when being used to get someone's attention. Can also be used to put emphasis on something, or just put at the end of a sentence. "dat was a good movie bey"
• Yinna- a plural for "you".
• Y'all- "You all" shortened. Also a synonym for "you".
• chile- Bahamian pronunciation of the English word child.
• Biggety- bold, loud, outspoken: "She biggety ay."
• Musse- must be: "She musse vex."
• Vex- angry: "Hes make me vex bey"

Pronunciation differences from other English dialects

Dental fricatives are usually changed to alveolar plosives:

Voiced:

• "That" turning into "Dat"
• "Those" turning into "Dose"
• "There" turning into "Dere"

Unvoiced:

• "Thanks" becoming "Tanks"
• "Theatre" becoming "Teaduh"
• "Throw" becoming "Tchrow"

References

• http://www.bahamasgateway.com/bahamas_lingo.htm

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