What is Bajan?

Bajan or as called by the rest world Barbadian Creole is an English- based creole language spoken by persons on the island of Barbados. Bajan uses a mixture of West

African idioms and expressions along with English to produce a unique Barbadian vocabulary and speech pattern. Bajan is easily distinguishable from the dialects of neighboring Caribbean islands, as many of the other Caribbean islands are based on Irish- or Scottish-based English pronunciation such as Jamaican Creole.

Bajan uses a mixture of English and/or West African syntax, with much of the pronunciation of words sharing similarities to persons from Liverpool, England. Bajan was first created when West African slaves were brought to the island and forced to speak English, with an existing West African understanding of language semantics. Bajan later became a means of communicating without always being understood by the slave masters. The word Bajan is merely a Bajan pronunciation of the word Barbadian ("Bar-bayyd-ian"); however, with the deeper accents which once prevailed in Barbados the word sounded more like Barbajan ("Bar-bayy-junn") and eventually it was just shortened to Bajan. For a short time before and after independence from Britain, Bajan was a somewhat negative term used to mean an un-educated Barbadian, but the term now is no longer still seen as such.

Today, Bajan is a popular term for citizens of Barbados, in addition to the official name, which is Barbadian. In general, the people of Barbados speak standard English on TV and radio, in courthouses, in government, and in day to day business, while the more relaxed dialect of Bajan is reserved for less formal situations. English is also usually used when speaking formally or to tourists. Though English is the native tongue of all  Barbadians, most native Barbadians prefer to speak Bajan amongst themselves or when in a very relaxed setting.

Note:

Asking a Barbadian to "speak Bajan" will usually receive little to no response.