Caribbean Englishn.adj.
/ˌkarᵻbiːən ˈɪŋ(ɡ)lɪʃ/, /kəˌrɪbɪən ˈɪŋ(ɡ)lɪʃ/, U.S. /kəˌrɪbiən ˈɪŋ(ɡ)lɪʃ/, /ˌkɛrəˌbiən ˈɪŋ(ɡ)lɪʃ/ A. n.
The variety of English spoken and written in the Caribbean islands or by their natives or inhabitants. Also as a count noun: a variety spoken in a particular area of the Caribbean.
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the mind > language > languages of the world > Indo-Hittite > [noun] > Indo-European > Germanic > English > Caribbean English
Caribbean English1932
1932 H. E. Palmer & H. V. Redman Lang.-learning Business 62 To my mind, to correct Friday's Caribbean English is as uncalled for as it is to correct Robinson Crusoe's 'frighted' into ‘frightened’.
1955 Sarasota (Florida) Herald-Tribune 14 Feb. 11/6 This is the way the Herald on Tobago, small island near Trinidad, expressed it in the curious Caribbean English heard on these islands.
1986 Eng. Jrnl. 75 47/1 Roxy Harris notes that apart from Jamaican Creole English, none of the other Caribbean Englishes has yet been the subject of sustained and exhaustive academic study.
2014 D. Deuber Eng. in Caribbean ii. 22 The Creoles in contact with..two varieties of Caribbean English.., Jamaican and Trinidadian, display both similarities and differences.
B. adj.
Of or relating to the variety of English spoken and written in the Caribbean islands or by their natives or inhabitants.
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the mind > language > languages of the world > Indo-Hittite > [adjective] > Indo-European > Germanic > English > of varieties of English > Caribbean English
Jamaican English1901
Bahamian English1952
Dominican English1955
Barbadian English1958
Trinidadian English1964
Guyanese English1968
Caribbean English1970
1970 Times Lit. Suppl. 2 July 719/5 (advt.) Crick Crack Monkey. Merle Hodge. ‘Yet another talent to add to the wealth of Caribbean English writing..a sparkling supply of situation comedy.’
2009 P. Durkin Oxf. Guide Etymol. viii. 254 The Caribbean English word mesple, denoting the sapodilla..probably ultimately shows a borrowing of Dutch mispel denoting the medlar.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2021; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.adj.1932