It’s English!!!! But Kittitian Style
Shamara Woods
ENGL 1100.47

Language is a very important aspect of life. It helps to characterize people, define them, as well as differentiate them from each other or groups. The language a person speaks is a huge aspect of their culture and way of life. It is used in many ways to communicate. Language comes in many different forms and variations, which can sometimes be unique and difficult to understand, yet it serves the same purpose: to communicate.

Growing up on the small, beautiful, Caribbean island of St.Kitts, with a population of about 36,000 people on its 68 square miles, one is amazed at the various dialects that are spoken. Patois is the main form of speech that Kittitians use to communicate with one another. The island is divided into the urban and rural areas, also called "town" and "country" (or "back a de land"). People coming from either area speak quite differently, and town and country residents can be easily recognized just by the pronunciation of certain words. The rural areas occupy the greater land and have the larger population. I will share with you my version of English…Kittitian style.

The local patois comes in two forms, Standard English and local English; but the locals think of them as "good" or "bad." People from the country speak "bad" English and tend to add letters to certain words, which makes them sound even more foreign or unusual. Consider the following expressions that are used to ask questions or make simple statements:

• For "Why is this so?" they would say, "wa mek?"
• "On the table" translates into "pon de table."
• "It is down there" is relayed as "e dung day."
• "Where is it?" is asked as "way e be?"
• "I am not doing it" would be said as "me nar do um."
• "Come here" converts into "cum yah."
• To express displeasure about something, one would say, "look a me wuk yah."

The phrase "back a de land" was given to the countryside residents because they tend to be economically poorer. Townspeople, on the other hand, use what seems like a much more polished vocabulary, closer to Standard English, and in spite of the dialect, seems much easier to understand, by both locals and foreigners.

We would turn the English language backwards and use many odd phrases.

• "That movie was bad/ deadly/ wicked," simply means "That was a good movie."
• When greeting people, we would ask questions: "Serious thing?" "Wha you got for me?" "What’s really good?" "Everything bless?" "Is wha?" All we really meant to say is "Hi, Hello."
• At times when we are being told a story and are in disbelief, amazement or shock, we make comments such as "Me mothers!" "Me fathers!" "Me arm!"
• If we want to say "I’m not doing it" or "No," we would say "Tall" or "Who you talking to?" or "Who and he boy?"
• To call someone "stupid" (which is harsh), we would refer to them as "moo-moo."
• If we are without money, we often use the slang "things tight."
• "We don’t mix up" simply means, "We don’t get involved in those things."
• Another popular phrase is, "Who e hut e hut," which translates as, "That’s not my problem."
• The term for "confusion" is "ray-ray."
• If we want to say "the food was tasty," we would say, "de food bang."
• A gay male is referred to as an "aunty-man," and a loose or easy woman is called a "buss-kite."
• To simply say "Yes," we often use the phrases "You dun know" or "A dat" or "How you mean."

All of these terms and phrases would definitely not be understood elsewhere. We would probably be asked, "What the hell are you saying?" I have not heard any of these phrases, anywhere outside my island.

My parents grew up in different parts of the rural area but moved to the town after getting married. They did not retain much of the rural dialect, and they spoke proper English the majority of times, even though a few words might slip out now and again when speaking to family and friends. Even though I grew up in the town, I had much experience of the country life, as most of my family members were from those areas, and I would visit them regularly. I would find myself interacting and speaking similarly to them when I was around. When with my friends, we hardly ever spoke proper English; we stuck to our "twong" or "good" dialect. That is what we became accustomed to, as dialect was the way most people spoke. It took less energy and was more fun. From time to time, my parents would chastise me and encourage me to speak Standard English because they realized that my local patois was becoming a habit and I was using it regularly, which I didn’t seem as much of a big deal to me.

I only realized the importance when I began vacationing in other countries. I noticed it was difficult for others to understand what I was saying. It was then that I began practicing speaking Standard and "proper" English, knowing that the different people that I came across would have difficulty having a conversation with me. My parents knew that I loved to socialize, and that was why they were so persistent in that aspect. That helped me a great deal, and it would have definitely been a problem for me to relate to others. Now I am grateful for their encouragement.

This practice increased when I began working for my father. He operates a Customs Brokerage & Moving firm that specializes in importing and exporting goods to and from all parts of the world. I would interact with various kinds of customers daily. I was then better able to control my dialect and speak professionally at work, and at other appropriate times. My father always instilled in me, "practice makes perfect," which I found was so true. I had not understood why he would make such a big deal of the way in which I spoke at times, and my comment would often be, "You know what I mean. Why are you trying to be difficult?" He would reply saying, "If you know better, do better. In the future you will be the only person who knows what you want to say, but it would be hard for you to get your point across."

Presently, I am a freshman student at East Carolina University, and this new venture has really made some of my speech habits very useful. Since I have been here, I have had to speak slowly for my fellow classmates, and my professors in order for them to understand me. My accent and the way in which I pronounce certain words are totally different from what they are accustomed to hearing. I have heard these questions on numerous occasions:

• "Where are you from?"
• "What did you say?"
• "Are you speaking English?"

Others would just smile when I spoke, and I knew that they did not understand a "dam" thing that I said. (Ha! Ha!) Some people would even ask me simply to speak, or to say anything, just because they loved the way I sounded and thought it was unique. At first, I felt uncomfortable, not only because 95% of the people never knew or heard of my island, but because my accent and pronunciation of words were like they had never heard before.

Friends of mine who have traveled abroad to study have found it extremely difficult to interact with their peers. They had not practiced speaking Standard English and they figured the solution was to mimic those around them, or even to be silent and only speak when spoken to. This became pretty hard on them, as they were transforming into someone they were not. Our language is not something we should be ashamed of or afraid to use, but it is the way in which we use it that makes the difference. It is important to note that it is always good to share different cultural aspects and views of where we come from, and I have always felt that cultural diversity is very important in today’s world. There are so many to be taught and learned, and we would be surprised to know how much difference the opinion of someone else could make in our lives.

I prefer the phrase ‘Standard English’ rather than ‘proper English.’ After all, if we spoke ‘proper,’ but were not understood by our listeners, it would be a futile exercise. The purpose of language is to communicate. Whatever method is used, if communication is achieved, then that is the success. Every form of language is unique in its own way. It is necessary to be able to express oneself in lots of different situations, and also have the flexibility to relate to a variety of people.

My role as a student at ECU is not just to be successful in school, but I also have the responsibility of being a good representative for my island by enlightening others about my culture. I often wondered why it has not been difficult for me to understand what my classmates and professors were saying, but then I realized that it is because I traveled a lot, and I was familiar with the different forms of language. It also became obvious that because more than 90% of the television stations at home in St.Kitts are American, that this was a form of learning, and helped me to understand and process the language more easily. I was not even aware that this was a form of learning and an everyday process for me. I am grateful to my parents for encouraging me to practice speaking Standard English, as it has helped me more than I could have imagined. I look forward to sharing my culture with my peers, so that they can be aware of the various types of language and patois that surround them, and that they might be better able to understand others when in my position.