The Languages of Bermuda

The kids and I will hopefully take a cruise to Bermuda next April which started me thinking about the languages of Bermuda.

I knew, of course, that English was one of the main languages but during my research, I found that many linguists feel that Bermudian English has a similar lilt to the US English spoken in the southern United States.

A few other European languages are also spoken in Bermuda, including Spanish, Portuguese, and French; but English remains the language of daily life.  Portuguese is especially important due to the massive immigration from the Portuguese islands. Bermuda culture has retained the essence of Portuguese culture. The British culture also plays a crucial role in influencing the Bermuda culture.

Bermudian English has been referred to as "one of the most severely underresearched varieties of English". It displays a mixture of characteristics typical of British English and American English, and is generally classified as a form of American (rather than Caribbean) English.

Based on an extensive study made by Harry Morgan Ayres, unique features of the Bermudian English are a small number of lexical terms distinct to the islands.

Some interesting slang found in Bermuda:

• Ace Boy - best friend;
• Bermuda time - being fashionably late;
• Deck - accident;
• Horse - motorcycle;
• Jet - going somewhere quickly;
• Longtail - white women from a foreign country;
• Piggly - grocery store.
• Eez-sex;
• Girt-huge;
• Iggrunt-stupid