Bermudian English is aregional dialect of English found inBermuda, a Britishoverseas territory in theNorth Atlantic.Standard English is used in professional settings and in writing, whilevernacular Bermudian English is spoken on more casual occasions.^[2] The Bermudian dialect began to develop following settlement in the early 17th century and retains traits ofElizabethan English.^[3][4][5]Bermudian Creole is also spoken in Bermuda, especially among younger Bermudians.^[6][7]

Casual observers tend to have difficulty in placing the Bermudian dialect, as it differs from those that are clearlyBritish,American, orCaribbean; they also note that the accent tends to vary between individuals.^[8] It is often said to sound American or West Indian to a British ear, and quaintly British to American listeners.^[9]

Often described as one of the least researched dialects of English, Bermudian English was nevercreolised and is technically akoiné — a dialect arising from contact between multiple varieties of the same language.^[9][10] It has been influenced by British and Irish Englishes, Caribbean Englishes (including early influence fromBahamian English andTurks and Caicos Creole, as well as later influence fromJamaican Patwah), North American Englishes, andAzorean Portuguese.^[11] While some scholars have argued for its inclusion as a dialect ofAmerican English,^[12][6] English writer and historianRosemary Hall says it should be considered in a category of its own. Hall says, "While it's true that Bermudian English shares a range of words and sounds with British, American, and Caribbean Englishes, it also has many unique features, meaning it's probably most accurate to say that it's a dialect in a category of its own."^[9] Scholars have also noted that there are differences between the English used by white Bermudians, which may be closer to North American English; and that used by some Black Bermudians, which may be closer to Caribbean English.^[11]

The first detailed scholarly study of Bermudian English conducted byHarry Morgan Ayers in 1933, stated this type of speech "would create least remark, if indeed any, between, say,Norfolk,Virginia, andCharleston, South Carolina". Bermuda was settled from England, as an extension of theColony of Virginia, Charleston and theCarolina Province were settled from Bermuda, and Bermuda retained close links with both into the 19th century. The start of Bermuda's tourism industry in the latter 19th century would see transport connections move to the North East of the United States, from where most of its visitors continue to come.^[12]

In certain aspects of vocalization, some Bermudian English dialects are close to some versions ofCaribbean English,^[13] and some would bracket all these varieties to the broad region of the "English-speaking West Indies".^[14] West Indian workers arrived on the island from the 1900s, primarily working in construction and settling mostly in north-eastern Pembroke/north-western Devonshire, and in Sandys, while Americans arrived due to US bases in Bermuda from 1941 to 1995.^[11] There is evidence to suggest that theSt. David's dialect could actually be a decreolised English variety.^[15]

Azorean Portuguese influenced Bermudian English to a lesser degree, as a result of immigration after slavery was made illegal on the island in 1834.^[11]

The dialect's most evident characteristic is a variation in letter/sound assignment. The transposition of[v] to[w],^{[16][better source needed]} characteristic of many dialects in Southern England during the 18th and 19th centuries,^[17] and of[d] and[dʒ] (similarly to the dialects of English speakers of Gaelic heritage), when combined with afront vowel, can both be seen in the title of a humorous glossary,Bermewjan Vurds (Bermudian Words).^[18]

Bermuda was administratively part of continentalBritish America until the 1783 independence of the colonies that became the United States of America, and thereafter was part ofBritish North America, within which it was grouped with theMaritimes until 1867, at which point, as anImperial fortress, it was left out of theformation of the Canadian dominion and remained under the administration of the British Government, which increasingly grouped Bermuda for convenience with the British West Indian colonies (usually termedthe West Indies and Bermuda orthe Caribbean and Bermuda).^[19][20]

It is unclear whether any similarities between Bermudian English andNewfoundland English date from this period, or pre-date it. The use of[æ] and[ɛ] is interchangeable and vowels are often elongated. [θ] and [ð] turn into [f] and [v], respectively. Bermudian is also non-rhotic, like British English or the New York accent. There's a simplification of codas like 'best' and 'soft" becomebes andsof. Coda [ɫ] is semivocalized to [w].^{[citation needed]}

Bermudian Creole is a creolized form of Bermudian English (similar and related to theEnglish-based creoles:Caymanian English,Turks and Caicos Creole, andSan Andrés–Providencia Creole). It is a dialect ofJamaican Patwah, which is also spoken in Bermuda, especially among Bermuda's younger generations.^[4][3]

Bermudian Creole is significantly influenced byJamaican Patwah and shares many of the same words such asBredren (Friend),Di (The),Gwine (Going), andWahm (What's happening).^[21][22] Which is due to a shared heritage, and the close familial ties that many Bermudians have toJamaica, such as PremierDavid Burt (politician),^[23]Wayne Caines(MP),^[24] and former PremierEwart Brown.^[25] Similarly Bermuda has also produced a number of internationally renownedDancehall andReggae artists such asMishka (musician), andCollie Buddz, who are both native Creole speakers.

^{[9][26][27][28][29]}(Shared words: Bermudian / Jamaican) *

• Turks and Caicos Creole
• Cayman Islands English
• Jamaican Patois
• San Andrés–Providencia Creole

• Cassidy, Frederic G.Jamaica Talk: Three Hundred Years of the English Language in Jamaica. Kingston: University Press of the West Indies.ISBN 978-9-7664017-0-2.
• Cassidy, F. G., Le Page, R. B. (2009).Dictionary of Jamaican English (Second ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0-5211184-0-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Chang, Larry (2014).Biesik Jumiekan: Introduction to Jamaican Language. Washington DC: Gnosophia Publishers (Chuu Wod imprint).ISBN 978-0-9773391-8-1.
• Eberle, Nicole (2021).Bermudian English: A sociohistorical and linguistic profile. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.ISBN 978-9-0272085-4-5.

• OED Introducing Bermudian English

• Languages attested from the 17th century
• Dialects of English
• Languages of Bermuda
• English language in North America
• Languages of the United Kingdom

• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Language articles with speaker number undated
• Language articles with IETF language tag
• Dialects of languages with ISO 639-3 code
• Language articles without reference field
• Language articles missing Glottolog code
• Pages with plain IPA
• All articles lacking reliable references
• Articles lacking reliable references from February 2026
• Articles containing explicitly cited English-language text
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from January 2023
• Language articles without speaker estimate
• Language articles without language codes
• Articles containing Turks And Caicos Creole English-language text
• CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list