Antiguan and Barbudan English (ABE) orAntiguan and Barbudan Standard English is adialect ofEnglish used inAntigua and Barbuda. ABE co-exists withAntiguan and Barbudan Creole and is considered aStandard English rather than a creole, vernacular, or semi-creole. ABE is used in all educational and administrative circumstances.
The English language was brought to Antigua and Barbuda by settlers in the 1620s. The first confirmed English settlement in Antigua and Barbuda was established in 1632.[2] In 1674, the first sugar plantation was established in the country. This is when the first African slaves were brought to the country, and soon, the majority of people in Antigua and Barbuda were of African descent.[3] When speakers of Antiguan English made contact with these Antiguan slaves, Antiguan and Barbudan Creole emerged.[4]
During the colonial era, ABE remained the dominant dialect of English in Antigua and Barbuda, being used in official documents and in formal settings. By the twentieth-century, a culture of code-switching emerged, especially in theeducation system, where ABE was used as the official language of academic communication.[5] When Antigua and Barbuda gained independence in 1981, the ability to read in English was mentioned in theConstitution as a requirement to serve in Parliament, but English was never mentioned as the official language.[6] As of July 2025, no law in Antigua and Barbuda establishes ABE or any other language as official.[7][8]
As of the last census in 2011, most immigrants living in Antigua and Barbuda come from an English-speaking country. This includes the top four countries that send immigrants to Antigua and Barbuda.[9]
The dialect is generallynon-rhotic, and glottal stops are rare. Questions usually do not have the rising intonation that other dialects may have, and vowel length distinctions are less prominent. Open vowels are also present, anddiphthongs have been known to be pronounced asmonophthongs (time is /taːm/ andface is /fɛs/).Trap andbath may be pronounced with an open /a/ sound.[10]
While ABE is influenced byBritish English, non-British terms are frequently used. Prominent examples includeparking lot instead ofcar park[11] andtraveler instead oftraveller.[12] Additionally, other distinguishing terms may be used in various circumstances,[13] such asbilbush forPhyllanthus epiphyllanthus,sling for sugar in its liquid state,tango for meat from old cattle, andwhitewood forTerminalia buceras. ABE has a large number of loanwords from Antiguan and Barbudan Creole, mostly to refer to local objects, although acrolectal Creole remains distinct from ABE. Code switching between ABE and Creole is referred to in Creole asprap taakin.[14][15]
ABE is used by the government and all educational institutions. While genetically related to ABC, ABE is neither a creole nor a semi-creole.[5]
ABE, rather than British English, is explicitly taught as a second language in Antiguan and Barbudan primary schools.[citation needed] Children are taught there is a clear distinction between ABE, local vernacular, and Antiguan and Barbudan Creole. Loanwords from ABC are considered to be in the same category as loanwords in English from other foreign languages. Only about six percent of the population, mostly expats, speak English as a native language. In place names, apostrophes are nearly always omitted, for example Bolan's becomingBolans, Willikie's becomingWillikies, and Seaton's becomingSeatons. A notable exception is the largest city in the country,St. John's.-ze is generally preferred. The following is a list of formal terms:[16][17][18][19][20][21]
Most speakers of ABE are bilingual in Antiguan and Barbudan Creole, thus, certainacrolectal Creole terms may be used in informal or semi-formal contexts.[18][14]
bony (skinny)
bex (vex)
black led (pencil)
breed (relating to pregnancy)
breeze (washing powder)
chuck (to shove or push)
chups (sucking of teeth to express disagreement)
current (electricity)
manchineel tree (a general term used to refer to poisonous trees)
