Sociolinguistic phonetic variation in Barbados

This project aims to elucidate the mechanisms of language variation and change by investigating sociolinguistic phonetic variation in Barbados, a Caribbean island (population: 267,000). Until 1966, Barbados was a British colony. The official language is English; however, most of the population uses Barbadian Creole, an English-lexifier creole formed during enslavement (Fenigsen 2000). It is said to

have undergone decreolisation, meaning that even its least prestigious variety is closer to Standard English than other Caribbean varieties (e.g., Jamaican Creole) (Denny & Belgrave 2013). Since independence, Barbados has experienced rapid socio-economic change, gaining greater access to the wider world (and therefore, other varieties of English) through media, tourism, and travel.

Unlike other former colonies (e.g., USA, Australia), comparatively little sociolinguistic work has been completed on more recently independent countries. Barbados provides a unique opportunity to conduct research in a society structured differently from the typical urban setting of most sociolinguistic studies, in that there is more mixing between social classes, especially during

education. This study will also address the intersection of language and identity in a multilingual context.