Prosodic features

There have been few comprehensive studies of prosody in the Caribbean and North American islands and no detailed research on these features in Bahamian English. Wells (1982) describes the general prosodic characteristics of speech as sounding more syllable-timed than stress-timed. This applies to both Afro-Bahamian and Anglo-Bahamian speech, but it is also important to qualify this observation. Wells notes that the syllable–timing characteristics of Caribbean varieties, and more particularly, Bahamian English, are not like those of African second language learners and that syllable timing is not an absolute phenomenon. Bahamian English falls within a continuum of syllable timing in that it is more syllable-timed than British or American English varieties but not as consistent as varieties of English directly transferring syllable timing from a language with strict syllable timing, such as a native speaker of Spanish speaking heavily accented English.

One of the most recognizable features of Bahamian English is the relative lack of reduction of vowels in unstressed syllables as in most varieties of American English. This trait contributes to the perception of Bahamian English as being stress-timed rather than syllable- timed. Afro-Bahamian speech appears to be somewhat more syllable-timed than Anglo-Bahamian speech, though they share this trait to some extent.

There are also a couple of noteworthy characteristics of Bahamian English relating to sentence intonation. High rising terminal contours characterize Bahamian English affirmative sentences. In this regard, they appear to align with varieties as disparate as Australian and New Zealand English, as well as younger speakers in some areas of the US, but this intonation pattern seems to be a longstanding characteristic of Bahamian English, as it is with Caribbean English elsewhere (Wells 1982: 580).

The intonational contours of Bahamian English tend to show a wider pitch range than varieties such as American English and British English, although it is difficult to measure these differences precisely. In addition, there also are some stress differences in the assignment of primary stress. For example, in some cases primary stress may occur on non-initial syllables rather than the first syllable, as in Cherokée for Cherokee or moráy for moray. Bahamian English still awaits extensive, detailed study of prosodic features, though it is clearly an essential part of the phonetic configuration of white and black Bahamian varieties.