Guyanese English Creole (Creolese by its speakers or simply Gayiniiz) is an English-based creole language spoken by the Guyanese people. Linguistically, it is similar to other English dialects of the Caribbean region, based on 19th-century English and has loan words from West African, Indian-South Asian, Arawakan, and older Dutch languages.^[2]

Varieties and influences

There are many sub-dialects of Guyanese Creole based on geographical location, urban - rural location, and race of the speakers. For example, along the Rupununi River, where the population is largely Amerindian, a distinct form of Guyanese Creole exists. The Georgetown (capital city) urban area has a distinct accent, while within a forty-five-minute drive away from this area the dialect/accent changes again, especially if following the coast where rural villages are located.

As with other Caribbean languages, words and phrases are very elastic, and new ones can be made up, changed or evolve within a short period. They can also be used within a very small group, until picked up by a larger community. Ethnic groups are also known to alter or include words from their own backgrounds.

A socially stratified creole speech continuum also exists between Guyanese English and Standard / British English. Speech by members of the upper classes is phonetically closest to British and American English, whereas speech by members of the lower classes most closely resembles other Caribbean English dialects. A phrase such as "I told him" may be pronounced in various parts of the continuum:

Grammar

It is common in Guyanese Creole to repeat adjectives and adverbs for emphasis (the equivalent of adding "very" or "extremely" in standard British and American English). For example, "Dis wata de col col" translates into "This water is very cold". "Come now now" translates into "Come right now."

Phonology

There are several phonological markers that are present in Guyanese Creole:^[2]

• Guyanese Creole is isomorphic with the Jamaican phoneme system
• TH stopping
• Cluster reduction
• Avoidance of [ʃ], [ʒ], [f], [v] phonemes
• H dropping
• Semivowels
• Non-rhoticity among older speakers

Sample words and phrases

The following phrases are written as they are pronounced:

• ah go do it or meh guh do am Meaning: "I will do it"^[3]
• dem ah waan sting yuh waan bil - Literally: "they want to sting your one bill" - Meaning: "they usually want to take money from you"^[4]
• evri day me a run a raisfil - Literally: "Every day I run the ricefield" - Meaning: "Every day I take care of the ricefield"^[4]
• ee bin get gun - Literally: "He been get gun" - "he had the gun"^[5]
• ee wuda tek awi lil time but awi bin go come out safe - Literally: "it would have taken us a little time but we would have come out safely"^[6]
• me a wuk abak - Meaning: "I'm working further inland"^[5]
• suurin - a form of courtship (from "suitoring", itself the result of adapting the noun "suitor" for use as a verb and then applying standard patterns to generate a gerund form)^[7]