Varieties of English in the Americas and the Caribbean

One region?

Dealing with the Americas and the Caribbean jointly, is a decision that requires some discussion, perhaps justification. Of course, in a global geographical perspective it comes natural, focusing upon a continent that is separated from other world regions by the globe’s largest oceans on both sides. History also justifies such a perspective, with roughly similar population movements having occurred at similar times. All parts of the American continent were originally populated by Native Americans. After the “discovery” of the continent by Columbus and during the period of colonial expansion the indigenous tribes were subdued and cruelly decimated by European settlers, who, in turn, forced millions of Africans to be transported to the region, with the descendants of these, plus some smaller groups of later arrivals, making up for the major population segments. Close economic connections have prevailed to the present day, and substantial migration in both directions has occurred (and provided for mutual linguistic influences). On closer examination, however, there are of course also fundamental differences to be discerned in their economic, social, demographic and cultural make-up. North American settlers were attracted by the prospect of religious freedom and economic prosperity, while for a long time the Caribbean was not deliberately settled but rather exploited mainly as the site of the mass production of cash crops, most notably sugar cane, resulting in plantation societies which rested upon the infamous institution of slavery. Hence, while the descendants of Europeans predominate in North America, those of Africans constitute the majority throughout the Caribbean. Politically and socially, the Caribbean was much more fragmented and disputed by several European colonial powers, while on the North American continent the British secured their predominance (with the exception of remaining French enclaves and, around the Gulf of Mexico, Spanish traces and neighbors). Most importantly in the present, linguistic perspective, different settlement patterns have resulted in North American varieties of English being characterized by dialect transmission (with some degree of koinéization but also innovation) as against Caribbean forms of English being shaped by processes of creolization.