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16 - Caribbean creoles and Black English

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2010

Mark Sebba
Affiliation:
Department of Linguistics and English Language, Lancaster University, UK
David Britain
Affiliation:
University of Essex
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Summary

The origins of Caribbean creoles in Britain and British Black English

There have been Caribbeans living in Britain for several centuries, and cities such as London, Bristol, Cardiff and Liverpool have long-established Caribbean communities dating back to the era of slavery. However, the present-day African-Caribbean community dates mainly from the period following World War II. From 1948 onwards, to compensate for labour shortages in Britain, workers were recruited in the former British Empire in the West Indies. According to census returns, in 1951 there were 15,000 persons born in the West Indies living in England and Wales. By the end of 1958, an estimated 117,000 West Indians had entered Britain (Wood 1960). However, by 1962, the labour shortage over, legislation had been passed with a view to limiting immigration from the New Commonwealth, and migration from the West Indies began to decline.

The fact that migration from the Caribbean area was regulated, by employment opportunities on the one hand and by immigration laws on the other, means that the first, second and subsequent generations of African-Caribbeans are relatively easy to distinguish by age. Thus typical first-generation members will have been born by about 1950, and members of the second generation from 1960 onwards, probably with a peak in the 1970s. A third generation is reaching maturity.

The language situation in the Commonwealth Caribbean

Standard English is the language of administration and education in all of the Caribbean territories which were formerly part of the British Empire.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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  • Caribbean creoles and Black English
    • By Mark Sebba, Department of Linguistics and English Language, Lancaster University, UK
  • Edited by David Britain, University of Essex
  • Book: Language in the British Isles
  • Online publication: 16 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511620782.018
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  • Caribbean creoles and Black English
    • By Mark Sebba, Department of Linguistics and English Language, Lancaster University, UK
  • Edited by David Britain, University of Essex
  • Book: Language in the British Isles
  • Online publication: 16 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511620782.018
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Caribbean creoles and Black English
    • By Mark Sebba, Department of Linguistics and English Language, Lancaster University, UK
  • Edited by David Britain, University of Essex
  • Book: Language in the British Isles
  • Online publication: 16 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511620782.018
Available formats
×