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Turks and Caicos Creole | |
---|---|
Turks and Caicos Patwah | |
Native to | Turks and Caicos Islands |
Native speakers | 49,309 (2023)[1] |
English Creole
| |
Official status | |
Regulated by | not regulated |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | tch |
Glottolog | turk1310 |
Linguasphere | 52-ABB-ao |
Turks and Caicos Creole, or Turks and Caicos Patwah, is an English-based creole spoken in the Turks and Caicos Islands; a West Indian British overseas territory in the Lucayan Archipelago.
The Turks and Caicos Island Creole variety has not been thoroughly studied but the dialect is directly related to Jamaican Patois (Patwah) as the Turks and Caicos Islands were formally a part of Jamaica for over 114 years (1848 - 1962),[2][3] and both islands were also part of the Taíno Confederacy for over 893 years (AD 600 - 1493).[4] The dialect has also been notably influenced by Bermudian English (Bermudian Creole English) and by Bahamian Creole which is why all three are reportedly mutually intelligible. As of 2023, the number of speakers of Turks and Caicos Islands Creole is approximately 49,309.[5][6]
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