Turks and Caicos Creole

Turks and Caicos Creole
Turks and Caicos Creole
Turks and Caicos Patwah
Native to	Turks and Caicos Islands
Native speakers	49,309 (2023)
Language family	English Creole Atlantic Western Jamaican Patois Turks and Caicos 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]

^ Turks and Caicos Creole at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^ Lucas, C. P. (1905). ″A Historical Geogaphy of the British Colonies.″ Vol. 2. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 134.
^ Cawley, Charles (2015). ″Colonies in Conflict: The History of the British Overseas Territories.″ Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 323 - 326.
^ Keegan, William F., Hofman, Corinne L. (2017). ″The Caribbean before Columbus.″ Oxford: Oxford University Press.
^ "Statistics Department | Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands". www.gov.tc. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
^ Ethnologue report for Turks and Caicos Creole English

[e18-1] Turks and Caicos Creole at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)

[2] Lucas, C. P. (1905). ″A Historical Geogaphy of the British Colonies.″ Vol. 2. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 134.

[3] Cawley, Charles (2015). ″Colonies in Conflict: The History of the British Overseas Territories.″ Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 323 - 326.

[4] Keegan, William F., Hofman, Corinne L. (2017). ″The Caribbean before Columbus.″ Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[5] "Statistics Department | Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands". www.gov.tc. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 2024-03-05.

[6] Ethnologue report for Turks and Caicos Creole English

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