Bahamian Standard English: A first approach

This article presents both quantitative and qualitative information on the orthography, lexis, and morphosyntax of Bahamian Standard English. Employing a press corpus of over 100 000 words, it aims not only at a descriptive account but also at initial answers to two research questions. First, is Standard English as spoken in the Bahamas still following the traditional British norm or has it shifted toward an American orientation; and second, what role does the local creole play in shaping the variety? An overview of the current sociolinguistic situation obtaining in the Bahamas complements the analysis.