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“Speak Like We!”

Let’s speak Bahamian English!

People in the Bahamas speak a dialect of English that playfully blends British, African and Taino words. For example, in Bahamian English, instead of saying “The children are watching the fish,” you would say “Duh chirren dem is vatchin’ duh fishes.” (Want examples? Visit BahamasGuru.com and “Speak Like We!“) Bahamian English is different than Bahamian Creole, which is a creole based on English.

Featuring the Frattoir

In the late 1940s Creole musicians in Louisiana added the frottoir, also known as a “rubboard,” to their bands. A frottoir is essentially a tin washboard hung over a musician’s shoulders. A musician plays the washboard by scraping bottle openers over its ridges. (Some musicians use thimbles or even their fingernails.) Because a washboard is easy to find and relatively easy to play — though perhaps not so easy to play well — traditional musicians have used it in genres beyond New Orleans creole, making it a staple of jug bands, old-time groups, Appalachian folk performances and other forms of folk and country. For our money though, the Creole frottoir has the most soul.