Antiguan and Barbudan Creole

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Antiguan and Barbudan, occasionally Antiguan and Barbudan Creole, is an English-based creole language consisting of several varieties spoken in the Leeward Islands, namely the countries of Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis and the British territories of Anguilla and Montserrat.

There are subtle differences in the language's usage by different speakers, and islanders often use it in combination with Standard English. The tendency to switch back and forth from Creole to Standard English often seems to correlate with the class status of the speaker. Persons of higher social status tend to switch between Standard English and Creole more readily, due to their more extensive formal education in the English-language school system. Creole usage is more common, and is less similar to Standard English, as speakers descend the socioeconomic ladder. This is an example of a Creole continuum.

Many Creole words are derived from English or African origins. The creole was formed when slaves owned by English planters imitated the English of their enslavers but pronounced it with their own inflections. This can be easily seen in phrases such as "Me nah go", meaning "I am not going", or in "Ent it?", presumably a cognate of "Ain't it?"