att. Carter & Jaybird

Islander and Thinkinoutloud,

Thank you. You obviously understand I meant no disrespect and you read my post exactly as I intended.

Ha,

You said, "Now, in Bouya's situation you said that his employees won't speak to him in "proper" English, the sad fact of the matter is that by even suggesting to people that they speak "properly" comes off condescending at best, and as an insult at its worst."

I never made that suggestion to any of them, nor did I say I did in my post.

Ha,

You claim, "a person who chooses to move here, does so at the risk of being excluded in something as common as everyday conversation. A simple fact of a life is that when you move to someone's country, neighborhood, area you adjust yourself to the people that were there before you. No one is going to accommodate themselves to you, sorry but that's just the way it is."

I'm sorry you feel that way but thankfully not everyone shares your perspective. My friends and I are gracious and welcoming to others and try to make new people feel at ease rather than alienated.

Then you say, "Now, in Bouya's situation you said that his employees won't speak to him in "proper" English, the sad fact of the matter is that by even suggesting to people that they speak "properly" comes off condescending at best, and as an insult at its worst. One of the biggest mistakes people make when moving here is thinking that the local populace is going to make changes to make your stay more enjoyable, the trouble is once you move here you are no longer a tourist (and even good treatment is negotiable there), but a resident (and trust me when I say that all of us who live here or was born here. "

Check your facts--I never used the word "proper." And while you may treat new residents as somehow less than you, not everyone shares your bias. My friends and I always treat everyone the way we like to be treated.

You contend, "If you want, you can consider the whole language "barrier" thing a hazing ritual, if you live here long enough to understand, good, if not, you're on your own."

You may enjoy "hazing" people, watching them struggle to find their footing in a new place but I prefer to lend a hand and would not make things more difficult for anyone for any reason. Life is hard enough without people intentionally thwarting one's efforts for sport.

"As for the pate truck experience, I chose to leave that one alone because I saw it for what it was (and for the record I could see where Jaybird was coming from), but in your initial post you weren't commenting on that were you? So please don't go there."

My posts have broadly encompassed all of the posts in this thread that have preceded mine though I have spent considerable time responding to your requests for "clarification."

You also state, "And the idea that local people won't teach you the dialect, it works like this, we are speaking English, if you listen carefully you'll understand. Stop being fascinated by the accent (something that many North Americans are famous for doing) and in time you'll be able to understand, and dare I say it mimic what is being said. Understand this, we are not speaking a foreign language (even though it sounds that way to you) so we see no need to teach you how to speak anything. You'd be surprised at how many of us "Cruzan Mumble Talkers" can "yank" because we have learned to listen, and not be fascinated by another variation of English."

Again, your attitude seems to be that those who do not comprehend the island dialect could absorb it if they chose to pay close enough attention so those who don't understand it are just too "fascinated" to be able to do so. This argument is too weak to merit a response as most of us acknoweldge we are imperfect and need help with a myriad of things in life.

Then you say, "I was not presuming to know you, nor was I suggesting that only a transplant could deem the situation rude (where you read that is beyond me). I've seen many variations on this same issue and I was merely telling you that coming to another person’s home (country, neighborhood, whatever) and telling them how to act (read: speak) could be considered rude on your part."

You are presuming that I am not a native born Virgin Islander because you seem to think that all native born Virgin Islanders share your perspective and I assure you that you are VERY wrong.

You finish with, "I was not attacking anyone who chooses to identify themselves as a continental, so much so as I was attacking the notion that our native tongue is inferior (think about the talks of what is "proper" and what is not) and that anyone who does not wish to speak Standard American English in a place that is NOT the continental United States has to do so to be employed. Let it suffice to say that if we were in the continental US or even Alaska or Hawaii for that matter, I wouldn't even be having this disagreement with you, because I would agree. Different house, different rules."

Nobody has identified himself or herself as continental and nobody has referred to island dialect as "inferior." Furthermore, as Islander noted, the official language of the USVI is English. Presumably before that it was Danish but I don't believe the language of the islands has ever officially been the dialect that is spoken on island today. And despite your claim to the contrary, it is perfectly legitimate for an island employer to require his or her employees to speak English just as the public school system teaches its classes in English. And with respect to "different house, different rules," you are correct; if you want Bou'ya's job, you play by Bou'ya's rules and if a vendor wants Jaybird's money, that vendor must play by Jaybirds' rules. It all comes back to respect. Everybody wants it and those who refuse to give any will find they don't get any.

Wowee-wow-wow. What ever did I start here? I first would like to answer direct questions to me:

1. My husband is African-American like me.

2. I did say hello to the first and second gentlemen that walked up to the cart after me. I have always been a very courteous person - and even in the states people said I was "too" nice. That is why I believed that whatever was being said about me was more so based on appearance and my "Northerner" accent.

Now I would like to say to anyone who might have been offended by anything I said (it didn't seem like anything was directed to me but just in case) - I was not saying anything negative about the native language. The reason why I said it was a native language instead of slang was because I can usually understand slowed down slang. As I said in my post - most of my interactions on-island have been with locals (mostly hours at the laundromat) so I got a crash course in "fast slang" and humble respect "can you please repeat that?" - lol.

I am so sorry that this post turned into some debate about the validity of local dialects and who should be here and who should go home. This world belongs to everyone and as soon as we as a people (and I mean all human beings) come together instead of trying to tear each other apart - the sooner we find true happiness as individuals.

**All opinions in this post have been expressed in respect and with all individuals rights in mind**

I see that all references to keeping the conversation "civil" went out the door.

@Jaybird - None of my "soapboxing" was directed at you, I understand that the VI is not the place for everyone (sometimes I wonder if it's the place for myself, but that could open a whole other can of worms). In fact, I saw your post and response days ago, and as I said above, I saw it for what it was and chose to leave it alone. For the record, some people will be rude to you regardless of whether or not they think you can understand them, that's just the nature of humanity.

@East Ender - I can see that you could kinda sorta see where I was coming from, because you are right, I was offended the moment I read about mumble talking and what not, so in that respect it was cool of you to clarify exactly what it is we speak. I agree with you that standard English should be learned as a "second language" in a sense. What many people fail to realize is that teaching a child who does not speak Standard English to read, write, and comprehend in said language is almost tantamount to teaching that same child to read, write, and comprehend Spanish. Speaking as someone who was taught the latter, I can tell you beyond the shadow of a doubt that I can more or less do all the former in Spanish (whenever I practice the language), but can I speak it or even understand when "native" Spanish speakers start talking? For the most part, no. So that method of teaching clearly does not work. In fact, now that I think about it a large part of the problem in the school system probably results from the simple fact that what we speak is not a written language per se and that very few people know the "rules" of how to write it, thus when you combine trying to teach in a language that is not your own, with what you actually speak you get confusion. Much of the Creoles in the Caribbean are more phoenetic (sp?) than they are languages with rules.

@Bouya - I never said that you said that. I said that thinkinoutloud said that you meant that. Go back to thinkoutloud's post dated July 23, 2005 at 02:14PM and read the second sentence of the first paragraph.

@Islander - Seeing as how most of my comments were not regarding anything about TV and whatnot, I'll leave that alone. And you are right many people will make nasty comments about you when they assume that you don't know what they are saying. I think what I'm annoyed about has more to do with people thinking this is something that's only done in the VI, it's quite universal, go ask people who "look" like they can't speak Spanish what people say about them in front of them. As for your UVI Humanities professors talking about the English Profiency Exam and people not passing it, ask them why people fail this test, but are not allowed to know which area they failed on. Since this is about "constructive criticism" ask them what purpose that serves. As for Professor/Governor Turnbull's feelings on anything, seeing as how I don't hold him in high esteem what he says is of little consequence to me, although I will comment on what is a proper space to use "dialect." I am quite familiar with the notion that many of our educators have that "dialect" should not be spoken in the classroom and place of business and whatnot, but I disagree. Look at what I wrote to East Ender and you'll see why. In effect, all that happens is that our "educators" reinforce the idea that what we speak is inferior and it is not. There seems to be a prevalent notion among our educators and the "elite" that anything that is island/Caribbean based is wrong (read: less than) and we should do all that we can to move away from it.

And yes, we are in the USVI, but that's only a political distinction isn't it? For some reason in all my years of US History (and I've had a lot) I barely seem to recall any mention of the USVI and its significance to the US. While our passports may read US Citizen, the fact of the matter is this more often than not when we leave to go to the mainland we are often treated as immigrants in much the same way that our counterparts to the East and West of us are (In fact, some people think that we are international and that we should have student or work visas?). Do you know why? Part of it is because no one teaches mainlanders of our existence, another part of it has to do with us having closer cultural ties to these other islands. So, do you define a man by his political ties or his culture and please tell me why?

By the way Islander, I went to public school and I can tell you that a large part of the problem has to do with parents sending children to school unprepared and expecting teachers to do EVERYthing. There's more, but I'm going to leave that one alone too.

@thinkinoutloud - You are right, I did assume that you were from the mainland, but that doesn't necessarily change what I wrote in the first place. Let me say this, people are people and as such we will all have differing opinions. Thinking along those veins you will understand that just because we are all from the VI that does not mean that we are a monolith and have to agree on everything. Or did you think that your saying that you are "local" and not offended was going to throw me for a loop?

Where did you got the idea that I feel above transplants? I am merely taking the attitude that many US Citizens have when I go there. When someone voluntarily makes the choice (because that's what it is, a choice) to move somewhere else, they do not and should not get special treatments and priviledges above anyone else. Or have you missed all the talks of immigration tests being given in a foreign language and street signs the same being equated to the same in the mainland. My attitude is that when someone moves to someplace "foreign" they should not take the attitude that they are better than the individuals that have resided there previously and try to change them. I was under the impression that we are US citizens and that we should act like them in any shape form or matter, I guess I was wrong. Silly me for thinking like that.

Did your first post encompass the pate truck experience, hmmm.... let's see. Below is your entire post dated July 23, 2005 at 12:30 am:

DL,

I did not find Bou'ya's statement, "naive...ludicrous...[or] offensive.

Bou'ya said, "I'm so frustrated with the teens we hire who can't hold a conversation with me because of this ["Cruzan Mumble Talk"]. In fact, I won't hire them on this, their native island, anymore."

You, DL, said, "I find your statement that you won't hire us on "[our] native island, anymore" offensive. How dare you disrespect us just because we don't choose to speak proper English on our own island."

You contend that because islanders watch television they are able to converse in standard English when they so choose. If Bou'ya has had experiences with local teens who are able to speak to their employer, Bou'ya, in standard "television" English and yet choose not to do so then it seems reasonable to me that Bou'ya decline to employ them. Disrespectful employees are not entitled to employment. What is unfortunate is that the rude behavior of some island teens has eliminated potential employment opportunities with Bou'ya, and no doubt other employers, for other island teens. Bou'ya was only describing workplace problems S/He has experienced and never suggested "Cruzan Mumble Talk" was inappropriate outside of the workplace

Go and read it again, nope no mention of the pate truck experience, nothing that even alludes to it.

As for teaching people the "dialect," you know what I'll be adult enough to admit that that I was partially wrong in that regard. And I say partially wrong because the truth is that in a sense what we speak is a foreign language since the rules of syntax, grammatical structure, and pronunciation are different. However, the real reason no one can teach you how to speak "dialect" is because there are no formal rules to it and most people will write and say things differently. One of the main reasons Caribbean islands in general stick to the "formal" is because each island would in fact end up with a different language so to speak.

But what does people coming here and not listening have to do with being a person and having faults? I'll also admit that I was inserting my own biases because for too often people approach you (as a Caribbean individual) with what are you saying to put you on "display" and treat you like a poppy show, so I wouldn't have responded anyway. All that I am saying is that when someone makes the attempt to go someplace "foreign" you do not suggest or say to them that what they speak (a critical part of who they are is wrong, less than, improper, or what) because you can't understand them. It's just as bad as the person talking about you thinking you can/cannot understand them. You are also right that no one referred to what is "proper" and what is not. At least they didn't directly. Although when you make a point to speak of what is appropriate for the work place and what is not it certainly comes off that way.

@all - I'm going to admit that part of what irked me is that there generally seems to be a sense among many of our governing bodies and other people that what we speak is not good enough and that we should only adhere to things that make us more "American." The problem with that line of thinking is that if often puts people at a disadvantage and conflicting standpoint because it forces people to choose between two very important identities, what you are culturally and what your political affiliation says you are and should be. Many of you who have moved here speak of "culture shock" after moving here, well guess what many of us as Virgin Islanders experience the same thing when we go to the mainland. After all these years of being told yes you are American and rah rah and rey rey, and then you realize that you don't have anything in common with your average American, except the passport. I think the best thing we can learn from all of this is that while we have political ties to the US, from a cultural standpoint (which shapes a large part of people's identities) we are not American.

Finally, I am through with this topic and will not be responding to anything else. Let it suffice to say that we can all agree to disagree.

Since moving my sons to St. Croix, my youngest son (now 15) has gone from speaking only English to working towards being quadri-lingual. His new languages include Spanish, French and Cruzan Mumble Talk. I must admit that his mastery of Cruzan is coming along much faster than his French and Spanish. This amuses me as I made sure my sons fully understood when we arrived here that the idea was to embrace the culture, not to object to it being different from what they moved from.

In response to a few of the comments made in earlier posts, I have found there are times when natives will speak Cruzan Mumble Talk purposefully to be rude to someone. At other times, I interact with natives who don't have much opportunity to chat with non-natives and it is clear then that standard English is nearly as foreign to them as Swahili would be to me. We try to make the best of such conversations and through partial understanding and some pantomime still manage to communicate. I like that.

I do believe that in the work place, if the owner/management of of a company is from off-island and does not speak the local dialect, then applicants for employment need to be able to speak clearly in a language that the employer can understand. That just makes sense. There is no question that off-islanders would never be employed by some local companies because they are not natives. Sometimes that may be for language reasons and other times not. In a couple of businesses here in which I have some interest, we have had difficulty finding employees who are willing and able to speak clearly in English to the clientele, who are primarily from off-island. That does not work and has severely limited our applicant pool.

I believe the native islanders on every island should embrace their culture and teach their children to speak the dialect of their ancestors. However, I feel they should also equip their children for life in the world beyond their native culture as best as they are able. Not to do so only hurts their children and the future way of life for their culture.

And Bou'ya, I agree that "sometimes" is a key word in many things we post here. Nothing should be said as absolute. Sometimes things are done for prejudicial reasons and sometimes they are just done as part of life without any negative reasons behind them.

On the question of, "Did he say good morning or good afternoon?", while I agree that the island way of polite interaction is a very good thing, it is also true that most mainlanders who move here or visit here were raised to believe it was impolite to interrupt a conversation others were having and to wait until a pause before speaking. In the islands it is expected that you will greet the room upon entering. This poses an internal conflict that many mainlanders take years to get past. Most do not mean to be rude according to local standards, they just don't know better... just as islanders do not understand mainland expectations about standards of customer service. Both are misunderstandings between cultures that teach different things. Neither is wrong, just different. Yet both sides sure do get riled up about these issues, don't they?

There is something I really need to make clear to some of the posters on the board: people here can understand standard English!!! I have never in my life seen anyone who had trouble understanding someone who spoke standard English to them.

Also, the education system attempts to handle the issue of the importance of standard English. It equips us with linguistic tools to succeed in life, and I fully agree that standard English opens the door to many opportunities. Of course, a few students don't do as well as others and are not equipped with a fully functional use of the English language, but I would definitely say that the average person here can speak and understand standard English. Of course, when most people speak standard English they still have an accent.

In general, people here can either A) speak standard English with a Crucian accent or B) speak the local dialect which, of course, is more broken down than standard English or C) speak standard English in an American accent. From my experiences, most people fall into the A and B categories. Personally, I am all three depending on the mood, what I'm talking about, who I'm talking to, and whether I'm on St. Croix or on the mainland.

I am starting to get the impression that employers from the mainland not only expect employees to speak standard English, but in an "American accent" as well. That is unfair because you can't dictate what you want someone to sound like. I really urge people to pay attention to what locals say - a local might be speaking standard English in a Crucian accent (as opposed to the full-blown Crucian dialect) but you might pass it off as them speaking the dialect.

I also disagree with people not hiring statesiders because of language issues, because as I said earlier, we can fully understand standard English.

And can we please stop referring to it as Cruzan Mumble Talk? It was meant as a joke, and is definitely a condescending way to view the dialect.

Besides, Cruzan is a rum! Maybe she meant they were drunk?
I beleive that fast talk that he was talking, Jaybird is, patois, as the lady in the van is from Dominica. I say patois as the dialect that is spoken in Dominica and St. Lucia and the like, not what some of you refer to as what we in the VI speak. I don't think on any day you could understand it, I know I can't!

Rl

That smiley face is meant to be a B )

Yeah, keep in mind that any "really foreign sounding" languages you hear on the street are most likely not the native language of the islands. We are definitely an immigrant community!

This reminds me when we went to the cityhall in STX to look up some lot plans. The guy asked me if I could understand him. I am German and was wondering myself if he indead understood my english lol. I said that I understood him just fine. He did have an VI accent but I did not find it difficult to understand. Now try and understand the West Philadelphia slang, that is another story. Local schools here also are trying to make the students understand how important it is that they learn to talk propper english. Our community college now offers a course just in speach etiquette. I am sure that if they don't they have a much weaker position to finding a job. That is just fact of live. I myself noticed the same in Germany growing up in a small town we had a very strong slang. Unless I used propper German nobody but the people in my town understood what I was saying. The VI Island are not any different. Even now in my German Playgroup we all speak a high German. All of us come from different reagions. I am actually debating to take up Danish classes and perhaps Spanish. I was never good at French. I am not sure if I could ever get the hang out of the creole slang due to that.
Iris

Which reminds me that after living for eight years in Germany and being able to speak German pretty fluently, it was still difficult to understand someone from Bavaria. Hell, I remember going to Switerland and having to ask the border official at least three time what he said. My ex wife who was German didn't even understand him.

But than again, what do I know, I speak with a Hessische dialekt.

Schuess

I worked in Switzerland and half the time I did not know what they where talking about. Having finished my chef degree in Bavaria I now understand them better than the people in my hometown around Cologne. Their slang has changed so much I would have to live there for a wile again to understand them lol. I know when I am in West Philadelphia I might also be in the same boat and not understand a word. I have been in the US for 18 years and know my english. But somehow the West Philly slang sounds nothing like english.

Iris

No, DL, "Cruzan Mumble Talk" was not meant as a joke. It was also not meant to be an insult. It was more a descriptive analogy. I speak several languages, although I am not fluent in all of them. When trying to figure out how to emulate some of the Cruzan dialect, I found that swallowing some syllables and slurring or mumbling others was the only way to recreate much of what I was hearing.

Also, "HA" made a comment directed to me in one of his/her posts asking why I thought all island dialects should sound the same. I never said that they should. However, many island dialects do have some similarity to each other. This I presume is due to the fact that many of the islands developed in a similar way and had their populations delivered from a similar combination of African tribal locations when the slave trade was active. Each is different from the others in some way, but there are usually more similarities than differences. I don't find the differences to be astonishing. I do find it interesting that I have not heard anything similar to the Cruzan local dialect on any other island.

Doesn't Dutch St. Maarten (which speaks English as their everyday language) speak a similar dialect to Crucian? I don't know if they do the swallowing of syllables, but I heard some people from St. Maarten the other day and they sounded like us.

Alexandra: I am not sure how one "swallows" a syllable. I find your descriptive analogy of "mumble talk" extremely offensive, whether you meant it that way or not. Basically, you are saying that the Crucian variety of Creole English is an inferior, "mumbled" brand of English. If you listen to the various English Creoles in the Caribbean you will find similarities and differences. Each island varies because of local influences. On St Croix, there were Spanish influences which were different from the Dutch influences on St Thomas and St John. The overseers were mainly Dutch on St T and St J and the initial Creole was a Dutch Creole. The Danes wanted to be in charge and govern, but didn't have a lot of day to day contact with the enslaved Africans. But I digress...

Some forms of Creole ARE a different language, so if you do not have competence in that language, it is going to sound unintelligible to you. If you do not understand the rules of a language, you will not be able to decode or encode it. But that does not make IT "mumbled."

QUOTE:"Alexandra: I am not sure how one "swallows" a syllable. I find your descriptive analogy of "mumble talk" extremely offensive".

GROW UP AND GET RIGHT...IT IS HER WAY OF DESCIBING THE CRUZAN DIALECT, WHICH IS A "LAZY" & "SLOPPY" WAY OF SPEAKING...AND WHERE DOES CREOLE COME FROM, NOT THE VIRGIN ISLANDS...!

YesterDaze,

You said, "...WHERE DOES CREOLE COME FROM, NOT THE VIRGIN ISLANDS...!"

Technically speaking you are incorrect. The online Merriam-Webster Dictionary ( http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary) has four entries under "Creole" with a capital "C", the first of which is: "a person of European descent born especially in the West Indies or Spanish America." The USVI is in the West Indies so by this definition, West Indians of European descent are Creoles and West Indians of African descent are not.

The dictionary's third definition of "Creole" is: "a person of mixed French or Spanish and black descent speaking a dialect of French or Spanish." The dialect spoken in the USVI does not seem to meet this criteria so mixed race speakers of the USVI dialect do not qualify as Creole.

The term "creole" with a small "c" is defined as: "a language that has evolved from a pidgin but serves as the native language of a speech community." The USVI dialect may be a creole because it may have evolved from a pidgin, "a simplified speech used for communication between people with different languages." Generations ago island dwellers from Europe, Africa and other Caribbean islands msut have had an informal common means of communication and perhaps the present day USVI dialect stems from that informal common language.

Presently, however, the USVI dialect is no longer used to help indigenous people communicate with non-indigenous people but rather as a tool used by indigenous people to exclude non-indigenous people. It's unfortunate but even seemingly good tools, like those used to open up communication between people, can be used to harm people. This is often done under the guise of hanging onto one's heritage but those same people who deem the USVI dialect as part of their heritage don't long for Danish rule or slavery, also part of their heritage and likely what created the need for the USVI dialect in the first place. I suspect that choosing to be inclusive rather than exclusive in thought, word and deed is the heritage most of our ancestors would have preferred to have transmitted to us as their legacy.

To Yesterdaze: WHICH IS A "LAZY" & "SLOPPY".....
Glad to know that you are no longer on the island! You must not have a great deal of respect for culture. Or perhaps this kind of culture...maybe you prefer operas or what not. It is a dialect, a culture--many cultures are losing their rich history..all just because they tried to become more Americanized...I love the dialect..even if I do need to have it repeated sometimes...so perhaps you should GET OVER IT.

East Ender, I did not say anything at any time about the Crucian dialect being inferior in any way. How does dissecting how the syllables are spoken so that non-Crucians might begin to emulate it if they wish to learn it offensive? Isn't imitation supposed to be the greatest form of flattery?

It is interesting that many locals complain that transplants don't try to get to know the culture and embrace it, but if someone does take the time to try and learn more, that is also deemed offensive by some.

And one "swallows" a syllable by forming it in the back of the throat and cutting it off short of full pronunciation, perhaps with a glottal reflex closing the throat and shutting off sound. Describing how something sounds is a pure dissection. I am sorry if you choose to take it as an offense.

YesterDaze,
Agreeing with HMMMMMMMM, I am also glad you're off the island. How dare you consider our dialect a "lazy" and "sloppy" way of speaking? It's people like you who give newcomers a bad name. I hope you went some place where everyone speaks exactly like you, that way you miss out on a true cultural experience. Also, aren't you the person who used to live on other Caribbean islands? I'm pretty sure they speak similar dialects as well. Were you as critical of their way of speaking as you are with us? It sounds like your pent-up anger with living here has caused you to lash out against our cultural elements, which in my opinion, is very immature, petty and offensive.

Also, there is not ONE single language/dialect called "Creole". Each Dutch, French and English-speaking Caribbean island has their own dialect or language that would be considered a "creole".

thinkoutlod,
I disagree with Crucian being used to exclude newcomers. It is used because it is our dialect and facilitates easy communication among us. It's kind of like how a lot of people in San Juan, Puerto Rico can speak English, yet you will not hear one word of English if you are in the city since they all prefer to speak Puerto Rican Spanish - THEIR language! Just because most people around you are speaking it, doesn't mean they are necessarily using it to exclude you. I'm not saying that no one would ever use Crucian as a method of exclusion, but I don't think it's very common. There's really no purpose for us to use the dialect for exclusion, because most people who live here for a period of over 4 to 6 months can understand it anyway, so it's not like many people would be excluded.

Alexandra: I realize you didn't say that the Crucian language was inferior, but by saying it is "mumbled" implies that if they wanted to, they could speak a different way. But the articulation you hear is the way the language is articulated. Granted, there is variation among Crucians, just as there is among, say Texans or Pennsylvanians, etc.

A good way to learn the dialect/language is to be a good student. Listen and ask. I don't think that starting at the syllable level is as useful as starting with the grammar and the semantics. Ask a Crucian friend to help. Most Virgin Islanders are proud of their language.

DL: I do think that there are Crucians (and St Thomians, etc.) who use language as an "us and dem" divider. I agree that it is a minority, but it does happen.