Wednesday, April 02, 2008

English in Bermuda?

Is it weird that someone reached this blog by Googling: 'Do they speak English in Bermuda'. What other language would one expect to speak here? Creole was the only one I could think of, since many mistaken for Bermuda being a part of the Caribbean.

For the record English and Portuguese are the two official languages spoken here in Bermuda. Portuguese for the large Portuguese population that has been here for hundreds of years, originally setting foot on the island as paid labourers.

So, although it's most definitely English that's spoken here, it's not the lone one.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

english? you betcha. When I was little I replied to my BDA granny that "I don't have to learn English, I'm an American" and promptly got sent to my room. English? Quite certainly so!

Anonymous said...

Sign….

Sadly Bermudian speak American not English

Powder room not toilet
Fender not dumper
Trunk not boot
Sink not wash hand basin
Faucet not tap
Sidewalk not pavement (although there are many of either)
2 weeks not a fortnight

and Mother’s Day is celebrated in May instead of 3 weeks before Easter.

bichonpawz said...

Wow! I never knew this...interesting. I didn't know that there was a large portuguese population. Well...now I know!

ZenDenizen said...

Bermudanese?