The Development of Aspectual Markers in Anglo-Caribbean English

The English dialects spoken by the scattered white minority in the Caribbean are important in that they provide linguistic clues to the nature of the Anglophone component in the development of the Caribbean Anglophone Creoles. The British dialect sources for aspectual markers in Anglo-Caribbean English are discussed in the light of the dialect contact and mixing that was the sociolinguistic product of English colonization. Koineization in the development of Anglo-Caribbean English is argued for, with suggestions for further research involving Anglo-Caribbean English and the Caribbean Anglophone Creoles.