June 17th, 2020.
Culture
ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES#3: THE BAHAMAS
by Timoteo Freitas, Natalia del Bianco
As in our last stop, the next English speaking country is an island and it is located in Central America. We are talking about the Bahamas. Actually, the Bahamas are not just one island, but this country is composed by a group of 700 islands and over 2,000 rocks and cays, sprinkled over 100,000 square miles of ocean.
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Everywhere you look you will find wonderful beaches. The water is the clearest in the world. This is one of the reasons people from all over the planet want to visit this incredible country.
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The most populous islands are New Providence and Grand Bahama Island. On the first island, there is Nassau, the capital of the country, and the main port and airport to arriving in the Bahamas. Something important to know: the easiest way to visit the Bahamas is embarking on a cruise from Florida (EUA) and stop at Nassau or another island.
It is hard to list the most beautiful places in the Bahamas. But according to people who have already visited this country, to a good tour, you can visit Andros, New Providence, Grand Bahama Island, Bimini, The Exumas (with water of different tones of blue), Nassau, Dunmore Town, Rock Sound (with colorful gardens and the Ocean Hole), Abaco and, to finish, Paradise Island. To choose which part of the country you are going to visit first, you should surf on the internet, see the astonishing landscapes, and decide.
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The official language is English, following British influences. However, the population of the islands also speaks Bahamian Creole. As in Jamaica, this dialect is an English-based creole language. Some differences between this dialect and the standard English, for example, is in the second person plural: it can take one of three forms - yinna, y'all or all a ya; 'I'm going to' is spoken as 'I goin ta', 'I gern ta' and 'I gun go'.
Music and dance are an integral part of life in the Bahamas. Various celebrations held throughout the year include song and dance shows, spectacular parades, and concerts. Calypso, reggae, and soca, which are styles of Afro-Caribbean music, are popular in The Bahamas. Junkanoo, which is a street parade that includes music, dance, and costumes of Akan origin, is a celebration held annually on Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Goatskin drums and cowbells are used to create much of the music that is part of Junkanoo. Rake-and-scrape is another popular style of music in the Bahamas, which uses Goombay drums, concertinas (a free-reed musical instrument), and handsaws.
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The Bahamas has a rich tradition of oral histories, featuring folktales and legends, heroic tales, and fairy tales that have been passed down through the generations by word of mouth. Written literary works include poetry, historical accounts, and novels. Bahamian storytelling is a much-revered art and these tales told often carry witty messages. James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier, was the first Bahamian to publish a literary work, in 1782.
