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india - 1
Queen Elizabeth I started the East India company in 1600 to develop trade between Britain and India. English became the language used for trading, however some words didn’t have the same meaning in India as it had in Britain. There’s a dictionary called Hobson Jobson to explain the meaning of these words. -
india - 2
The rulers in Calcutta were British and they spoke English therefor many native Indian people thought if they learned to speak English that the new world would open up to them. They would read English books, experience the English culture and they could travel to English speaking countries. Even though the English ruled them it also gave them cultural freedom. -
the caribbean - 1
The English arrived in the Caribbean with settlers in the 1620’s. A new version of English called Creole is believed to have started as a simplified English spoken of sailors and slaves on the ships that took the Africans to the Caribbean. We know that the slaves used many English words, which they mixed with their native language. -
the caribbean - 2
Many words in Creole were “borrowed” from the indigenous population and are now used in the modern English language, for example tobacco and hammock. Creole isn’t the same on every island in the Caribbean- the Barbados version is more alike standard English while Jamaica has more of a distinct local language. Some believe Creole is a language but it is in fact an English dialect. -
australia - 1
The ‘first fleet’ arrived in Port Jackson (Sydney) in Australia 1788. The first fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that were all made to hold up to 780 people. These people were not “free people”, majority of them were criminals who were “sent there for life”. They committed a crime in England and punished by being sent to Australia and were not allowed to return. -
australia - 2
There were 4 men to every woman, which caused big problems in the settlements. A lot of the settlers did not know how to farm the new land because they were unfamiliar with the new climate. This caused many people to starve. -
australia - 3
The criminals used a slang called “flash”. Using flash swag means the goods taken in a robbery. These words are still used in Australia today.