Our catch phrase is on its way.

Dear Fellow Earthlings,

My preliminary findings regarding Falkland Islands English show that the dialects in it are levelling, now that the farming/ranching population has dropped while the number of Falkland Islanders living in Stanley has increased. More than 90% of the children attend primary and middle school in Stanley. Living in the only “city” in the Falklands, these children are exposed to British English and international English (British English from their teachers, American English through electronic media, St. Helenan English due to the presence of increasing numbers of St. Helenans in the Falklands, and international eclectic English due to the presence of over 50 nationalities in the Falkland Islands). With the vast amount of data coming in from the outside world, the English spoken by the people in the Falklands is growing more global and is losing its local expressions. While young Falklanders in particular are picking up various lexical expressions for computer terms (such as USB, short for Universal Serial Bus) and various American expressions (due mainly to their exposure to American television and movies) -- a reflection of their changing lifestyles -- their familiarity with older lexical items such as such as (the) Camp (referring to anywhere in the Falklands outside of Stanley), diddle dee berries (now considered as a food item by fewer and fewer people), to put for it (meaning to “hurry away from someone or something”), is quickly diminishing. Strong family values can help stem the tide of change – but those too are giving way to marriage with non-Falklanders, high rates of divorce, and physical separation as many of the older students go off to univeresity or trade school in the United Kingdom. Only a concerted effort by the Falkland Islands people themselves can keep the Falklands language unique. More on this topic follows in tomorrow’s installment.

Steve Walker, Earthsaver and Jingles Creator

EarthSaver

Steve Walker

Our catch phrase is on its way.