[4] During the colonial era, ABE remained the dominant dialect of English in Antigua and Barbuda, being used in official documents and in formal settings.
By the twentieth-century, a culture of code-switching emerged, especially in the education system, where ABE was used as the official language of academic communication.
[6] As of December 2024, no law in Antigua and Barbuda establishes ABE or any other language as official.
Questions usually do not have the rising intonation that other dialects may have, and vowel length distinctions are less prominent.
[11] Additionally, other distinguishing terms may be used in various circumstances,[12] such as bilbush for Phyllanthus epiphyllanthus, sling for sugar in its liquid state, tango for meat from old cattle, and whitewood for Terminalia buceras.