"A Lee Chip" presented in St. Eustatius

Authors Theodore “Teddy” Johnson and Caroline Myrick presented their book “A Lee Chip: A Dictionary and Study of Saban English” in the Caribbean Netherlands Science Institute on St. Eustatius Thursday.

A “lee chip” means a little bit in Saban English. The book was published via “Language and Life Project” of North Carolina State University, under the supervision of its director Professor Dr. Walt Wolfram.

Johnson, a Saba native, is a civil law notary in Aruba. Myrick is of Saban lineage and was born in the United States in 1988. She is working on her doctorate. “This book and the dictionary in particular are meant to preserve the language as a written source of reference for Saban English,” said Johnson.

He hopes the book’s presentation will create awareness in Statia about the importance of documenting Statian English.

In photo: Johnson (centre) presented books to Ishmael Berkel and Louise van Putten in Van Putten’s historical home on Kerkweg in Statia.

The Daily Herald.