14 - English transported to the South Atlantic Ocean: Tristan da Cunha

Summary

Introduction

Tristan da Cunha is certainly one of the most unusual places to which the English language has been transported. The Tristan da Cunha archipelago, consisting of six islands altogether, is situated in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, approximately half way between South Africa and Uruguay. Tristan da Cunha, the main and only island of the group with a permanent population, is ‘the remotest inhabited island in the world’ (1998 Guinness Book of World Records). The nearest settlement is on St Helena, 2,334 kilometres to the north, and Cape Town, the nearest harbour in Africa, is 2,778 kilometres to the east (Baldwin 1998). Like all islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, Tristan da Cunha is of volcanic origin; it has an area of 110 square kilometres and the population currently numbers just under 300 people, all of whom live in one settlement on a plateau on the north-western coast.

The effects of seclusion and geographic remoteness on the Tristan da Cunha community have been profound ever since the foundation of the colony some 190 years ago: no airfield exists, and the sea is the only way of travelling and moving to other places (a trip to Cape Town on a shipping vessel lasts from five to twelve days, depending on the weather). Geographical isolation has considerable impact on a sociopsychological level, as it influences the social structure and cohesion of the group as well as the individual members' attitudes towards the ‘outside world’.