Post Creole Continuum

Degrees of dialect

ACROLECT

The variety of speech that is closest to a standard prestige language, especially in an area in which a creole is spoken. For example, Standard Jamaican English is the acrolect where Jamaican Creole is spoken. For example, "I want it."

MESOLECT
A variety of speech that is midway between the acrolect and the basilect (somewhere between Standard English and what some people call the "raw form" of dialect/Creole--the basilect). For example, "Me want it."

BASILECT
The variety of speech that is most remote from the prestige variety, especially in an area where a creole is spoken. This is the "raw" dialect as some people call it. It is the politically and economically weakest dialect becomes the basilect, and often vanishes beneath the pressures of the acrolect.For example, "Me want um."

Jamaican examples 

• "im ah wok oba deh suh" (basilect)
• "im workin ova deh suh" (low mesolect)
• "(H)e (h)is workin' over dere" (high mesolect)
• "He is working over there." (acrolect)