Word-initial /h/

In the Leewards (Antigua, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla, Barbuda), unlike in Jamaican and other Western Caribbean varieties, /h/ is most often not dropped from the beginnings of most words. So-called “h-dropping” or word-initial “h-deletion” is common in Jamaica and in the Bahamas as well. H-dropping also occurs in other dialects of English; often British Cockney is cited as the source of h-dropping in English-derived Caribbean varieties. In dialects with this feature, which is generally not found in the Eastern Caribbean, pairs such as hair and air are homophonous (both are sometimes [ɪε​r]).