Belize
Official Languages
The official language of Belize is English. Although their official language is English, some people’s first language is Creole. Creole is an English based language with various African languages, Miskito, Spanish and a few other languages. Words and structures are similar to English, lexically and phonologically. Kriol has adopted some Spanish words though because it is surrounded by Spanish speaking countries. Others speak Spanish as their first language. Some immigrant languages include Hindi, Japanese, Korean and some Chinese. Some other spoken languages are Mayan and Garifuna (Carib). In Belize, 46% are native Spanish speakers and 33% are native Kriol speakers. Only 5.6 of people claim to speak English at home. People who claim to speak Maya make up 9% of the population. In the 2000 census in Belize, there was found to be 94,422 mother tongue speakers of Spanish and 67,527 mother tongue speakers of Kriol.
History
Since the 1840’s when Mestizo refugees came to Belize, Spanish has been spoken and 46% speak Spanish as their first language. In Belize, the slaves who were brought from West Africa by the British created the Kriol language with much of the vocabulary borrowed from English. In the past, Kriol was considered a language of broken or uncivilized words and sentences. It was considered to be copies that were not perfect from the language in which they derived. Recently, linguistics have improved the understanding of the language and the languages are being seen as new linguistic creations with complete grammatical systems. The first people to inhabitant Belize were the Mayans and this is why Maya is still spoken today. Britain gained control of Belize in 1798 from the Spanish. The country gained its full independence in 1981.
Since the 1840’s when Mestizo refugees came to Belize, Spanish has been spoken and 46% speak Spanish as their first language. In Belize, the slaves who were brought from West Africa by the British created the Kriol language with much of the vocabulary borrowed from English. In the past, Kriol was considered a language of broken or uncivilized words and sentences. It was considered to be copies that were not perfect from the language in which they derived. Recently, linguistics have improved the understanding of the language and the languages are being seen as new linguistic creations with complete grammatical systems. The first people to inhabitant Belize were the Mayans and this is why Maya is still spoken today. Britain gained control of Belize in 1798 from the Spanish. The country gained its full independence in 1981.
Interesting Facts
Their literacy rate is 70% and the average years of schooling is 7.5. The reason that English is the only official language is because it used to be a former British colony. It is the main language used in government and education. Spanish is also taught in primary and secondary school. Bilingualism in Belize is really popular. People speaking Hawaiian Kriol and Belize Kriol cannot understand each other. Someone who can speak Kriol can understand English speakers. Kriol speakers are usually found near the coast. The Spanish speakers are more often found near the border of the Spanish speaking countries.
Their literacy rate is 70% and the average years of schooling is 7.5. The reason that English is the only official language is because it used to be a former British colony. It is the main language used in government and education. Spanish is also taught in primary and secondary school. Bilingualism in Belize is really popular. People speaking Hawaiian Kriol and Belize Kriol cannot understand each other. Someone who can speak Kriol can understand English speakers. Kriol speakers are usually found near the coast. The Spanish speakers are more often found near the border of the Spanish speaking countries.
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