Language Situations

In the Caribbean
Curaçao
Haiti
Barbados
Trinidad
The Indigenous People

After the arrival of Columbus in the Caribbean. He put the Indigenous people
to work.

Due to harsh conditions and cruelty the Indigenous people specially the Tainos
did not survive.

However, Kalinagos still remain to this day and remnants of their language can
be seen in the islands of the lesser Antilles and mainland territories.
While the Taino did experience genocide, some of their words or a variety of it
still exists such as ‘huracan’ which the word hurricane is derived from and the
same goes for ‘hamaca’ which hammock is derived.

This retainment of their language is more evident in the Spanish Speaking

Caribbean countries due to the direct contact between them and the Spanish

In Spanish speaking countries ‘batey’ means land around a sugar plantation, it

is derived from the ballgame played by the Tainos and ‘bohios’ was also
adopted by the Spanish that was a Taino word meaning rectangular house.
The Caribs were one the groups encountered and due to their warlike nature
they managed to survive

Proto Northerners who settled the Lesser Antilles and developed a variety of
languages called the Igneri

After the introduction slaves were introduced a new ethnic group came about
called the black Caribs. Today their descendants in Central America and the
Windward Islands such as St Vincent speak a Cariban based language called
Garifuna
The Europeans

The Europeans such as the Spanish, French, Dutch and English came to the
Caribbean at varying points in time to colonize the islands.

The Spanish were the first colonizers to grace the region, and held the language
monopoly until challenges were made in the17th and 18th centuries by the
English and French.

The Dutch were mainly traders, who did not engage in “stealing” colonies.
There was very often a changing of hands in terms of ownership of these lands
so many nations have multiple European influences on their Creole, e.g. St
Lucia has distinct French and English influence.
The Africans
After the Indigenous people had died out the Europeans need a new form of
cheap labour and so they brought Africans to work on plantations in the
Caribbean. These Africans were from different tribes which did not share a
common language.

In order to facilitate communication between the slave owner and themselves,

slaves were forced to learn the languages of their slave owners.

This mixture led to what is called broken language, for example our very own
Patois.
The Indentured Labourers

After slavery had ended in the British Caribbean, they needed a new
workforce.

They obtained indentured labourers from China, Syria, India and the
Portuguese territory of Madeira.

Most of these labourers settled in countries like Trinidad, Jamaica, Cuba and
the southern island chains
Today, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad are heavily influenced by the Indians
that came. In Suriname, Sarnami Hindi has a viable speech community.

Both Trinidadian and Guyanese Bhojupri have declined in years following

indentureship
Distinction between a Language and a Dialect

Languages and dialects are codes. Linguists tend to define a language as the
standardized code used in spoken and written form, whereas dialects are
spoken vernacular codes without a standardized written system.

Dialects can be defined as different varieties of the same language that have
evolved over time and in different geographical locations.

Caribbean dialects are therefore not considered languages as they do not have a
body of rules that govern its usage.
 Name of Creole English Caribbean Basin Territory Brief Details

Anguilla Anguilla

Antigua Antigua

Bajan Barbados

Barbudan Barbuda/Antigua

Carriacou St Vincent

Grenadian Grenada

Jamaican Patwa/Patois Jamaica Spoken by Jamaican disapora

Bahamian The Bahamas

Jamaican Maroon Spirit Possession Jamaica Ritual language used in

ceremonies, features similar to
Suriname maroon creoles
 Montserrat Montserrat

Samaná Dominican Republic Semi-creole used by descendants of

freed African slaves

St. Barts St. Barthélemy French territory where Creole

English is spoken in the capital
(Gustavia)

St.Kitts/Nevis St. Christopher

St. Maarten St. Maarten Dutch territory

Statian St. Eustatius Dutch territory

Tobagan Tobago

Trini Talk Trinidad and Tobago

Vincentian St. Vincent

Virgin Islands US and UK territories

Name of Creole English Central American Territory Brief Details

Belizean Belize

Corn Island Nicaragua

Miskito Coast Nicaragua Second language for descendants of

Miskito Indians and escaped African
slaves who had close ties with the
English

Limon/Mek-ay-tel-yu Costa Rica Spoken by descendants of immigrant

labourers mainly from Jamaica

Panamanian (Wari Wari) Panama Spoken by descendants of immigrants

from Jamaica and other English
speaking territories

Rama Cay Nicaragua

San Andres-Providencia Columbia South American territory, actually :)

Name of Creole English South American Territory Brief Details

Creolese/Guyanese Guyana Influenced by both Jamaican and

Bajan English

El Callao Venezuela Spoken by migrants from Guyana

Ndjuka/Paramaccan/Aluku/Kwinti Suriname/ French Guiana Maroon language named after the 4

tribes that use it

Rupunnuni Guyana Different from Creolese

Sranan/Negerengels (Taki Taki) Suriname, Guyanese border of Lexicon consists of a mixture of

Suriname African, Portuguese and Hebrew
words

Saramaccan/Matawai Suriname English and Portuguese based

Bless up! Lata