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The major languages spoken in Belize include English, Spanish and Kriol, all three spoken by more than 40% of the population. Mayan languages are also spoken in certain areas, as well as German. [1] English is the official language and the primary language of public education, though spoken natively by a minority of people as a first language.
Pronunciation in Belizean English tends towards Caribbean English, except that the former is non-rhotic. [6] [note 2]In 2013, it was noted that spoken Belizean English is heavily influenced by Belizean Creole, as 'both the lexicon and syntactic constructions often follow creole.' [7] The influence has been deemed strong enough to argue 'that spoken [Belizean] English is simply a register of ...
The country has a diverse society composed of many cultures and languages. It is the only Central American country where English is the official language, while Spanish is the most widely spoken language. Belizean Creole is the second-most-commonly-spoken dialect, followed by the Mayan languages, Garifuna, and the German dialects.
Belizean Creole (Belizean Creole: Belize Kriol, Kriol) is an English-based creole language spoken by the Belizean Creole people. It is closely related to Miskito Coastal Creole , San Andrés-Providencia Creole , and Vincentian Creole .
Belize Kriol, also written as Belize Creole, is derived mainly from English. Its substrate languages are the Native American language Miskito, and the various West African and Bantu languages which were brought into the country by slaves.
Because it is English-based, all Kriol speakers can understand English. A number of linguists classify Belizean Kriol as a separate language, while others consider it to be a dialect of English. Spanish is the mother tongue of Mestizo and Central American refugees and is commonly spoken at home by 56.6% to 68.8% of the population.
A creole language is a stable natural language developed from a mixture of different languages. Unlike a pidgin, a simplified form that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups, a creole language is a complete language, used in a community and acquired by children as their native language.
All of these languages create a hierarchy with English at the top and Spanish at the bottom. Belize is the only Central American country with English as its national language, [7] and this is because of the country's rich history of British imperialism. As a result, the English language along with Western culture has left a lasting imprint on ...