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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 ...
As of 2024, there are 57 sovereign states and 28 non-sovereign entities where English is an official language. Many administrative divisions have declared English an official language at the local or regional level. Most states where English is an official language are former territories of the British Empire.
Although only 5.6% of the population speaks it as the main language at home, 54% can speak it very well, and another 26% can speak some English. 37% of Belizeans consider their primary language to be Kriol, an English-based creole of words and syntax from various African languages (namely Akan, Igbo, and Twi), [17] and other languages .
Belize (/ b ɪ ˈ l iː z, b ɛ-/ ⓘ, bih-LEEZ, beh-; Belize Kriol English: Bileez) is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast.
The 2010 Belize Census recorded that 25.9% of the people within Belize claimed Creole ethnicity and 44.6% claimed to speak Belizean Creole and put the number of speakers at over 130,000. [4] It is estimated that there are as many as 85,000 Creoles that have migrated to the United States and may or may not still speak the language.
About 25% speak French, about 15% speak English, and 5% speak Dutch. Spanish and English are important second languages: 24 million and 9 million speak them as second languages. The following is a list of major Caribbean languages (by total number of speakers) [needs updating]:
Although English is regarded as the preferred form of political and social interaction, a more common vernacular called English Creole is spoken throughout Belize. [8] To speak English Creole means, to those living in Belize, that you are a "born-Belizean." This automatically places you above "outsiders" particularly those of Spanish speaking ...