The major languages spoken in

Belize Belize 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. P ...

include English,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and Kriol, all three spoken by more than 40% of the population.

Mayan languages The Mayan languages In linguistics, it is conventional to use ''Mayan'' when referring to the languages, or an aspect of a language. In other academic fields, ''Maya'' is the preferred usage, serving as both a singular and plural noun, and a ...

are also spoken in certain areas. English is the official language and the primary language of public education, though spoken natively by a minority of people as a first language. Spanish is taught in primary and secondary schools as well. Bilingualism is very common. The percentage of literacy in Belize as of 2021 is 82.68% for those aged 15 or older. *German includes

Plautdietsch Plautdietsch () or Mennonite Low German is a Low Prussian dialect of East Low German with Dutch influence that developed in the 16th and 17th centuries in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia. The word ''Plautdietsch'' translates to "fl ...

and

Standard German Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the umbrella term for the standard language, standardized varieties of the German language, which are used in formal contexts and for commun ...

Major languages by district

English is the major language in the primary and most populated

Belize District Belize is a district of the nation of Belize. Its capital is Belize City. Geography Most of the Belize District is in the east central mainland of Belize; the Belize District also includes various offshore islands, including Ambergris Caye ...

is the most used language in the frontier districts of Cayo,

Orange Walk Orange walks, or Orange marches, are a series of parades by members of the Orange Order and other Protestantism, Protestant Fraternal organization, fraternal societies, held during the summer months in various Commonwealth of Nations, Commonw ...

and Corozal. Creole is the main language in the

Stann Creek district Stann Creek is a district in the south east region of Belize. According to the 2022 census, the district had a population of 48,162 people. Its capital is the town of Dangriga, formerly known as "Stann Creek Town." Stann comes from "stanns," or s ...

, and

dominate in the southernmost district of Toledo.

Standard English and Belizean Creole

English is the official language of Belize, a former British colony. It is the primary language of public education, government and most media outlets. According to the 2008 Official Education policy in Belize, children are to be taught when it is appropriate to use Creole, but lessons are not to be taught in Creole language. When a Creole language exists alongside its

lexifier A lexifier is the language that provides the basis for the majority of a pidgin or creole language's vocabulary (lexicon). Often this language is also the dominant, or superstrate language, though this is not always the case, as can be seen in the ...

language, as in Belize, a creole continuum forms between the Creole and the lexifier language. This is known as

code-switching In linguistics, code-switching or language alternation occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation or situation. These alternations are generally intended to ...

. In 2007 an English–Kriol dictionary was published by the Belize Kriol Project; the dictionary includes translations and grammatical descriptions.

Spanish

Approximately 52.9% of Belizeans self-identify as ''

Mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

'', ''Latino'' or ''Hispanic''. Spanish is spoken as a native tongue by about 52.9% of the population, and taught in schools to children who do not have it as their first language. "Kitchen Spanish" is an intermediate form of Spanish mixed with Belizean Creole, and is spoken in northern towns such as Corozal and San Pedro. Over half the population is bilingual, and a large segment is multilingual. Being such a small and multiethnic state surrounded by Spanish-speaking nations, multilingualism is strongly encouraged in the society.

Other languages

Belize is also home to three

: Q’eqchi’, the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

indigenous Belizean language of Mopan, and

Yucatec Maya Yucatec Maya ( ; referred to by its speakers as or ) is a Mayan languages, Mayan language spoken in the Yucatán Peninsula, including part of northern Belize. There is also a significant diasporic community of Yucatec Maya speakers in San Fra ...

. Approximately 16,100 people speak the Arawakan-based

Garifuna language Garifuna (Karif) is a minority language widely spoken in villages of Garifuna people in the western part of the northern coast of Central America. It is a member of the Arawakan language family but an atypical one since it is spoken outsi ...

. German is spoken in Mennonite colonies and villages. The vast majority of

Mennonites in Belize Mennonites in Belize form different religious bodies and come from different ethnic backgrounds. There are groups of Mennonites living in Belize who are quite traditional and conservative (e. g. in Shipyard and Upper Barton Creek), while othe ...

speaks

in everyday life while a minority of some 10 percent speaks Pennsylvania German. Both groups use the German Bible translation of Martin Luther and an old fashioned

in church and in reading and writing.

References

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Major languages by district

Standard English and Belizean Creole

Spanish

Other languages

See also

References