Languages of The Caribbean

The languages of the Caribbean reflect the region's diverse history and culture. There are six official languages spoken in the Caribbean. The six languages are:

• Spanish (official language of Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico)
• French (official language of Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, St. Barthelemy and St. Martin)
• English (official language of Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands)
• Dutch (official language of Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten)
• Haitian Creole (official language of Haiti)
• Papiamento (a Portuguese and Spanish-based Creole language) (official language of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire)

However, there are also number of creoles and local patois. Dozens of the creole languages of the Caribbean are widely used informally among the general population. There are also a few additional smaller indigenous languages. Many of the indigenous languages have become extinct or are dying out.

At odds with the ever growing desire for a single Caribbean community, the linguistic diversity of a few Caribbean islands has made language policy an issue in the post-colonial era. In recent years, Caribbean islands have become aware of a linguistic inheritance of sorts. However, language policies being developed nowadays are mostly aimed at multilingualism.