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Caribbean Currents: In Multilingual Belize, Language Has Unique Take
 
Sep 18 – Oct 01, 2025
 
Travel

Belize


If you look at the location of the country of Belize, you may not identify it as a Caribbean country. While geographically on the continent of South America, Belize is considered a Caribbean country for several reasons: its coastal proximity to the Caribbean Sea, its economic and political ties to CARICOM as a member state, and its shared cultural history with the English-speaking Caribbean nations through its English Creole language and Afro-Caribbean culture.

 Its historical British colonial influence and cultural identity puts it in a symbiotic relationship with the other countries in the Caribbean region.

But for now, let’s just focus on Belizean language.
Belize has a large population of Indians (of Mayan descent), mostly in the eastern part of the country. Their cultural practices are similar to other Native groups in Guatemala.

Belize is also the home of thousands of people called Garifuna, a mixed ethnic group descended both from Native Americans in the West Indies and runaway African slaves. Many folks along the coast speak both English and Creole. Some are multilingual. They can go from speaking English to Spanish to Creole with ease. Spanish is primarily spoken in the northern part of the country while Creole is spoken primarily in and around the city.

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