Spanish in Belize
According to Miranda Stewart, author of the article, “The Spanish Language Today”, “Spanish is also spoken in the former British colony of Belize, on the borders of Guyana and Haiti and in isolated communities in Trinidad” (22).
As a matter of fact, Spanish is spoken in Belize by about 60% of the population. Because of its geographical distance to Mexico and other Spanish speaking countries, as well as the engraved history of Spanish conquest since the Mayan Civilizations, Spanish is often a first or second language to Belizean people. Phillips (1996) says, “The majority of present-day Spanish speakers in Belize are descendants of these immigrants… the more recent immigration of substantial number of Salvadorans however, has augmented the number of Spanish speakers as well as adding a new linguistic dimension to the group. As on would expect, after more than a century of residing in an english speaking area, Belizean hispanics have attained a high degree of assimilation… There are various types and degrees of bilingualism as well as code switching. Many are Spanish dominant compound bilinguals who use Spanish at home but English outside of the home. (132)
Because of Mexico’s influence on Belize, it would be very difficult to completely dissipate the Spanish culture and the language from Belize. However, it still is widely accepted across the nation although it is not the nations official language.
As a matter of fact, Spanish is spoken in Belize by about 60% of the population. Because of its geographical distance to Mexico and other Spanish speaking countries, as well as the engraved history of Spanish conquest since the Mayan Civilizations, Spanish is often a first or second language to Belizean people. Phillips (1996) says, “The majority of present-day Spanish speakers in Belize are descendants of these immigrants… the more recent immigration of substantial number of Salvadorans however, has augmented the number of Spanish speakers as well as adding a new linguistic dimension to the group. As on would expect, after more than a century of residing in an english speaking area, Belizean hispanics have attained a high degree of assimilation… There are various types and degrees of bilingualism as well as code switching. Many are Spanish dominant compound bilinguals who use Spanish at home but English outside of the home. (132)
Because of Mexico’s influence on Belize, it would be very difficult to completely dissipate the Spanish culture and the language from Belize. However, it still is widely accepted across the nation although it is not the nations official language.