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The NorthernCentralAmericaCreoleEnglishLanguage is a WesternAtlanticEnglishBasedCreoleLanguage of Belize. SIL code: BZI. ISO 639-2: cpe. Population: 55,051 first language speakers in Belize (1991 census). 158,000 including second language speakers (1990 estimate). Population total all countries: 137,000 or more. Region: Most live in Belize City, but nearly everyone else in Belize is either a first or second language speaker of Creole. Many of the rural villages are Creole-speaking. Creole people tend to live along the coast or other waterways. It is the lingua franca in much of the country. Also spoken in Colombia, Nicaragua, USA. Dialects: BELIZE CREOLE ENGLISH (KRIOL, CREOLA). Comments: Reported to be very close to Miskito coast, Rama Cay, and Islander (San Andres) creoles, Jamaican creole is different in grammar. Historically an extension of Miskito Coast Creole. Dahufra was a creole used in the 16th to 18th centuries. Spoken by creoles and people of East Indian descent, used everywhere in most areas of life. Used in advertisements. People have a positive attitude toward Creole. There is popular support for development. Dictionary. Jamaican creole is different in orthography. Newspapers, radio programs, TV. Timber, agriculturalists, fishermen, industrial workers, construction industry, business, commerce, government, teachers. Also spoken in: Colombia. Language name: NORTHERN CENTRAL AMERICA CREOLE ENGLISH. Population: 12,000 to 18,000 (1981 SIL) out of total San Andres population of 30,000 (1989 J. Holm). Dialects: ISLANDER CREOLE ENGLISH (SAN ANDRES CREOLE, BENDE). Comments: There is reported to be a 'deep Creole'. Very close to Belize Creole English. Standard English is used among the most highly educated. Probably the first language of the majority of the Islanders. Creole is considered appropriate for oral purposes only in popular thinking. Literacy rate in second language: 90% Spanish, 80% English. Providencia: mountains, San Andres: plains. Also spoken in: Nicaragua. (Language name: NORTHERN CENTRAL AMERICA CREOLE ENGLISH.) Population: 30,000 or more (1986 Carrier Pidgin), 23.5% of the coastal population (1989 J. Holm). Includes 625 speakers of Rama Cay Creole (1989 Holm). Dialects: MISKITO COAST CREOLE ENGLISH (BLUEFIELDS CREOLE ENGLISH), RAMA CAY CREOLE ENGLISH. Comments: Bilingualism in English, Spanish. The first language of the Creole people and most Carib, the second language of most Miskito and some Spanish speakers. Speakers consider English to be their standard language, but identify with the creole.(extract from http://www.ethnologue.com/)
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