English is the official language of Belize, a former British colony. English is the primary language of public education, government and most media outlets. However, the majority of Belizeans, regardless of ethnicity, speak an
English-based creole called
Belizean Creole (also referred to as
Kriol) for most informal, social and interethnic dialogue.
When a Creole language exists alongside its lexifier language, like in Belize, a continuum forms between the Creole and the lexifier language. This is known as
code-switching. It is therefore difficult to substantiate or differentiate the number of Creole speakers compared to English speakers. Belizean Creole might best be described as the
lingua franca of the nation.
[1]
Spanish
Approximately 50% of Belizeans self-identify as
Mestizo,
Latino or
Hispanic. However, Spanish is spoken as a native tongue by only about 30%
[2] of the population and is taught in schools as a second language for those who do not speak the language.
"Kitchen Spanish" is an intermediate form of Spanish mixed with Belizean Creole, spoken in the northern towns such as Corozal and San Pedro
[3]
Over half the population is bilingual, and a large segment is actually multilingual. Being such a small, multiethinic state, surrounded by Spanish-speaking nations, multilingualism is strongly encouraged in the society.
[4][5]