Belizean Kriol

Belize is the only country in Central America with English as its official language, but the language people actually speak among themselves is Kriol, an English-lexified creole that developed among enslaved Africans and British settlers in the logwood and mahogany camps. Roughly a third of Belizeans are ethnically Kriol but a large majority speak the language, across every ethnic group, which makes it the country's genuine lingua franca. It has been standardised in writing since the 1990s, with a dictionary and a Bible translation, and it is used on radio and in music. Visitors hear English and Kriol switching mid-sentence constantly.

What you actually see

• The lingua franca role - spoken across all ethnic groups.
• The written standard - a dictionary and Bible translation since the 1990s.
• Brukdown - the Kriol music tradition, built on accordion and percussion.
• Code switching - English and Kriol alternating in the same conversation.

When to go

Year-round. Radio stations broadcast in it, September celebrations feature it heavily, and it is simply audible everywhere. Brukdown performances are occasional rather than scheduled.

Honest expectations

Visitors who assume it is broken English rather than a language with its own grammar tend to give offence without meaning to. Attempting to speak it usually lands badly; listening is better received. Understanding takes time even for fluent English speakers, since the vocabulary is familiar but the structure is not.

Nearby

Heard across the whole country; strongest in Belize City and the Creole villages.