Caribbean islands

• Anguilla is a dependent territory of the UK, therefore English is not only the official, but the native language as well.

• Antigua & Barbuda was a British dependency until 1984. Besides English as a native and official language spoken by 95% of the poulation (76,000 people), local dialects are spoken.

• The Bahamas gained independence from Britain in 1973. English is the native language of 228,000 inhabitants (90% of the population), and Creole is spoken as well.

• Barbados is the most easterly island of the Caribbean. It was a colony of Britain from 1627 till 1966, so it has been English speaking almost twice as long as Trinidad for example. French is spoken besides English, which is the mother tongue of 257,000 people (100%).

• British Virgin Islands is a dependent territory of the UK, therefore English is native here (spoken by 11,000 people).

• Cayman Islands is a dependent territory of the UK, English is native language here (26,000 people).

• Dominica (not Dominican Republic!) was a colony until 1978. English is native here, but French Creole (patois) is spoken as well.

• Grenada gained independence from Britain in 1974, and besides English as a native and official language of 101,000 inhabitants, French Creole is spoken.

• Jamaica is the largest of the English speaking West Indian islands, therefore it is the most populous English speaking territory in the Caribbean area (2,319,000 people). It gained independence from Britain in 1962. Creole is spoken as well.

• Montserrat is one of the islands that were colonized the earliest by the British, in the 1st half of the 17th century. It is still the dependent territory of the UK. English is said to be spoken with an Irish accent, by 12,000 people.

• Puerto Rico: Commonwealth associated with the US, English and Spanish are official, but English is not native.

• Saint Kitts (Christopher) and Nevis gained independence from Britain in 1983. English is the native language of 44,100 people..

• Saint Lucia was a Crown Colony until 1983. English is native as well as French Creole (patois).

• Saint Vincent & the Grenadines was a Crown Colony until 1979. English is native (for 115,000) as well as French patois.

• Trinidad & Tobago gained independence from Britain in 1962. Besides English as a native language, Hindi, French and Spanish are spoken.

• Turks and Caicos Islands: dependent territory of the UK, English is a native tongue here.

• Virgin Islands: Territory of the US, English is native (86,000 speakers) besides Spanish and Creole.

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