BB
Barbados
Summary
Official Name
International Conventions
CDE (1975), CPPDCE (2008), CSICH (2008), ICCPR (1973), UNCRPD (2013), UNDRIP (2007)
Population
287,000
Principal Languages
English
Literacy Rate
100% (2014 UNESCO)
General References
Holm 1989
Language Counts
The number of established languages listed for Barbados is 3. All are living languages. Of these, 1 is indigenous and 2 are non-indigenous. Furthermore, 1 is institutional and 2 are vigorous.
Languages
- American Sign Language ase
- Scattered. Users: 290 in Barbados (2011 J. Parks and L. Parks). Approximately 0.1% of the total population. Status: 6a* (Vigorous). Alternate Names: ASL Classification: Sign language, Deaf community sign language
- Bajan bjs
- Widespread. Users: 257,000 (2018). Status: 6a* (Vigorous). De facto language of national identity. Alternate Names: Barbadian Creole English Classification: Creole, English based, Atlantic, Eastern, Southern
- English eng
- Users: 42,000 in Barbados, all users. L1 users: 29,000 in Barbados (2018). L2 users: 13,000 (Crystal 2003a). Status: 1 (National). De facto national language. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, English
Languages by Status
English
[eng] 1 (National). De facto national language. 42,000 in Barbados, all users. L1 users: 29,000 in Barbados (2018). L2 users: 13,000 (Crystal 2003a).
Creole Languages of the Eastern Caribbean
Language Vitality Profile
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Language Status Profile
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