VI
U.S. Virgin Islands
Summary
Official Name
Population
105,000
Principal Languages
English
Language Counts
The number of established languages listed for U.S. Virgin Islands is 5. Of these, 4 are living and 1 is extinct. Of the living languages, 1 is indigenous and 3 are non-indigenous. Furthermore, 1 is institutional, 2 are developing, and 1 is vigorous.
Languages
- American Sign Language ase
- Scattered. Users: 110 in U.S. Virgin Islands (Parks and Williams 2011). Approximately 0.1% of total population. Status: 5 (Developing). Alternate Names: ASL Classification: Sign language, Deaf community sign language
- English eng
- Users: 93,700 in U.S. Virgin Islands, all users. L1 users: 18,500 in U.S. Virgin Islands (2019). L2 users: 75,200 (2019 World Factbook). Status: 1 (National). De facto national language. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, English
- Negerhollands dcr
- Saint John, Saint Thomas, and Saint Croix islands. Users: No known L1 speakers. The last speaker, Alice Stevens, died in 1987 (Van Rossem and van der Voort 1996). Status: 10 (Extinct). Alternate Names: Creool, Dutch Creole, Negerhollandsch, Negrodutch Autonym: Kreool Classification: Creole, Dutch based
- Spanish spa
- Saint Croix. Users: 16,800 in U.S. Virgin Islands (Instituto Cervantes 2019). Status: 5* (Dispersed). Alternate Names: Español Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Ibero-Romance, West Iberian, Castilian
- Virgin Islands English Creole vic
- Widespread. Users: 67,200 in U.S. Virgin Islands (2019). Total users in all countries: 89,700. Status: 6a* (Vigorous). De facto language of national identity. Classification: Creole, English based, Atlantic, Eastern, Southern
Languages by Status
English
[eng] 1 (National). De facto national language. 93,700 in U.S. Virgin Islands, all users. L1 users: 18,500 in U.S. Virgin Islands (2019). L2 users: 75,200 (2019 World Factbook).
Spanish
[spa] 5* (Dispersed). 16,800 in U.S. Virgin Islands (Instituto Cervantes 2019).
American Sign Language
[ase] 5 (Developing). 110 in U.S. Virgin Islands (Parks and Williams 2011). Approximately 0.1% of total population.
Virgin Islands English Creole
[vic] 6a* (Vigorous). De facto language of national identity. 67,200 in U.S. Virgin Islands (2019). Total users in all countries: 89,700.
Negerhollands
[dcr] 10 (Extinct). No known L1 speakers. The last speaker, Alice Stevens, died in 1987 (Van Rossem and van der Voort 1996).
Creole Languages of the Eastern Caribbean
Language Vitality Profile
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Language Status Profile
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