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LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION, AND ETHNICITY IN BRITISH HONDURAS

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Sociolinguistic Studies in Language Contact
This chapter is in the book Sociolinguistic Studies in Language Contact
LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION, AND ETHNICITY IN BRITISH HONDURAS Thomas Brockmann A Summary Belize (British Honduras) has a very heterogeneous linguistic, cultural, and racial composition. Creoles, who are at least partially of African origin, form a majority of the country's population. They speak a Creole English similar to that of Jamaica. In the northern part of Belize, Spanish speaking people of the Spanish, Mestizo, and Maya racial continuum predominate. Small proportions of Black Caribs, Mennonites, Chinese, Lebanese, and East Indians also live in Orange Walk, the focus of this study. Language and race are the principal boundary delineators of ethnic categories. Diglossic varieties have developed which enable people to operate effectively in the English speaking governmental, commercial, and educational environment of Belize, while maintaining ethnic boundaries at the same time. The Spanish and English diglossia is more limited in duration, stability, and extent to which English is used than that of Creole and English. Spanish speakers use English in official contexts, writing, and education, while the Creoles add religion, high status, and complex topics to the contexts in which English is used. Ethnic category members generally communicate among themselves in their own vernacular language, except where it is appropriate to use English. In interethnic communication one uses the code associated with the perceived ethnicity of the person to whom one wishes to speak, unless another code is known to be more appropriate. A person replies using the language in which he or she is addressed. Since a considerable minority of the population does not have competence in all of the major codes, other patterns are employed with some frequency, such as using the code common to the group or someone taking the role of translator. As the people of Orange Walk have been increasing their English competence, the Maya segment of the population has been learning Spanish,

LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION, AND ETHNICITY IN BRITISH HONDURAS Thomas Brockmann A Summary Belize (British Honduras) has a very heterogeneous linguistic, cultural, and racial composition. Creoles, who are at least partially of African origin, form a majority of the country's population. They speak a Creole English similar to that of Jamaica. In the northern part of Belize, Spanish speaking people of the Spanish, Mestizo, and Maya racial continuum predominate. Small proportions of Black Caribs, Mennonites, Chinese, Lebanese, and East Indians also live in Orange Walk, the focus of this study. Language and race are the principal boundary delineators of ethnic categories. Diglossic varieties have developed which enable people to operate effectively in the English speaking governmental, commercial, and educational environment of Belize, while maintaining ethnic boundaries at the same time. The Spanish and English diglossia is more limited in duration, stability, and extent to which English is used than that of Creole and English. Spanish speakers use English in official contexts, writing, and education, while the Creoles add religion, high status, and complex topics to the contexts in which English is used. Ethnic category members generally communicate among themselves in their own vernacular language, except where it is appropriate to use English. In interethnic communication one uses the code associated with the perceived ethnicity of the person to whom one wishes to speak, unless another code is known to be more appropriate. A person replies using the language in which he or she is addressed. Since a considerable minority of the population does not have competence in all of the major codes, other patterns are employed with some frequency, such as using the code common to the group or someone taking the role of translator. As the people of Orange Walk have been increasing their English competence, the Maya segment of the population has been learning Spanish,

Chapters in this book

  1. I-IV I
  2. PREFACE V
  3. INTRODUCTION VII
  4. Table of Contents XI
  5. PART ONE METHODS
  6. I Guidelines
  7. GUIDELINES FOR THE STUDY OF INTERCULTURAL RELATIONS 3
  8. II Demography
  9. LANGUAGE MINORITIES IN A WORLD OF COMMUNICATIONS 11
  10. CONSTRUCTING LANGUAGE PROFILES BY POLITY 23
  11. LANGUAGE ATTITUDES, BEHAVIOR AND INTERVENING VARIABLES 51
  12. GEOCODING LANGUAGE LOSS FROM CENSUS DATA 69
  13. III Models
  14. MODELS OF COMPETENCE IN BILINGUAL INTERACTION 99
  15. PART TWO CASES
  16. IV Language and Ethnicity
  17. LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC IDENTITY: LANGUAGE POLICY AND DEBATE IN GREENLAND 117
  18. LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION, AND ETHNICITY IN BRITISH HONDURAS 161
  19. EVALUATIONAL REACTIONS TO FOREIGN ACCENT AMONG IMMIGRANTS IN TORONTO 181
  20. LANGUAGE ATTITUDES AND MINORITY STATUS 197
  21. V Language Maintenance
  22. LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE AND CODE SWITCHING AMONG FILIPINO BILINGUAL SPEAKERS 211
  23. WELSH BILINGUALISM: FOUR DOCUMENTS 231
  24. VI Language Behavior
  25. SPANISH-ENGLISH BILINGUALISM IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST 247
  26. A SOCIOLINGUISTIC CONSIDERATION OF ENGLISH SPOKEN IN GRENADA, BRITISH WEST INDIES 265
  27. SOCIOLINGUISTIC ASPECTS OF WORD-BORROWING 277
  28. VII Diglossia
  29. STABLE SOCIETAL DIGLOSSIA IN NORFOLK ISLAND 295
  30. A DIGLOSSIC SITUATION: STANDARD vs DIALECT 335
  31. VIII Language Competence
  32. SOCIETAL AND LINGUISTIC CORRELATES IN AN INVESTIGATION OF THE ENGLISH WRITING OF A SELECTED GROUP OF UNIVERSITY-LEVEL CHICANOS 347
  33. LANGUAGE CONTACT IN JAPAN 363
  34. IX Language and Education
  35. MULTILINGUALISM IN NIGERIAN EDUCATION 379
  36. SOCIO-EDUCATIONAL CORRELATES OF MEXICAN-AMERICAN BILINGUALISM 393
  37. X Language and Community
  38. BILINGUALISM IN A SWISS CANTON: LANGUAGE CHOICE IN TICINO 425
  39. A VOLUNTARY NON-ETHNIC, NON-TERRITORIAL SPEECH COMMUNITY 433
  40. XI Conclusion Problems in Theory and Method
  41. TOWARD AN ECOLOGY OF LANGUAGE CONTACT 453
Readers are also interested in:
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110810752.161

Chapters in this book

  1. I-IV I
  2. PREFACE V
  3. INTRODUCTION VII
  4. Table of Contents XI
  5. PART ONE METHODS
  6. I Guidelines
  7. GUIDELINES FOR THE STUDY OF INTERCULTURAL RELATIONS 3
  8. II Demography
  9. LANGUAGE MINORITIES IN A WORLD OF COMMUNICATIONS 11
  10. CONSTRUCTING LANGUAGE PROFILES BY POLITY 23
  11. LANGUAGE ATTITUDES, BEHAVIOR AND INTERVENING VARIABLES 51
  12. GEOCODING LANGUAGE LOSS FROM CENSUS DATA 69
  13. III Models
  14. MODELS OF COMPETENCE IN BILINGUAL INTERACTION 99
  15. PART TWO CASES
  16. IV Language and Ethnicity
  17. LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC IDENTITY: LANGUAGE POLICY AND DEBATE IN GREENLAND 117
  18. LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION, AND ETHNICITY IN BRITISH HONDURAS 161
  19. EVALUATIONAL REACTIONS TO FOREIGN ACCENT AMONG IMMIGRANTS IN TORONTO 181
  20. LANGUAGE ATTITUDES AND MINORITY STATUS 197
  21. V Language Maintenance
  22. LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE AND CODE SWITCHING AMONG FILIPINO BILINGUAL SPEAKERS 211
  23. WELSH BILINGUALISM: FOUR DOCUMENTS 231
  24. VI Language Behavior
  25. SPANISH-ENGLISH BILINGUALISM IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST 247
  26. A SOCIOLINGUISTIC CONSIDERATION OF ENGLISH SPOKEN IN GRENADA, BRITISH WEST INDIES 265
  27. SOCIOLINGUISTIC ASPECTS OF WORD-BORROWING 277
  28. VII Diglossia
  29. STABLE SOCIETAL DIGLOSSIA IN NORFOLK ISLAND 295
  30. A DIGLOSSIC SITUATION: STANDARD vs DIALECT 335
  31. VIII Language Competence
  32. SOCIETAL AND LINGUISTIC CORRELATES IN AN INVESTIGATION OF THE ENGLISH WRITING OF A SELECTED GROUP OF UNIVERSITY-LEVEL CHICANOS 347
  33. LANGUAGE CONTACT IN JAPAN 363
  34. IX Language and Education
  35. MULTILINGUALISM IN NIGERIAN EDUCATION 379
  36. SOCIO-EDUCATIONAL CORRELATES OF MEXICAN-AMERICAN BILINGUALISM 393
  37. X Language and Community
  38. BILINGUALISM IN A SWISS CANTON: LANGUAGE CHOICE IN TICINO 425
  39. A VOLUNTARY NON-ETHNIC, NON-TERRITORIAL SPEECH COMMUNITY 433
  40. XI Conclusion Problems in Theory and Method
  41. TOWARD AN ECOLOGY OF LANGUAGE CONTACT 453
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