Languages in Belize: From European to Indigenous

So, you’re traveling to Belize. Maybe you’re going for the Mayan Ruins, the great diving experiences and beaches, or to have some other cool experience. Either way, you’re going to need to interact with other people. In most non-English speaking countries, you will need to learn phrases or words in another language to get around. You might even be traveling to a foreign country to get experience with another language.

Belize, though, is a bit easier. The official language is English and most people there speak it. However, Belize has some very diverse languages, with a long history of colonization and occupation. So, while English is the main spoken language, you’ll likely encounter a lot more than English. I’ll talk about all of the main languages that play a part in Belize’s culture, starting with English.

English Language in Belize

Like I said above, English is the official language of Belize. In fact, Belize didn’t achieve its independence from England until 1981. As such, Queen Elizabeth is still on Belizean currency, and much of its infrastructure is modeled after European traffic (more roundabouts and speed bumps than traffic lights). That’s why English is so widely spoken in Belize despite being surrounded by Spanish-speaking countries.

For the most part, you won’t have a difficult time finding your way around using only English. I spent 3 weeks in Belize, particularly in San Ignacio, which is about 15 minutes from the Guatemalan border, and had no difficulty communicating with the people I met. Of course, as with any country or region, people will speak with different accents and might use different words than you’re used to. Even then it wasn’t hard to communicate. People in tourist-heavy areas are used to interacting with tourists, so don’t worry about it too much. Signs are generally written in standard English, too, so you should be able to find your way around without too much trouble.

Generally, this will be all you need to know to travel to Belize. But keep reading for a guide to the diversity of languages you might encounter!

Belizean Creole/ Kriol

Basics

What is a creole? I’m sure you’ve heard the term used before, but I didn’t really know entirely what it meant until I studied language in college. A creole is basically a mix of several languages that has attained the complexity of a full language. Creoles aren’t really created intentionally, either. That is to say, nobody writes down the rules for the language first and then teaches it to others. Creoles develop naturally as a result of interactions between different people.

Despite British occupation, language in Belize has many influences. Spanish, Mayan languages, English, and some West African languages like Garifuna. So, when all of these languages came together in the same communities from a combination of colonization and the slave trade, people needed a way to communicate with each other. Belizean Creole (spelled Kriol in the language) is currently the most widely spoken language in the country despite English being the official language.

While many creoles have no writing standard (basically, a set way to write down words in a language), there was an attempt to make a standard writing system for Belizean Kriol. It was never made official, but it’s out there.

Grammar and Pronunciation

So what makes Belizean Creole different from English? Well, there’s a lot of substitutions, some noticeable changes in pronunciation, and some big grammatical changes. Here’s a few main examples:

• The th sound from English (as in both the and thing) is gone, replaced by just a t sound.
• Many words end with vowels when they wouldn’t in English, and the creole has less vowel sounds. For example, the i sound in bin is gone, replaced in part by the ee sound in bee. This means that bin would be pronounced using an ee sound in place of the i.
• Groups of consonants at the end of a word, like the st in disgust, are simplified to only one, becoming disgos.

Additionally, many of the words in Kriol come from other languages in the area. For some examples of useful travel phrases in Kriol, check out this post from Moon Belize.

Spanish Language in Belize

I’ve written a longer post about using Spanish for travel. But Spanish does have a large presence in Belize, since it’s surrounded by Spanish-speaking countries. Like I said before, street signs, shop names, and everything else you might need is in English. But Spanish informs Belizean Creole and is also commonly spoken in Belize and the surrounding countries.

Spanish likely needs no introduction. If you live anywhere in the western hemisphere of Earth, you’ve encountered it at some point. Like any language, though, Spanish has many variations depending on where you go (as different as British, American, and Australian English are from each other). Belize is no different.

So what are the differences? Well, just like with Belizean English and Kriol, Belizean Spanish is heavily influenced by other languages. Here’s some key differences:

• Belizean Spanish borrows some words from local Mayan languages.
• When there is an r near the end of a syllable, it’s often pronounced like an English r rather than the Spanish r.
• Any combination of tl is influenced by some Mayan pronunciation. The best way I can explain how the l is pronounced is to pretend like you’re saying l but say s instead.

Mayan Languages in Belize

After the 3 major languages/ language groups in Belize, we come to Mayan Languages. 10% of the population speaks Mayan languages, making them the 4th largest language group in Belize behind Kriol, Spanish, and English.

Out of respect, I’m not going to delve into the specific grammar or features of the languages. I don’t know enough about these languages or their cultural contexts, so I don’t want to misrepresent their language. The Belizean government has made great efforts to help preserve the languages, and I want to help with that by spreading awareness of the languages. What I don’t want to do, though, is spread misinformation. (For more about this idea, see my post about why we should help dying languages.)

The three Mayan languages spoken in Belize are Yucatec Maya, Q’eqchi’ (or Kekchi) Maya, and Mopan Maya:

• Yucatec Mayan is spoken mostly by populations of mixed Spanish and Mayan ancestry, across multiple countries including Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. It is the most widely spoken of these languages.
• Q’eqchi’ Mayan is spoken in South-Central Belize and comes from the Mayan populations that have lived in the region for a long time. Like many of the other languages here, it has been influenced by other indigenous and colonial languages.
• Mopan Mayan is spoken in Western Belize and has a similar history to Q’eqchi’ Maya. It has been influenced by other local languages and has been around for a long time. It also has the smallest population of speakers.

Three Mayan Languages?

You might be wondering how these three languages are all Mayan when they have different names. Well, despite the small size of the region and proximity to each other, languages can develop very differently. Look at Europe, or even just the British Isles. These cultures have been close to each other for millennia. They share many general cultural traits, but have different languages and cultures in spite of that. It is common for people to take on a different identity than groups around them based on language, dialect, or even accent, despite shared cultural traits.

Other Languages in Belize

It might seem like there’s already a lot of languages packed into this small country, but there’s actually still more! These ones are spoken by a very small portion of the population, though, so I won’t spend a ton of time on them.

The first language of note, that might surprise you, is German! Spoken in Mennonite communities around Belize alongside a special dialect influenced by Dutch, about 4% of Belize’s population speaks this language.

I mentioned this one before as an influence of Belizean Creole, but Garifuna is spoken by about 3% of the population and comes from Western Africa, brought over to Belize during the slave trade.

Closing Remarks

I know this was a lot to cover, but I hope it was interesting to read. Language is a complicated thing, but it can also serve as a record of historical, cultural, and social influences when you examine the origins of a language’s words, grammar, and sounds. I’m hoping to pull the focus of this blog more towards language, although there will still be plenty of posts about general travel.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to comment below or even contact me directly, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!

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