DM
Commonwealth of Dominica
Dominica
Summary
- Official Name
- Commonwealth of Dominica
- Population
- 74,600
- Principal Languages
- English
- Literacy Rate
- 94% (Roser and Ortiz-Ospina 2018)
- International Conventions
- CDE (1960), CPPDCE (2006), CSICH (2012), ICCPR (1966), (), UNCRPD (2006), UNDRIP (2007)
- Deaf Population
- 75–320
- Language Counts
- The number of established languages listed for Dominica is 6. Of these, 5 are living and 1 is extinct. Of the living languages, 1 is indigenous and 4 are non-indigenous. Furthermore, 2 are institutional, 1 is vigorous, and 2 are in trouble.
Languages
- English eng
- Users: 65,000 in Dominica, all users. L1 users: 3,000 in Dominica (Crystal 2003a). L2 users: 62,000 (2020). Status: 1 (National). De facto national language. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, English
- French fra
- Widespread. Users: 6,940 in Dominica (Marcoux et al 2022), L2 users. Status: 4 (Educational). Alternate Names: français Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Gallo-Romance, Gallo-Rhaetian, Oïl, French
- Island Carib crb
- Widespread, extending to all the Windward Islands. Users: No known L1 speakers in Dominica. Last speaker likely died around 1920. Total users in all countries: none known. Status: 10 (Extinct). Alternate Names: Igneri, Inyeri, Iñeri, Kalinago Classification: Maipurean, Northern, Maritime, Ta-Maipurean, Iñeri
- Leeward Caribbean English Creole aig
- Saint Andrew parish: Marigot, Wesley, and Woodford Hill in northeast Dominica; Saint John parish: Clifton (a suburb of Portsmouth) northwest. Users: 200 in Dominica (2004). Status: 6a* (Vigorous). Alternate Names: Broken English, Creole, Dialect, Kokoy Creole English, Patwa Classification: Creole, English based, Atlantic, Eastern, Southern
- Lesser Antillean French Creole acf
- Widespread. Users: 56,000 in Dominica (2021 Joshua Project), based on ethnicity. Status: 6b (Threatened). De facto language of national identity. Alternate Names: Dominican Creole French, Kwèyòl, Patois, Patwa Classification: Creole, French based
Languages by Status
English
[eng] 1 (National). De facto national language. 65,000 in Dominica, all users. L1 users: 3,000 in Dominica (Crystal 2003a). L2 users: 62,000 (2020).
French
[fra] 4 (Educational). 6,940 in Dominica (Marcoux et al 2022), L2 users.
Leeward Caribbean English Creole
[aig] 6a* (Vigorous). 200 in Dominica (2004).
Lesser Antillean French Creole
[acf] 6b (Threatened). De facto language of national identity. 56,000 in Dominica (2021 Joshua Project), based on ethnicity.
Island Carib
[crb] 10 (Extinct). No known L1 speakers in Dominica. Last speaker likely died around 1920. Total users in all countries: none known.
Maps
Creole Languages of the Eastern Caribbean
Graphs
Language Vitality Profile
Full explanation
Language Status Profile
Full explanation