Standard

DO

Dominican Republic

Summary

Official Name
Population
10,848,000
Principal Languages
Spanish
Literacy Rate
94% (2016 UNESCO)
International Conventions
CDE (1960), CPPDCE (2006), CSICH (2012), ICCPR (1966), UNCRPD (2006), UNDRIP (2007)
Deaf Population
60,000
Language Counts
The number of established languages listed for Dominican Republic is 5. All are living languages. Of these, 1 is indigenous and 4 are non-indigenous. Furthermore, 1 is institutional, 3 are developing, and 1 is dying. Also listed are 4 unestablished languages.

Languages

Arabic, North Levantine Spoken apc
Users: 3,700 in Dominican Republic (2021 Joshua Project), based on ethnicity. Status: Unestablished. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
Chinese, Mandarin cmn
Users: 50,000 in Dominican Republic (2021 Joshua Project), based on ethnicity. Status: Unestablished. Classification: Sino-Tibetan, Chinese
Dominican Sign Language doq
Scattered. Users: 32,000 (2021 DBS/DOOR/SIL). Estimated 21,000–43,000, based on 0.2%–0.4% of the general population. Status: 5 (Developing). Classification: Sign language, Deaf community sign language
English eng
Cibao Nordeste and Samaná regions, northeastern peninsula. Users: 49,300 in Dominican Republic (2021 Joshua Project), based on ethnicity. Status: 8a (Moribund). Alternate Names: Inglés Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, English
French fra
Users: 159,100 in Dominican Republic, all users. L1 users: 2,100 in Dominican Republic (2021 Joshua Project), based on ethnicity. L2 users: 157,000 (Marcoux et al 2022). Status: 5* (Dispersed). Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Gallo-Romance, Gallo-Rhaetian, Oïl, French
Haitian Creole hat
Dajabón, Distrito Nacional, El Seibo, Elías Piña, Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, Monte Cristi, Pedernales, and Valverde regions. Users: 569,000 in Dominican Republic (2021 Joshua Project), based on ethnicity. Status: 5* (Dispersed). Alternate Names: Creole, Haitian Classification: Creole, French based
Japanese jpn
Users: 1,700 in Dominican Republic (2021 Joshua Project), based on ethnicity. Status: Unestablished. Classification: Japonic
Southwestern Caribbean English Creole jam
Users: 22,000 in Dominican Republic. Status: Unestablished. Classification: Creole, English based, Atlantic, Western
Spanish spa
Users: 10,464,200 in Dominican Republic, all users. L1 users: 10,400,000 in Dominican Republic (2020). L2 users: 64,200 (2020). Status: 1 (National). Statutory national language (2000, Law 44.00). Alternate Names: Español Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Ibero-Romance, West Iberian, Castilian

Languages by Status

    Spanish
    [spa] 1 (National). Statutory national language (2000, Law 44.00). 10,464,200 in Dominican Republic, all users. L1 users: 10,400,000 in Dominican Republic (2020). L2 users: 64,200 (2020).
    French
    [fra] 5* (Dispersed). 159,100 in Dominican Republic, all users. L1 users: 2,100 in Dominican Republic (2021 Joshua Project), based on ethnicity. L2 users: 157,000 (Marcoux et al 2022).
    Haitian Creole
    [hat] 5* (Dispersed). 569,000 in Dominican Republic (2021 Joshua Project), based on ethnicity.
    Dominican Sign Language
    [doq] 5 (Developing). 32,000 (2021 DBS/DOOR/SIL). Estimated 21,000–43,000, based on 0.2%–0.4% of the general population.
    English
    [eng] 8a (Moribund). 49,300 in Dominican Republic (2021 Joshua Project), based on ethnicity.
    Arabic, North Levantine Spoken
    [apc] Unestablished. 3,700 in Dominican Republic (2021 Joshua Project), based on ethnicity.
    Chinese, Mandarin
    [cmn] Unestablished. 50,000 in Dominican Republic (2021 Joshua Project), based on ethnicity.
    Japanese
    [jpn] Unestablished. 1,700 in Dominican Republic (2021 Joshua Project), based on ethnicity.
    Southwestern Caribbean English Creole
    [jam] Unestablished. 22,000 in Dominican Republic.

Maps

  • Creole Languages of the Northern Caribbean

Graphs

  • Language Vitality Profile

  • Language Status Profile

Resources

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