Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Summary

Official Name
Population: 111,000
Principal Languages: English
Literacy Rate: 96% (1970 World Bank)
International Conventions: CDE (1960), CPPDCE (2006), CSICH (2012), ICCPR (1966), UNCRPD (2006), UNDRIP (2007)
Deaf Population: 100
Language Counts: The number of established languages listed for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is 4. Of these, 3 are living and 1 is extinct. Of the living languages, 1 is indigenous and 2 are non-indigenous. Furthermore, 1 is institutional, 1 is developing, and 1 is vigorous.

Languages

American Sign Language ase: Scattered. Users: 100 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2008 J. Parks). Estimated 100 deaf signers (half of those with significant deafness), about 0.1% of the total population (2008 J. Parks). Status: 5 (Developing). Alternate Names: ASL Classification: Sign language, Deaf community sign language
English eng: Users: 2,200 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2016). Status: 1 (National). De facto national language. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, English
Island Carib crb: Widespread, extending to all the Windward Islands. Users: No known L1 speakers in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Status: 10 (Extinct). Alternate Names: Igneri , Inyeri, Iñeri, Kalinago Classification: Maipurean, Northern, Maritime, Ta-Maipurean, Iñeri
Vincentian English Creole svc: Widespread in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Users: 108,000 (2016). Status: 6a (Vigorous). De facto language of national identity. Autonym: Vincy Twang Classification: Creole, English based, Atlantic, Eastern, Southern

Languages by Status

1 (National)

English

[eng] 1 (National). De facto national language. 2,200 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2016).

5 (Developing)

American Sign Language

[ase] 5 (Developing). 100 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2008 J. Parks). Estimated 100 deaf signers (half of those with significant deafness), about 0.1% of the total population (2008 J. Parks).

6a (Vigorous)

Vincentian English Creole

[svc] 6a (Vigorous). De facto language of national identity. 108,000 (2016).

10 (Extinct)

Island Carib

[crb] 10 (Extinct). No known L1 speakers in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Maps

Creole Languages of the Eastern Caribbean

Graphs

Language Vitality Profile
Full explanation
This graph shows the profile of languages in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines with respect to their level of language vitality. Each individual language that has an entry for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is included in the profile. The horizontal axis represents the estimated level of vitality. The height of each bar indicates the number of languages that are estimated to be at the given level.
The vitality levels and the color coding of the bars match the scheme used in the guide on How many languages are endangered? In this scheme, the levels and colors are as follows:
- Dark green = Institutional (EGIDS 0-4) — The language has been developed to the point that it is used and sustained by institutions beyond the home and community.
- Light green = Stable (EGIDS 5-6a) — The language is not being sustained by formal institutions, but It is still the norm in the home and community that all children learn and use the language.
- Red = Endangered (EGIDS 6b-9) — It is no longer the norm that children learn and use this language.
These three summary levels have been derived by grouping levels in the Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (EGIDS), which is the more fine-grained scale that Ethnologue uses to assess the status of every language in terms of development versus endangerment; see the Language Status page for a description of the levels of that scale. See also the pages on Development and Endangerment for more discussion.
Language Status Profile
Full explanation
This graph shows the profile of languages in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines with respect to their status of language development versus language endangerment. Each individual language that has an entry for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is included in the profile. The horizontal axis represents the estimated level of development or endangerment as measured on the EGIDS scale. (See the pages on Development and Endangerment for a fuller explanation.) The height of each bar indicates the number of languages that are estimated to be at the given level. Consult the Status listings for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in order to see the specific languages for each level.
The color coding of the bars matches the color scheme used in the summary profile graphs on the navigation maps for the site. In this scheme, the EGIDS levels are grouped as follows:
- Purple = Institutional (EGIDS 0-4) — The language has been developed to the point that it is used and sustained by institutions beyond the home and community.
- Blue = Developing (EGIDS 5) — The language is in vigorous use, with literature in a standardized form being used by some though this is not yet widespread or sustainable.
- Green = Vigorous (EGIDS 6a) — The language is unstandardized and in vigorous use among all generations.
- Yellow = In trouble (EGIDS 6b-7) — Intergenerational transmission is in the process of being broken, but the child-bearing generation can still use the language so it is possible that revitalization efforts could restore transmission of the language in the home.
- Red = Dying (EGIDS 8a-9) — The only fluent users (if any) are older than child-bearing age, so it is too late to restore natural intergenerational transmission through the home; a mechanism outside the home would need to be developed.
- Black = Extinct (EGIDS 10) — The language has fallen completely out of use and no one retains a sense of ethnic identity associated with the language.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Summary

Languages

Languages by Status

Maps

Creole Languages of the Eastern Caribbean

Graphs

Language Vitality Profile

Language Status Profile

Contributions

Editorial Action