Ever since the complete inhalation of the indigenous people in the 1700s, there has been no usage of a native Caribbean language on the island. Even though there is only one official language, English, there are two other recognized languages on the island of Grenada: Grenadian Creole French and Grenadian Creole English.
Grenadian Creole French
This dialect can be traced back to the occupation of Grenada by the French from 1649-1762. At one point, Grenadian Creole French was the lingua franca, but once the island was captured by the British, the dialect was no longer considered a populous language. According to Ethnologue, there are only 2,300 speakers and there are zero monolingual speakers. For this reason, the language has been labeled with the status 6b, which means it is threatened. It is important to not the Grenadian Creole French dialect is very similar and almost mutually intelligible with the other Caribbean Creole French languages.
Standard English
Standard English was first introduced to Grenada when the British captured the island in 1762. A survey conducted by Ethnologue in 2015, found there are 5,350 speakers of the Standard English dialect. Even though English is the de facto national language of Grenada, there are obviously not many speakers.
Grenadian Creole English
While Standard English is the official language, very few Grenadians actually speak the Standard dialect. According to the same Ethnologue survey conducted in 2015, there are over 102,100 speakers of the Grenadian Creole English dialect. This language has been labeled as 6a, or a Vigorous language. This can be traced to its function as the language of Grenadian national identity. As this dialect is the most important towards Grenadian society, this website will explore its unique characteristics.