Also Known As:
Garifuna, Garfuna, Black Carib, Caribe, Central American Carib, "Moreno"
Dialects & Varieties
- Eastern Garifuna
- Western Garifuna. Eastern Garifuna (Honduras and Nicaragua)
- Western Garifuna (Guatemala and Belize).
Transnational Endangered Language Communities and the Garifuna Nation
Maya Ravindranath. Transnational Endangered Language Communities and the Garifuna Nation. PhD thesis, University of Pennsylvania, 2009. Online: http://www.gse.upenn.edu/sites/gse.upenn.edu.wpel/files/archives/v22/v2….
Critically Endangered
100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~75,000
Native Speakers Worldwide
Speaker Number Trends
Speaker Number Trend 5
A small percentage of the community speaks the language, and speaker numbers are decreasing very rapidly.
5
Domains of Use
Domain Of Use 5
Used only in a few very specific domains, such as in ceremonies, songs, prayer, proverbs, or certain limited domestic activities.
5
Transmission
Transmission 5
There are only a few elderly speakers.
5
Speakers
Native or fluent speakers:
No results found.
Second-language speakers and learners
No results found.
Semi-speakers or rememberers
No results found.
Children:
No results found.
Young adults
~10%%
Older adults
No results found.
Elders
No results found.
Ethnic or community population
No results found.
Year information was gathered
No results found.
Comments on speakers
All in Hopkins are at least bilingual.
Location and Context
Countries
Honduras; Belize; Guatemala; Nicaragua; USA
Location Description
"Spoken by Garinagu in over fifty communities" in the countries listed.
Belize: Dangriga (Stann Creek district); Punta Gorda (Toledo district); Hopkins; Seine Bight; Georgetown; and Barranco.
Government Support
No results found.
Institutional Support
No results found.
Speakers' Attitude
No results found.
Other Languages Used By The Community
English; Belizean Creole (Bileez Kriol)
Number of Other Language Speakers:
None
Domains of Other Languages:
None
Writing Systems
Standard orthography:
No results found.
Writing system:
No results found.
Other writing systems used:
No results text.
Comments on writing systems:
No results found.
Recent Resources
Website explaining Garifuna language and history, providing numerous resources on the language.
Alex Kwabena Colon introduces himself and talks about his efforts for the preservation of the Garifu
A collection of videos published by the Endangered Language Alliance on the Garifuna language.