TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO. A Caribbean country and member of the COMMONWEALTH, consisting of the two major islands at the southern end of the Lesser Antilles, close to the South American coast. Languages: English (official), English Creole, and some Bhojpuri, HINDI, FRENCH, and SPANISH. Both islands were visited by Columbus in 1498. The Spanish settled in Trinidad in the 16c and the island was periodically raided by the French, British, and Dutch. In 1802, it was ceded to the British under the Treaty of Amiens. Tobago, after being colonized by Dutch, British, and French settlers, became a British colony of the Windward Islands group in 1814. It was administratively linked with Trinidad in 1899 and the joint territory became independent in 1962.

The term Trinidadian English refers to the variety of English used for formal communication by educated speakers of Trinidad and Tobago. Its lexical distinctiveness derives from the use of Spanish and of a French-based CREOLE before the arrival of English speakers, as well as from the influence of East Indian languages dating from the earlier 19c. Its phonetic characteristics result from pressure from the Trinidadian and Tobagonian English-based creoles with which it coexists. See CARIBBEAN ENGLISH, CARIBBEAN ENGLISH CREOLE.