However, these workers did contribute to the cultural development of particular countries. For example, in Trinidad where a high concentration of Asian people migrated, many words still used for foods today such as roti, daal and baji are Indian in origin. Or in Jamaica, peaka peow, a popular gambling game was introduced by the Chinese.

All of these factors have had an impact on what language is actually spoken in each country and how it is spoken. For example, St. Lucia and Dominica are considered English-speaking countries, but as mentioned earlier, the French influence remains constant in their language and has emerged as a French creole spoken by the majority of people.

Social history

The plantation system created a pyramid structure of the society which matched the linguistic structure. That is, those at the top of the social structure mastered the European languages, those at the bottom were the furthest away from it.

imageFrom what we have learned so far about the relationship between history, language and social/class development in the region, it is fair to say Caribbean languages are influenced by the complex nature of the region's history



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