With a high level of multilingualism, the population of the Caribbean Netherlands accumulates in its linguistic capital mainly four languages:

1)   Papiamentu is local language of the autochthonous population;

2)    Dutch is the official language of the metropolis;

3)   English;

4)   Spanish.

Among the trends characterizing the development of this Dutch overseas territory, one can name:

·      growth of self-awareness of the local indigenous population, manifested in the growth of knowledge and use of the Papiamentu language;

·      relative stability of the linguistic capital of the islands' population;

·      increasing the role of English in the region's public life;

·      a significant decline in the competitive positions of Dutch and Spanish;

·      temporary increase in the role of the Spanish language in public life.

The development of language competition in the linguistic capital of the population of the Caribbean Netherlands between 2013 and 2017/18 shows stability, despite changes in the balance of weights (competitive positions of languages) within linguistic capital; at the same time, the market for everyday languages has become less monopolized (Slide 2). Apparently, the increase in language competition was a consequence of the significant growth of Papiamentu, which has become more firmly established in the linguistic capital of the population and, thus, has become a more essential element of the islands' multilingualism (Slide 3).

The second factor driving the increased competition was the stable position of English. It is the only language that, at both points in time (2013 and 2017/18), has a higher competitive position in language markets than in the linguistic capital of the population. This means that in public life, the population of the Caribbean Netherlands prefers English over other foreign languages. The dynamic change in the competitive positions of Papiamentu and English in the linguistic capital of the population suggests that these two languages currently form the basis of multilingualism among the islands' population. The decline of Dutch and Spanish may be due to a shrinking demographic base – native speakers of these languages may be leaving the islands.

The slight advantage of Spanish's competitive position in the language market relative to the population's linguistic capital suggests the language's growth in public life, possibly in the economic sphere and in foreign trade with Latin American countries. However, given the significant decline in Spanish's share of linguistic capital, its rise in the language market is likely temporary.

From a linguistic perspective, the Caribbean Netherlands has created the conditions for the separation of the overseas territory from the mother country, or at least for the acquisition of even greater autonomy in its relations with the Netherlands. Apparently, the Caribbean Netherlands authorities are encouraging the growth of the local national language, Papiamentu, and the development of multilingualism based on bilingualism, a necessary element of which is English: the former ensures the growth of national identity, while the latter serves as the primary tool for communication with and understanding of the outside world. It is possible that the Caribbean Netherlands authorities, as one of the designers of local language markets, assume that English alone is sufficient for such communication with the outside world, which is why this language may be within their accent zone. In this regard, the fate of Spanish remains uncertain, and Dutch may be viewed as an instrument of the Kingdom's colonial policy on the islands.

Leading analyst of IPER A.S. Airapetian

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