Trinidad and Tobago

The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is a nation located in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the coast of Venezuela. It is an archipelagic state consisting of two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and 21 smaller islands, the most important being Chacachacare, Monos, Huevos, Gaspar Grande (or Gasparee), Little Tobago and St. Giles Is. The larger and more populated island is Trinidad, while the island of Tobago is smaller (303 square kilometres; about 6% of the total area) and less populous (50,000 people; 4% of the total population). Citizens are officially called Trinidadians or Tobagonians or Citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, but are informally referred to as Trinis or Trinbagonians.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Trinidad and Tobago

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The two predominant ethnic groups are Indo-Trinidadians, the descendants of indentured labourers from India (40.3% of the population) and Afro-Trinidadians who descend from African slaves (39.5%). Together the two groups form about 79.8% of the population; most of the remainder are people of mixed descent, with small minorities of Europeans, Chinese, Syrian-Lebanese and Caribs (descendants of the indigenous inhabitants, not recognized as a distinct census category).

Related Topics:
Indo-Trinidadian - Indentured labourer - India - Afro-Trinidadian - Slave - Chinese - Syria - Lebanese - Carib

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Emigration from Trinidad and Tobago, as with other Caribbean nations, has historically been high; most emigrants go to the United States, with Canada and Britain receiving most of the rest. Emigration has continued, albeit at a lower rate, even as the birth rate has sharply dropped to levels typical of industrialised countries.

Related Topics:
Emigration - United States - Canada - Britain

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Many different religions are present in Trinidad and Tobago. The largest two are the Roman Catholics and Hindus; the Anglicans, Muslims, Presbyterians, Methodist are among the smaller faiths. Two Afro-Caribbean syncretic faiths, the Shouter or Spiritual Baptists and the Orisha faith (formerly called Shangos, a less than complimentary term) are among the fastest growing religious groups, as are a host of American-style evangelical and fundamentalist churches usually lumped as "Pentecostal" by most Trinidadians (although this designation is often inaccurate). The Mormon Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) has also expanded its presence in the country since the mid-1980s.

Related Topics:
Roman Catholics - Hindus - Anglicans - Muslims - Presbyterians - Methodist - Afro-Caribbean - Syncretic - Shouter - Spiritual Baptist - Orisha - Shango - Evangelical - Fundamentalist - Pentecostal - Mormon - 1980s

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English is the country's only official language, but Hindi is also spoken by some Indo-Trinidadians and widely used in popular music. The main spoken language, Trinidad English is either classified as a dialect of English or as an English Creole (Trinidadian Creole English). The major spoken language in Tobago is Tobagonian Creole English. Both languages contain African elements; Trinidad English is also influenced by French and by Hindi. These Creole languages are normally spoken in informal situations only, and there is no formalized system of writing (other than as in standard English). Short-term visitors need not be concerned about learning Creole, as virtually everyone understands English. However, visitors should expect to hear Creole spoken frequently when they are not being directly addressed. Although Patois (a dialect of French Creole) was once the most widely spoken language on the island, it is now rarely heard.

Related Topics:
English - Hindi - Dialect - English Creole - Trinidadian Creole English - Tobagonian Creole English

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Due to Trinidad's location on the coast of South America, the country has been slowly developing a connection with the Spanish-speaking peoples, but has been impeded by the fact that in 2004, only 1500 of Trinidad's 1.3m inhabitants spoke Spanish.{{Ref|1500speakers}} In 2004 the government initiated the Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) initiative http://www.tradeind.gov.tt/projects%20and%20programs/SIS_SIE.htm, with a public launch in March 2005. Government regulations now require Spanish to be taught to all high school students, while thirty percent of public employees are to be linguistically competent within five years. Venezuelans often come to Trinidad and Tobago to learn English, and many English schools have expanded to feature both English and Spanish.

Related Topics:
South America - Spanish

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