Editing Anguilla (section)

=== Languages ===
{{Main|Anguillian Creole}}
[[File:Flag of Anguilla.svg|thumb|Anguillan Flag]]
Today most people in Anguilla speak a British-influenced variety of standard English.<ref name="CIA World Factbook- Anguilla"/> Other languages are also spoken on the island, including varieties of Spanish, Chinese and the languages of other immigrant communities. However, the most common language other than Standard English is the island's own English-[[lexifier]] Creole language (not to be confused with [[Antillean Creole]] ('French Creole'), spoken in French islands such as [[Martinique]] and [[Guadeloupe]]). It is referred to locally by terms such as "dialect" (pronounced "dialek"), Anguilla Talk or "Anguillian".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://whatwedoinanguilla.com/language/|title=Anguillian Language 101|website=Whatwedoinanguilla.com|access-date=11 July 2019|archive-date=5 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605183937/https://whatwedoinanguilla.com/language/|url-status=live}}</ref> It has its main roots in early varieties of English and West African languages, and is similar to the dialects spoken in English-speaking islands throughout the Eastern Caribbean in terms of its structural features.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=aig|title=Antigua and Barbuda Creole English|work=Ethnologue|access-date=11 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019010527/http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=aig|archive-date=19 October 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

Linguists who are interested in the origins of Anguillan and other Caribbean Creoles point out that some of its grammatical features can be traced to African languages while others can be traced to European languages. Three areas have been identified as significant for the identification of the linguistic origins of those forced migrants who arrived before 1710: the [[Gold Coast (region)|Gold Coast]], the [[Slave Coast of West Africa|Slave Coast]] and the [[Windward Coast]].<ref>Singler, John. 1993. African influence upon Afro-American language varieties: A consideration of sociohistorical factors. In Africanisms in Afro-American language varieties, S. Mufwene and n. Condon (eds.), 235–253. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.</ref>

Sociohistorical information from Anguilla's archives suggest that Africans and Europeans formed two distinct, but perhaps overlapping speech communities in the early phases of the island's colonisation. "Anguillian" is believed to have emerged as the language of the masses as time passed, slavery was abolished and locals began to see themselves as "belonging" to Anguillan society.<ref name="Walicek, Don E 2009. pp. 349-3722" />