group population language language family

The presence of the various languages spoken on the Atlantic Coast reflects the history of the region. First were the indigenous languages, Miskitu, Sumu and Rama. British rule brought colonial Engl ish, and with the black population came Creole Engl ish. Colonial Spanish appeared much later in the region, and Garifuna arrived last. These are by and large one of the major markers of ethnic identity languages of the various populations of the Atlantic Coast, as shown in Table l. Although exact figures on speakers are presently not available, they are estimated in the tens of thousand for Spanish, Miskitu and Eng-1ish Creole and in the thousands for Sumu, making them all thriving lan-guages. The figures drop dramatically for Garifuna and for Rama, causing concern that they are in danger of extinction