Question about English/Dutch in Sint-Maarten

Hi everyone,

I have a question about the Dutch part of Sint-Maarten in the Caribbean. As I understand, it's a Dutch island, currently part of the Netherlands Antilles. But what surprises me is that English seems to be the island's official language or one of them, and also the newspapers seem to be in English.

So my question is, what languages are the people educated? English? Dutch? Papiamento?

What percentage of the population actually speaks Dutch? Are there any connections on the island to the home country such as Dutch magazines or newspapers?

A look at this list of television channels on the island's cable TV system:
http://stmartincabletv.com/channels.html

Reveals most channels are in English or Spanish from the United States. And, a local channel. There are even a few channels from India.

For the French side of the island, however, there is an affiliate of the French overseas network - RFO as well as TV5.

So my question is: Does The Netherlands maintain any active links to the island on a cultural basis? How aware are the people of their "Dutchness". I know this is a somewhat silly question, but I mean are they aware of events in NL as France seems to have media for its side of the island?

I just find it a curious situation.

Larry

Saint-Martin is half French / half Dutch.
In addition to French and Dutch, Spanish is spoken by the many illegals from the Dominican Republic, who want to take advantage from European social benefits.

Indeed, English has become most common language across that loathsome mongrelized environment.

Wogs, mulatoes and niggers prefer English. As usual.



As a side note, St.Martin gives a hint of the future of Belgium: a French/Dutch basis becoming an Anglo-colored community.

Dutch has in fact never been used in Sint-Maarten for ages. Many Antillean living in Sint-Maarten are descendants of anglophone slaves. I also know the communitarian "tensions" are simular to those in Belgium though.
On the French part French is most used language and they tend to expect from the ones from the Dutch part to speak their so-called "world language". They're perceived by as arrogant by the Dutch Antillians.

Well, that's what an Antillean coming from Sint-Maarten once told me. Their monoglottery is what's causing tensions everywhere when there's a francophone community. Also in Switzerland the ones knowing only one language don't rarely come from the francophone part, whilst Italian-speaking Swiss and German-speaking Swiss often are polyglots. A person living in Tuvalu has once told me that French Polynesians are quickly assimilated to the French language and are aggressively pushing toward non-French Polynesians into learning their language. Great strategy I must admit, but it doesn't make them liked neither.

Anyway, except for some gamer geeks, I don't see Flanders becoming anglicized all of sudden. I do notice, however, English becoming more 'trendy' in whole of Belgium. People from Brussel/Bruxelles often name their town Brussels for some reason too.
In fact, the Dutch in the Netherlands is more "polluted" by English than the Dutch spoken in Belgium. Over there people often think it makes them eloquent to throw in whole sentences in English within their Dutch speech all of sudden. Most of the time it are low-class people who do so however.

French culture nowadays is all about cultural soft-power, but it is rarely more successful then them just being able to keep speaking their language abroad; I haven't seen them gain territory by it however. ;)