s elsewhere in the parts of the French-controlled Caribbean, a distinct French-based creole emerged in St. Lucia and remains a dominant language of St. Lucian identity to this day. With the cementing of British control in the early 19th century and independence in 1979, English likewise became widespread, with official status. Less well recognized is the relatively recent emergence of a St. Lucian Creole English in addition to these. Most St. Lucians are thus highly multilingual, and of the nearly 9,000 New Yorkers born in St. Lucia, according to American Community Survey data from 2015-2019, many may be proficient in Kwéyòl and Creole as well as official forms of English and French.