Statia is a melting pot of languages. English, Dutch, Spanish, Papiamentu, French and of course Chinese all blend together.
A conversation might start in English, switch to Spanish halfway, and finish in Papiamentu — without anyone noticing.
In the shops you’ll often hear a dash of Chinese on top, mixed with Statian English that feels like a language of its own.

For newcomers, it feels like being dropped into a language stew. I often catch myself saying: “say again?”
But there’s always a hand gesture, a raised eyebrow or a smile to help things along.

After a while, you just roll with it: a bit of English here, some Dutch there, with a splash of Papiamentu or Chinese in between.

And before you know it, you’re happily mixing three languages in a single sentence — without even realising it. 😉