ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to shed light on sociolinguistic diversity on the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba using Calypso, historically one of the oldest musical genres in the English Creole-speaking Caribbean as a case to observe how the politics of sociolingualism in a carnivalesque setting play out. This work is based on findings of a longitudinal ethnographic study on Calypso and the deconstruction of dominant discourses throughout the Caribbean. Aruba is one of the few islands in the region where plurilingualism is considered one of its main identity markers. In his 1998 Calypso 'Life in Aruba', Mighty Talent addressed issues concerning the livability of Aruba and how Arubans deal with each other as a result of globalization. The plurilingual song lyrics also play into an economic nationalist sentiment reflected in the way many discourses about foreigners similar to, for example, the ways the Dutch speak about Moroccans, the English about Pakistanis and Americans on Mexicans on the job front.
