comment on language / style

Theroux takes great pains to render language accurately and at times phonetically in Mosquito Coast. The inhabitants of Honduras speak a mylange of Spanish, Creole and several Indian languages. English is the official language of the missions, spoken by many religious Hondurans regardless of ethnic group. In practice, nearly every member of every ethnic group is able to communicate, using a combination of sign language, pidgin and Creole Spanish. Even in the most remote areas, everyone is able to communicate with each other, although not necessarily fluently.