Papiamento

Papiamento is a language spoken in the Netherlands Antilles: the islands of Curaçao (papiamentu, papiamento), Bonaire ( Papiamen) and Aruba (Papiamento), all are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

It has two forms of writing: the phonetic, applied in Curaçao and Bonaire, and the etymological, based on the Spanish language, applied in Aruba. Papiamento (parliament) comes from papia, an evolution of the colloquial Spanish and Portuguese "papear", an onomatopoeic voice that, according to the RAE dictionary means stammer, stutter, talk nonsense, which in turn derives from "papa", which said dictionary defines as a colloquial expression of nonsense, emptiness, nonsense.

Papiamento has been official in Aruba since 2003 and in Bonaire and Curaçao since 2007. It has its own orthography since 1976. The oldest text in Papiamento is a letter from a Jew from Curaçao from 1775. Some authors think that, at least the linguistic base is older. There are various theories about its origin. What can be defined is that Papiamento is a language that developed by itself through contact between speakers of different languages. To communicate with another, this language was used as a general language.

It is a Creole language whose lexicon probably comes mainly from Spanish, mixed with words of Portuguese origin, the Arawak indigenous language and various African languages. The language would be based on an African-Portuguese creole that the slaves brought from Africa, later reinforced with Sephardic Jews who came from the Dutch enclaves of Brazil, and which has evolved over time due to colonization and the geographical position of the islands. receiving a greater influence from the Spanish language, especially due to its proximity to Spanish-speaking territories such as Venezuela and Colombia.

Historical, social and cultural aspects

Autonomy from Spanish and Portuguese

Papiamento is not a variety of Spanish as it differs significantly in its grammar from modern Spanish, plus it incorporates a large amount of lexicon from Portuguese and English for which modern Spanish still retains a patrimonial form. Although its historical origin is due to speakers in contact with Spanish, it seems to have originated as a pidgin that became creolized, which is why its grammar differs so markedly from Spanish. If its origin had been the natural evolution of Spanish on the islands, it would be a variety comparable to the rest of the Spanish of America, whose divergences are due only to the process of natural linguistic change, without going through a phase of creolization.

However, Papiamento, at least in its written form, has some degree of intelligibility with Spanish. Papiamento has a lexicon of Portuguese and Spanish origin; However, this is not why it is directly intelligible to the speakers of these languages, if they do not get used to it. Its grammar is more similar to that of other Afro-Portuguese creoles: there is, in general, no conjugation, only in the past participle, and it is more analytic than the Romance languages (i.e., complex ideas are presented through syntactic constructions rather than derivation). or morphological bending).

Variants

The speech of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao presents minor differences, which is why they are commonly considered dialects or varieties of the same language:

• Aruban Papiamento (Papiamento)
• Papiamento de Bonaire (Papiamen)
• Papiamento de CuracaoPapiamentu)

History

In 1634 the Dutch occupied the islands. The population was 1415 indigenous and 32 Spanish. In 1648 began the flow of black slaves that the Portuguese brought from Africa and the Dutch colonists from Brazil.

In 1795, the island came under the control of the French; in 1800, it was a British protectorate and in 1802 it returned to the Netherlands again. The official language imposed was Dutch, but Papiamento is the language used by the majority of the population, shaped by that successive wave of slaves and settlers, limiting Dutch to written language and communication with the Dutch colonists. Due to nationalist movements, little by little, Papiamento spread to literature as well as to newspapers, radio, magazines, and websites.

Linguistic description

Grammar

As in most creole languages, Papiamento verbs lack inflection, so they don't conjugate morphologically. Consequently, times, pitches, and aspect ratios are expressed by the use of preverbal particles and other analytic constructions. The order of the words in the sentence follows the Subject-Verb-Object scheme. And contrary to its main donor languages – Spanish and Portuguese – Papiamento makes common use of pronouns, and does not make gender agreements.

The vocabulary of Papiamento is derived primarily (in order of importance): from Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English, French, and African languages. A clear example is that of the third person plural pronoun, nan (probably of African origin), also used as a marker of the post nominal plural, eg. kas “house” > kasnan “houses”. Papiamento is also characterized, both written and oral, by the use of a passive speech based on the auxiliary (as is the case in many languages spoken in Europe), which results from a phenomenon of de-creolization to the benefit of Dutch and Spanish.. Some examples: I will live - mi lo biba, 'lo' indicates future time, and is called the particle of time, that is, the part of the sentence that expresses the action of the verb. To express the present tense, we use ta (ta biba - I live); for the past tense, use a (definite past tense) or tawata (imperfect past tense): a biba, tawata biba - I lived, had lived/lived, etc. Past participle: the painted house - e cas geverf.

Alphabet

Alphabet	Papiamentu (Curazao)	Papiamento (Aruba)	Spanish
Aa	kas	cas	house
Bb	Brùg	Bean, brug	neighbor, blessed bridge
Cc	sènter	center	downtown
Dd	dilanti, dòkter	dilanti, dokter	ahead, doctor.
Dj/dj	djis, indjan, djaka	djis, indjan, djaca	immediately, Indian, rat
Ee	edukashon	education	education
Ff	fòrti, fout	forti, fout	strong, mistake
Gg	Garashi	Garashi	garage
Hh	hap, hobby	hap, hofi	orchard
I	island	island	island
Jj	Now, never!	already, pech!	Yeah, sorry!
Kk	kantor, korànt	kantoor, corant	office, newspaper
Ll	lep, lat	lip, laat	lip, late
Mm.	mondi, muzik	mondi, muziek	Mountain, music
Nn	Nochi, na	Nochi, na	night, towards
Ññ	Spaña, won	Spaña, gañado	Spain, liar
Oo oo	oloshi	Holoshi	watch
Pp	prezu, pushi	prisoner, pushi	prisoner, cat
Rr	rùstig/trankil	rustig/trankil	quiet, calm, serene
Ss	stilte, spar, spìl	keto, spaar, spiel	silence, protect/save, mirror
Tt	tourism, te	tourism, te	tourism, up to
Uu	urgensha, eksponé	emergency, exposes	emergency, exposure
Vv	vòs, bisibel	you, visibel	fox, visible
Ww	wàk, kaya, wènkbrou	wak, caya, wenkbrauw	see, street, eyebrows
Xx
Yy	and one	and one	fasting
Zz	sùit	zuid/suit	South

Vocals as amended	Papiamentu (Curazao)	Papiamento (Aruba)	Spanish
è	nèchi, lès, kèrk	nechi, les, misa	Nice, lesson, church
!	kòpi	Copi	cup
!	bùs, trùk	bus, truck	bus, truck
ü	hür, yüni, yüli	Huur, juni, juli	rent, June, July
ij (pronunciation: ei)	rei, preis	king, prijs	king, price

Examples of words and phrases

• Bonbini! = Portuguese: Bem-vindo; Spanish: Welcome..
• Bon dia = Portuguese: Bom dia; Spanish: Good morning.
• Bon tardi = Portuguese: Boa late; Spanish: Good afternoon.
• Goede avond: = (from Dutch); Spanish: Good night.
• Bon nochi = Portuguese: Boa noite; Spanish: Good night..
• Mòru = Dutch: MorgenEnglish: Morning; Spanish: Tomorrow.
• Kon bai?/Kon ta ku bida? = Portuguese: How's it going?; Spanish: How's it going?
• My ta bon = Portuguese, Eu (mim) (es)tou bom/bem

Lexicon

• Trankìl = Portuguese: quiet; Spanish: quiet.
• Kalor = Portuguese: heat/burning; Spanish: heat/heat.
• Danki = Spanish: Thank you.Dutch: Dank U.
• Sòri = Spanish: Sorry.English and Dutch: Sorry.
• Dushi, Lèker = Portuguese: 12, Spanish: deliciousDutch: lekker

More simple words and phrases:

• Bon tardi: Portuguese: Boa late, Spanish: Good afternoon
• Bon nochi: Good night
• Danki: Thank you
• Kon bai: Portuguese: How's it going?, Spanish: How are you?
• My bon ta: I'm fine
• Ayó/doei: Chao
• Kuantor tin: What time is it?
• Unda bo ta biba: Where do you live?
• Ami/di Mi: I/Mío/s
• Abo/Bo: You/tu
• E: he, she, you
• Say Dje: his, his
• We: Portuguese: No; Spanish: us/-as
• Boso: Portuguese: Go; Spanish: y'all
• Nan: them, them, you
• Bon, ayo: Well, boy
• Tur: Portuguese: # All of us; Spanish: All of us.
• Boso tur: Portuguese: You all go.; Spanish: All of you
• Two: Portuguese: No.; Spanish: us.
• Me for Daddy Daddy Papiamentu: I can talk Papiamento
• I can't talk papiamentu
• My last Kòrsou: Portuguese: Eu "estimo" Curaçao; Spanish: I love Curacao
• My kier/ke: I want
• Pabien: Portuguese: parabens: Congratulations
• Pass a day bon: Portuguese: Passa um bom dia; Spanish: Have a good day
• Hopi bon: All right!
• Little bit: Portuguese: Pouco a pouco; Spanish: Quietly or slowly
• I'll see you later.
• sunchi: besar
• dushi: dear
• Dushi om: delicious or great
• Ku tur my love: with all my love
• Frei: Bride
• Hopi bon: All right

Words to use when shopping:

• Kuanto esaki ta kosta: How much does it cost?
• My ta wak ront: Looking around
• Ban dal un trip: Let's go
• Banko/Bank: Bank
• Plate or heldu o sèn: Money
• Ki pelikula tin na sine: What film is in the cinema?
• Kèts: Shoes
• Sapatu: Portuguese: sapato; Spanish: shoe
• Den skol: In school
• My tin sèt: Portuguese: (eu) tenho headquarters; Spanish: I'm thirsty.
• My tin hamber: I'm hungry
• Ban Kas: Let's go home
• Botika: pharmacy

More words and phrases:

• Bini aki: Come here
• Ban sali: Let's go out
• Tur kos ta bon: Everything is fine
• Ban follows: Portuguese; Let's go.; Spanish: Let's go, let's go.
• Ban kome: Let's eat, let's eat
• Awa: Water
• Awaseru: Portuguese: Aguaceiro; Spanish: rain/water
• Lamper/wèrleik: Lightning, Lightning
• Strena: Thunder
• Nubia: Cloud
• Laman: La Playa, El Ocean
• Tera: Portuguese: terra; Spanish: earth
• Mondi: The Camp
• Den Stad: In the City
• Na Waf/haf: In the Port
• Brùg: Bridge
• Kuminda: Food
• Pan: Pan
• Keshi: Portuguese: I demand; Spanish: cheese
• Piská: Fish
• Belèg: Sausage, Cold Court
• Léchi/mèlek: Leche
• Sòft: Refreshment
• Mangel: Candy, Candy
• Pastechi: Portuguese: You guys.. Similar to a arepa, but it is prepared using more refined flour.
• Suku: Sugar
• Salu: Sal
• Pika: Pimienta

Note the difficulty of knowing if a word or phrase is of Spanish, Dutch or Portuguese origin.