Papiamento

Papiamento Papiamento is a creole language or with about 330,000 speakers, which is spoken in the Caribbean on the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao).

Language name

Papiamentu is one of the creoles.

The vocabulary of Papiamentu consists for the most part composed of Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch words. Both the notation Papiamentu and the use of Spanish- oriented ending in-o are legitimate and correct. The name of the Creole of the " ABC Islands " Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao comes from the Spanish-Portuguese verb " papear " back. Approximately 80 % of the vocabulary of the language is derived from Portuguese or from Spanish and the rest of the Dutch, English and African languages.

Origin of creole

Papiamentu was born on Curaçao during the second half of the 17th century. It was not until 1700, the language was transferred to the islands of Bonaire and Aruba. The actual evolution of Papiamentu begins with the colonization of Curaçao by the Dutch. The reason for its formation, the restrictive language policy of the Dutch colonial administration is one who slowed the spread of their own Dutch language in the colonies. The slaves could not learn Dutch and the plantation owners lived in relative isolation of the laborers.

The Creole is the result of contact between the following different groups:

• African slaves that dominated mainly African languages ​​and possibly an Afro - Portuguese pidgin languages
• Dutch and other Europeans, speakers of Dutch, German and other European languages.
• Sephardic Jews, Portuguese and / or Spanish or other Ibero-Romance dialects spoke.

Later Papiamentu was becoming the lingua franca between Protestants and Jews and replaced the Dutch as the language of public life largely. Frank Martinus Arion The author, who committed to the Papiamento, assumes that the language from the primary dialect " Guene ", a Portuguese pidgin arose, which was used by the African slaves. A significant proportion of the language development was the Jewish- Portuguese population of the Dutch colonies. She was originally fled from the Brazilian Pernambuco.

In the 19th century Creole learned a hispanisation of vocabulary, because the Spanish won more and more important due to the Catholic mission, a number of Latin American immigrants, not least because of the proximity to the Spanish-speaking mainland. The Portuguese influence, however, goes back more and more.

To this day, there are different theories to explain the unusually strong Ibero-Romance character of Papiamentu. Possible sources of the ( African ) Portuguese member of the Creole language are:

• The African slaves that dominated an African- Portuguese pidgin or creole,
• Dutch and Sephardic Jews living in the Dutch- occupied part of Brazil,
• Sephardim, whose language was probably standard Portuguese.

It was found that the Spanish elements mainly by the Sephardic Jews were contributed during the time of the formation of Papiamentu. This population was distributed from 1492 onwards by the Catholic kings of Spain and Portugal and settled in among others in the ABC islands. It has certainly given a contribution of the Venezuelan priest. The influence of Castilian is partially still there, mainly through the media. Since there are no significant legal immigration of Spanish speakers, the Papiamentu has maintained remarkable his independent character.

Language genesis

There is hardly any language, researchers are at odds as to their origin, as in Papiamentu. There are three main theories about how language came into being:

However, currently gaining a fourth hypothesis popularity, according to which the Papiamentu is a relexifizierter offshoot of an early variety of the creole upper Guinea, as it is spoken in Cape Verde and Guinea -Bissau and Casamance ( cf. Jacobs 2009 ).

Lexis of Papiamentu

So disagree but the researchers are at the origin of Papiamentu, so they are not sure that two-thirds of the vocabulary are Ibero-Romance origin, ie from Portuguese or from Spanish come. To 28 percent of Dutch and Papiamentu is six percent of words from other sources, such as English and French. The high proportion of Dutch words proves the mixed nature of the Creoles. And there you find in Papiamentu on African word material and words of indigenous languages. The words of African origin are mostly located in the area of ​​nutrition, fauna or directly connected to the African culture. Of course there is the vocabulary concerning differences between the islands: Is the influence of the Dutch on Curaçao most, it is that of the Spanish in Aruba. In the words of iberoromanischem origin, it is usually difficult to determine from which variety they were borrowed, as the languages ​​of the Iberian Peninsula, were even closer in the 17th century, when trained, the Creole, as is the case today. Of the Ibero- Romance words about 60 percent are either Spanish or Portuguese, 25 percent Hispanic and four percent clearly uniquely Portuguese. A small proportion comes from the Galician or could originate from all three languages.

* Variant of the Creole of Santiago ** Notation of this example: ALUPEC *** Portuguese expression that is used in Creole.

Grammar of Creole

The grammar of Papiamentu has all the typical creole features: simplicity, consistency and rarely irregularities:

• Subject and predicate are always the same: Mi ta lesa - I read; Mi ta lesa? - I read; ? Awe mi ta lesa - Today I read.
• Verbs are never conjugated, but from a time and aspect particles accompanied Wed ta lesa - I read; Bo ta lesa - You are; Nos ta lesa - We read, etc.
• The gender is not distinguished: feminine and neuter = masculine =.
• Plural formation by appending the pronoun of the third person plural ( nan ): kos - kosnan; yu - yunan (except for number of words: 4 kos, 2 yu )

Papiamentu is a tonal language, pitch, and accent are important distinctive:

• Brua (sound: low-high ) = confuse
• Brua ( Sound: High-Low) = black magic
• Brua (sound: low-high ) = confused, crazy ( past participle )

Differences between Papiamentu and other creoles

Most striking is the Creole language of the ABC islands from the others by an exceptionally high prestige and the wide acceptance of Papiamentu in all contexts, and social strata. Your prestige rose even more so than all of the population used the Papiamentu as their language over time. Partly for this reason, the language has an unusually long and intense literary tradition. Also, economic factors must be considered: On the ABC islands one finds a unique standard of living in the region. This is also due to its the oil producers Venezuela upstream Geography, because its products were partially refined in Aruba. On Curaçao it happens today. The largest natural inner harbor basin of the Western Hemisphere is also a very positive factor for Curaçao. In recent years, the islands of the growing tourism has become very important, especially for Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao during have yet to catch anything. In addition, the level of education is good, even increasing. The illiteracy rate is compared to other Caribbean islands low. The islands have occasionally but still struggling with unemployment and drug-related crime.

Another factor that contributes to the economic stability, is certainly the relationship with the mother country. As an autonomous part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands had the ABC islands an easier level than other Caribbean countries such as Haiti and Suriname, who opted for independence.

Positive effect on the development of Papiamentu is the impact of the growing interest of international linguists for this language, all speak of a " remarkable and promotion cheap variety ." The Papiamentu is thus in a phase of expansion.

Language situation

Papiamentu in religion and culture

Papiamentu was and is the dominant language in the religious field. An important factor for the development and spread of the language was certainly their use by the Catholic mission.

Especially in the period 1750-1900 Papiamentu was the first Spanish religious, but later " promoted " mainly of Dutch origin: They recognized very early on the value of the Creole mother tongue for the mission. For conversion of the black island population they used in the first half of the 19th century already in their sermons Creole. So they sat down side catechisms also Bible chapter and religious school textbooks in order to ensure the rapid spread of the faith and the Church's moral notions such education. 88 % of the population of the Netherlands Antilles are Catholic, but that Kreol is today mainly by the other communities of faith used as a religious language. So it was particularly Catholic writings, such as translations of parts of the Bible and other religious books that paved the first step towards Creole literature. The first work that appeared on Papiamentu was a catechism from the year 1825. Since the 1940s, Papiamentu is also used in the cultural field. Be it dance, music or theater, literature or the media - dominated the Creole. All literary works are written in Creole. Due to the larger market novels but are usually sold in Dutch. Particularly noteworthy is the author of Pierre Lauffer with his poetry work Patria ( 1944) and the first literary magazine Simadan from the 1950s. During this time, also intensified the activity of the theater and literary groups emerged on the islands. Since the 1980s, an attempt is made through official programs to promote literary creativity and especially to encourage publications of literature for children.

Papiamentu in the medial region

Although Dutch is the official language of the ABC islands, insist on the three islands, in addition to three Dutch-language newspapers, more than ten to Papiamentu. In addition, there are about 20 radio stations, of which, however, only a completely sends in Dutch. The respective TV stations, of which there is one per island, broadcast mainly on Papiamentu. Dutch is sent primarily as a " minority program ". Papiamentu is the language of the people's representatives. The Dutch yet still valid as an official language is hardly ever no longer used to "voluntarily " on the ABC Islands, except in dealing with European Low countries.

Compared to other creole Papiamentu is better and more frequently present on the Internet in spite of its much lower number of speakers, which probably should not least be related to the much higher standard of living. There are both tourism-oriented websites that roam the languages ​​just on the edge, but almost always point out that is spoken on the ABC islands Papiamentu. There are also cited origin and often important words and phrases of Papiamentu. On some sites, the language is, however, only referred to as dialect. Besides the tourist websites, there are also newspapers and other official websites in the net. The fact that every island, every newspaper and numerous tourist centers are present with their own sites on the Internet, is trying to make people familiar with the Papiamentu. All in all, one gets the impression to have to do it with a more common language than that this is indeed the case.

Although Papiamento is the native language of around 90 % of the population on the ABC Islands, Dutch remains the only official language. Papiamentu is however allowed in the island parliaments as an official language. The language has been used for the second half of the 19th century in the printed media. Meanwhile, all media are dominated creole. The Netherlands remains in the administration and the school system is important. In this context, it is unfortunate that the ABC islands could not agree on a uniform orthography. In the University of the Netherlands Antilles, many courses are offered in English. Problems also arise from the fact that not even on Curaçao, the use of language is uniform. Unlike other creoles, the Papiamentu is not in a phase of Dekreolisierung because of its stable structure of language. This means that neither the Dutch nor the Spanish eventual goals are a language development. Although Dutch long time was the language of prestige, Spanish is not only geographically but also in terms of the vocabulary, much closer. Many residents of the ABC islands have been working in a Spanish speaking country, the communication takes place without any significant problems. Papiamentu has among the creoles of the Caribbean on an exemplary acceptance that goes through all social classes.

The Creole in the education system

On the ABC islands has a very complex political and administrative situation. For the school system responsible is the central government entity in the Netherlands Antilles, but with exclusion of Aruba. Administrative responsibility also still bear the so-called " Iceland Boards" that are out there on each island. It is therefore often disagreements between these points. Only since the 19th century it is absolutely educational opportunities for children in the Netherlands Antilles. The Roman Catholic Mission took over the education especially for children from lower social classes. In these so-called "folk schools" was the teaching by the priests mainly on Papiamentu. However, in 1936 Papiamentu was banned as a language of instruction again, because the Dutch again developed more political and economic interest in the islands. The main reason was the settlement of the Shell Group in the 1920s and have led to the immigration of Dutch workers. In the use of Dutch as the language of instruction was a serious sociological and social problem: 95 % of students are non- Dutch sturdy and can accommodate up to school age still mostly a word Dutch. It was expressly forbidden under threat of punishment, to speak Papiamentu, because mastery of the Creole language was seen as an obstacle in the acquisition of the Dutch. In studies, it was found that - if the formation is in Dutch - the productive capacities develop in the students until much later and there can be problems even with the language and cultural orientation of the children. Especially children, who at home speak only Papiamentu and come from a low social class, were sentenced in this school system to failure. If the instruction on the other hand, Papiamentu, which is the mother tongue of the majority of pupils, many psychological conflicts can be avoided.

In 1979, the law for the introduction of Papiamentu in elementary school, it was decided. Until seven years later, in 1986, the language was actually taught. At that time it was decided that Papiamentu should be taught daily in the school, but the main lesson was still in Dutch. There are only two schools in which the teaching takes place exclusively on Papiamentu. 1990 there was again a discussion on the introduction of Papiamentu as a language of instruction in primary schools. Dutch should be taught only as a foreign language. Except in kindergarten, primary school and in the pedagogical academies Papiamentu is not used in the classroom. In the middle and high schools to operate in Dutch. With reason for this is that many students study in the Netherlands and in neighboring South America. Other reasons to retain the education in Dutch, would that Papiamentu is a minority language and is, according to many linguists not yet developed far enough to justify an introduction as a language of instruction. In addition, the project fails because of the cost of migration, lack of teaching materials and the lack of well trained teaching staff.

Problems of standardization

One of the main problems of standardization of Papiamentu refers to the detachment of Aruba from the Association of the Netherlands Antilles in 1986. On the ABC islands there are no cultural homogeneity. On Aruba, there were fewer and fewer slaves than on Curaçao. Thus, there is a greater proportion of white population. In addition, Aruba always used a more intensive contact with the Spanish-speaking neighbors the feel of their culture. Because Curaçao occupied a dominant position in the federation of the Netherlands Antilles, Aruba's residents have always had the feeling of a double dependency: on the one hand by the Netherlands and the other part of Curacao. These factors influenced especially the orthographic norm of Papiamentu. So the Papiamento in Aruba is still characterized by a more strongly to the Spanish spelling ajar. One writes: falsifica ( fake ) falsificacion ( forgery ), conexion (connection), SCUR (dark). On Curaçao, however, is the notation: falsifiká, falsifikashon, konekshon, Suku. For a short time there at the University of the Netherlands Antilles in Curaçao a BA and an MA program for teachers of Papiamentu. This means that the situation will change, that many teachers do not speak Papiamentu as their native language, because they come from other countries ( for example, from Suriname) and master the creole very bad. Among other things, therefore undergoes Papiamentu, especially since the 1980s, a government-sponsored, targeted expansion, normalization and standardization process.

Future prospects of Papiamentu

The Creole language is currently in a phase of expansion. A language that is still in development, is always exposed to particular hazards. Aside from the two different spellings of the already small language, primarily affects risk of a "dutch -intellectual " Papiamentu. This threat comes from speakers who have studied in the mother country and the Netherlands have acquired. Let unconsciously incorporated Dutch syntax, grammar and vocabulary in their native language. Even those linguists who deal with the Papiamentu, often unconsciously let such expressions in their work incorporated because these scientists are mostly Nederlandisten or Hispanists. Also in the newspapers of the Netherlands Antilles are frequently so called finding " barbarisms " as half- courses or confusion due to Nederlandismen, anglicisms and Hispanismen. Due to the growing scientific interest as well as the support of national and international Kreolisten there are good chances to successfully complete the standardization of Papiamentu and make it finally to the national language of the ABC islands. In 2004 took place in Curaçao the first major conference to be held creoles (Curaçao Creole Conference).