Lesser-Known Languages (LKL): Papiamento
Who speaks Papiamentu? A deep-dive into the Dutch Islands' Creole language... that doesn't sound like Dutch
I was first introduced to Papiamento through one of the most active users of the How To Learn Any Language forum, Expugnator, 10 years ago.
I remember seeing the word pop up in the feed and wondering what the hell this was. I followed his journey with Papiamento for a while and completely forgot about it after the forum moved to A Language Learners’ Forum.
It was only when I started thinking about writing about lesser-known languages that I remembered its existence and figured it’d be an interesting language to dig into.
As I write these words, I’ve spent about 10 hours studying the language, trying to get a good feel for its construction so I could explain it clearly. More on that later though.
In the meantime, let’s figure out what this language really is.
The origins of Papiamento
Papiamento, also called Papiamentu1, is the official language of the Dutch ABC Islands: Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. These are not to confuse with the Alaskan ABC Islands (Admiralty, Baranof, and Chichagof).
All three islands share ties to the Netherlands. Aruba and Curaçao are autonomous, self-governing constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Bonaire is a special municipality of the Netherlands.
Altogether, there are approximately 350,000 speakers of this language.
It is said that the ABC islands’ first inhabitants were the Caquetio (or Caiquetio) Indians, originally from Venezuela. There’s even a research paper from 2015 listing dozens of words that could be of Caquetio origin.2
These islands were called Las islas de los Gigantes (The Islands of the Giants)—because of how tall the Caquetio Indians were—by the Spanish when they discovered them in 1499.
Colonization started slowly in 1529 but the main language stayed the one used by colonizers for a while: Spanish. In 1634, the Dutch fought and won against Spain to gain control of the islands. They create a large port where Portuguese-speaking traders began trading slaves.
This is where Papiamentu’s creation begins.
Between the Portuguese-speaking traders and the many slaves who spoke Portuguese-African pidgins and creole languages—such as Cape Verdean Creole, Guinea-Bissau Creole, Angolar, and Forro (from São Tomé).
Papia, found in the name of the Papiamento itself, comes from the Portuguese and Cape Verdean Creole papear that means “to chat, to talk.”
Papiamentu evolved from the language spoken between slaves to being spoken by everybody on the islands. Despite Dutch being the official language, more people could speak Papiamento.
The first recorded book written in Papiamentu dates back to 1837: Catecismo corticu pa uso di catolicanan di Curaçao (Short Catechism to be used by the Catholics of Curaçao) and was added in 2009 to the UNESCO Memory of the World register.
The first Papiamentu newspaper, called Civilisadó, was created in 1871 and only lasted until 1875.
Papiamentu kept growing.
Recognition and Development
In 2003, Papiamento became an official language of Aruba but it wasn’t until 2007 that Papiamento became the second official language of the entire ABC Islands.
The language keeps evolving through contact with other cultures today, the most impactful nowadays being Venezuelan Spanish and American English.
While Dutch has been the first official language for centuries, it is not the most commonly used language in daily life. Most people rather turn to Papiamentu because of how convenient and simple to learn it is.
To commemorate the 150-year anniversary of the ending of slavery in the Dutch Caribbean, the first Papiamento opera performance happened in 2013: Katibu di Shon.
Contrary to many Creole languages that are suffering as the years pass, Papiamentu is a language that’s growing stronger generation after generation.
Everything (from newspapers to books, to YouTube videos or movies) can now be found in the language, although these are still hard to find compared to more common languages like German or Japanese.
In Aruba particularly, the language has grown so fast in daily life that it has virtually dismissed the usage of Dutch. This seems to have been a result of acquiring an autonomous status within the Kingdom of the Netherlands (comparable to countries in the British Commonwealth system) in 1986.
The Fundashon pa Planifikashon di Idioma, created in 1998 and located in Willemstad (Curaçao) is dedicated to the promotion of languages in general. That foundation has allowed, among others, the restoration, and reproduction of evangelical texts written in Papiamentu from the 19th and 20th centuries.
Finally, one more proof of how strong Papiamentu is in the ABC islands. Classes in school stopped being given in Dutch in 2019 in Aruba, following Curaçao’s change too.
Papiamento culture
Due to the Spanish and Dutch occupation and the variety of people from many cultures, these islands have created a mix of European and Caribbean cultures.
Finding information on the culture found on the ABC Islands is difficult. Most of what is written online either refers to one of the islands, or to the entire Netherlands Antilles which also includes the SSS Islands.
Still, culture doesn’t differ much apparently so I’ll mention a few points and bundle them together but if you know some nuances/differences between these islands’ cultures, please do share in the comments!
Beliefs
Religious beliefs on the islands emerged from the people who came these past centuries, both colonists and slaves.
As a result, while Roman Catholicism is the most important one, with 81% of the population in Curaçao and 82% in Bonaire, there are influences from African beliefs too.
One of those is the belief in Brua, a mixture of non-Christian spiritual practices. Preparing and using lucky charms and amulets, eliminating purported and declared enemies, divining, spirit possession, and consultation with the dead are just some of them.
Music and Dances
Tambú is a typical music style of African origin. Using a drum (tambú) and a hoe (chapi), a sensual dance—without touching each other—enfolds while lyrics are sung in Papiamentu. Tambú was banned by the Catholic church for 350 years, until 1956, because it was seen as a cultural expression of enslaved Africans. While it originated in Curaçao, it can now be found on all three islands.
Aguinaldo is another type of music but its influence comes from Latin-American cultures. Performed by “parranderos,” this music uses a bunch of instruments such as maracas, guitar, and tambourine, and is usually accompanied by a dance from a group of women.
There are multiple dances across the islands, from the Simadan done in celebration of a good maize harvest, to the Bari also with harvest roots but with European influences, or to the Danza and the Joropo from Latin-American origins.
In Curaçao, Pagara parties are a crucial part of the end-of-the-year celebrations. A “pagara” is a string of fireworks that makes a large crackle noise. The most famous is the yearly Pietermaai pagara happening on December 31st. What an impressive view this makes!
I don’t know if Aruba just has more written about it online or if it indeed has more festivals than the other two islands, but it sure seems the latter at least.
Aruba adds to the above celebrations many others (links below are to videos of the mentioned celebrations):
Bon Bini Festival at Fort Zoutman: Every Tuesday evening of the year. Traditional dances and music
Carnaval: Biggest event of the year, starting after the new year with the Torch Parade and ending at midnight on the eve of Ash Wednesday.
Dera Gai: on June 24, to celebrate the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. It reflects influences from the native Arakwans and Spanish missionaries.
The caha di orgel (organ box) is a typical Aruban instrument. Each organ has two or three barrels pegged with metal pins that move strings attached to hammers to create a song when the barrel is cranked. It’s used during most important celebrations (weddings, birthdays, etc.).
Books and Movies
Papiamento is still a relatively new language in the school system, despite being the first language of 80% of the population.
Most of the books available for children are in Dutch and written for Mainland Dutch children, and therefore don’t fit their culture. Indeed, winter stories about snow don’t connect well with children of the ABC islands.
Still, demand of Papiamento children books in libraries is growing. The Bon nochi, drumi dushi (Good night, sleep tight) project is helping to develop a reading habit in children by visiting houses to read to small children.
One aspect hindering the development of Papiamentu books is the discrepancy in spelling between the islands. We’ll get back to spelling soon though.
Another reason literature in Papiamentu is growing slowly comes from the lack of book publishers. For this reason, most of the books created are available for free.
For instance, this page is full of books for children under 12, and this one for teenagers from 12 to 16, all available directly on the webpage.
As for movies, I’ve searched quite a bit and all I found were 5 movies mentioned on ImDB—with the last one, Buladó, from 2020 seemingly of a much better production than the others.
There was also this “Jesus film” dubbed in Papiamento on YouTube, or a trailer for Set pa Venga from 2019.
Overall, it seems the movie industry is quite lacking but Papiamento YouTube, on the other hand, seems quite developed, with discussions about books like this video for example.
This being said, finding these videos can prove difficult due to Papiamentu’s resemblance to Spanish or Portuguese.
Talking about this, let’s get to the language.
Papiamento… or Papiamentu?
Until 2000, Papiamento didn’t have an official spelling. People wrote the language as they felt but differences emerged on each island. Pronunciation stayed relatively similar though.
Papiamentu’s writing methodology is the same in Bonaire and Curaçao. Their spelling sticks close to the actual pronunciation of words.
Aruba sticks to an older, most historical version of how Papiamento was written but this also means the pronunciation can differ from how it is written.
Most resources to learn Papiamentu today actually rely on Curaçao and Bonaire’s writing system3 so that’s what I’ve used today.
Papiamento basic grammar
Papiamento, like other Creole languages, emerged as a simple way to converse with other people whose native languages differed. As a result, its grammar is on the easier side of things. Despite having only spent about 10 hours on it, I feel I have a rather good understanding of its structure.4
Pronouns
The Papiamentu pronouns are, in order: Mi - Bo - E - Nos - Boso - Nan.
Papiamento doesn’t use genders so E can mean either He, She, or It.
The polite form for You is translated according to the person it applies to. You is replaced with the words “sir” and “miss” in Papiamentu:
Sir: Señor (From Spanish Señor) and Mener (From Dutch Meneer)
Miss: Señora (From Spanish Señora) and Yufrou (From Dutch Juffrouw)
Mi and Bo respectively become Ami and Abo when the speaker wants to add emphasis on that pronoun.
Contrary to Spanish and Portuguese, personal pronouns are usually not omitted.
If followed by a noun, these pronouns turn into possessive pronouns:
Mi buki = My book
Bo sombre = Your hat.
Tenses and Negation
Conjugation in Papiamentu is quite simple. There is only one form per tense and most tenses are expressed by adding another specific keyword:
Ta (meaning “to be,” and coming from the Spanish “Estar”) indicates the present tense.
Mi ta bai cas. → I go home.
A indicates the preterite tense (pretérito defini), a completed action.
Mi a huma un cigaría. → I smoked a cigarette.
Tábata expresses the pretérito imperfecto, the past progressive form. It’s also the past tense of the verb “to be” when there’s no other verb.
Mi tábata huma un cigaría. → I was smoking a cigarette.
Lo indicates the future tense.
Mi tata lo yega mañan. → My father will arrive tomorrow.
Ta can be used to express both the present and the continuous present tenses. Context helps distinguish which is meant.
Some verbs, however, don’t use this ta. The most important ones are:
ta = to be
tin = to have
por = to be able (may)
sa (sabi) = to know (a lesson)
conocé = to know (a person)
ke (quier) = to want, to be willing
mester = to have to (must)
A few more, like stima (to love) or gusta (to like), can be used with or without ta.
In case the main verb is used for a specific case like a possibility or a capacity, the particle Ta is taken off. The most important ones are mentioned right above.
Mi sa skirbi. → I know how to write. I can write.
Bo ke landa. → You want to swim.
E por ta malu. → He may be ill
In the past tense, these keywords will be added before the verb particle:
E por tábata malu. → He may have been ill.
Mi mester a skirbi cincu carta. → I had to write five letters.
As mentioned above, the future tense relies on the use of Lo. This auxiliary is set after the subject and before the verb in general but the custom is to set it before the pronoun when the subject is a pronoun.
Lo boso bai. → They will go.
This custom is obligatory when the pronouns are either Mi, Bo, or E.
The present continuous is the only case in which auxiliaries are not used. Instead, it followed a similar pattern to Spanish:
Verbs ending with a → replace the a with ando
Verbs ending with e or i → replace them with iendo
Finally, the negation is created by adding the word No before the verb:
Mi no ta bini. → I don’t come.
Articles and Plurals
As there’s no gender in Papiamento, there’s also only one version of the indefinite and definite article:
Un stul = A chair
E stul = The chair
To express the plural, the suffix “nan” can be added to the noun, although this is done only when being precise is crucial.
Mi tin buki. → I have books (or one book).
Mi tin dies buki. → I have ten books.
Mi bukinan ta riba mesa. → My books are on the table.
Questions
Questions followed the same construction as declarative sentences except for the fact they add an interrogative pronoun at the beginning: Cuá (Which) Kí (What), Cuánto (How much), Kén (Who/Whose), Unda (Where).
Kí is the shortened form of Kíko and is the more frequently used version.
As for “When,” it is created by adding a time to the word “What”:
Kí tempu? → What time?
Kí aña? → What year?
Adjectives and Comparisons
Adjectives only have one form and are usually added after the substantive—the noun they impact.
Un muhé famoso → A famous woman
Un cas grandi → A big house
Some adjectives can be put before the noun but it’s worth being careful as doing so may change the meaning:
Un homber pober → A poor man (in the sense “without money”)
Un pober homber → A poor man (in the sense “pitiful”)
Comparisons follow set patterns:
…mes XXX cu… → As XXX as
…mas XXX cu… → More XXX than
…ta menos XXX cu → Less XXX than
For example:
Un pera ta mas dushi cu un apel. → A pear is sweeter than an apple.
Shortening words
As we’ve seen so far, Papiamento is a simple language to learn. It even sometimes made me wonder if it wasn’t easier than Esperanto5! Unfortunately not.
As we’ve reached the part I’m still lost with, I’ll try to make sense of what I feel is the hardest part of Papiamentu: its flow.
Without going deep into tones and accents, it’s important to mention the Papiamento language has some strong Portuguese and Spanish connotations in terms of pronunciation. I’ve yet to notice the Dutch impact on pronunciation but that might be because I don’t speak a word of Dutch.
The underlying mode of speaking in Papiamentu is “shorter, faster.” As the textbook I used to learn said:
When speaking Papiamentu, the words have to flow into each other. This is generally done by adding or omitting one or other letter or letter sound.
Here’s a short example: tábata tin should be the past form of “to have” but it’s shortened to tábatin. In spoken form, that word’s pronunciation becomes “ta’atin.”
The “B” in Tábata actually tends to disappear in the spoken language, but this doesn’t stop here.
Here’s just a short list of common abbreviations:
cuné = cu é = with him/her/it
di djé = di é = his, hers
p’é = pa é = for him/her
fo’i = for di = from, out of
E n’t’aki = E no ta aki = He/She/It is not here
E n’t’ei = E no ta ei = He is not there
Like every language, I’m sure this must become second nature after a while but, from the little I know, I reckon this is why Papiamento feels hard: Noticing when words are shortened and figuring out the “original” version is hard.
Example sentences
Let’s get to a few sentences covering the grammar we’ve seen above.
Bon dia → Hello. Good morning.
Bo por papia Ingles? → Do you speak English? (lit. You - can - speak - English)
Danki → Thank you.
Con ta bai? → How are you? (lit. How - present part. - go = How’s it going?)
Mi ta comiendo. → I am eating.
Mi a gusta koffi. → I liked coffee.
Mi ta biba na Paris. → I live in Paris.
na = in
E ta come hopi, ma e no ta bebe hopi. → He eats a lot, but he doesn’t drink much. (lit. He - present part. - to eat - much - but - he - neg. - present part - drink - much)
Hopi hende ta papia Papiamentu → Many people speak Papiamentu.
Cuántu e mesa (ta) costa? → How much does the table cost?
costa (to cost) doesn’t require the use of ta
Mi gusta té mes hopi cu koffi → I like tea as much as coffee.
Nos ta skirbi cu pen riba mesa. → We write with a pen on the table.
Bo ta bini na mi cas mañan? → Will you come to my house tomorrow?
Nan por tábatin placa. → They may have had money.
Mi ke bo bini aki awenochi. → I want you to come here tonight. (lit. I want - you - come - here - tonight)
Unda di mi ta? → Where is mine? (lit. Where - of - me/I - to be)
Where to learn Papiamentu?
The best resource I’ve found for Papiamentu is the free book: Papiamentu textbook. Most of what I learned came from it.
There’s also a good course on Unilang overlooking most of the language’s structure.
There are also textbooks in Spanish, like this one, or this short PDF overlooking all the grammar in 18 pages.
This book, completely in Papiamentu, can also be a good way to learn through immersion in the language from the start.
And that same website, you can also find the books mentioned earlier. These are for a young audience but can be of great use to learn through stories.
Finally, Pbworks is a good grammar reference and the Omniglot page has a few very basic sentences.
Final words
Despite having followed Expugnator’s log a decade ago, I had completely forgotten that this language was somehow related to Spanish and Portuguese. Diving in it for the past month and learning to make sentences, or reading short books for children was a lot of fun.
And extremely easy!
I’m not sure if I’ll ever go to the ABC islands but discovering this language sure made me want to. It sounded and looked just “cool” to me. 🤘
It was also my first introduction to a Creole language and, to me, a great one.
I know not all Creole languages are thriving as much as Papiamento but, if the others are as beautifully constructed as this one, I hope they can learn from Papiamentu and grow further!
On that note,
Mi spera bo pasa un bon dia! Te aworo!6
I’ll alternate between the two terms from now on just to mess with your head and make sure you remember them 😈
The Caquetio language is part of the Arawakan language family—also known as Maipurean. That family can be found throughout Central and South America.
If you wonder why I used Papiamento first despite this, it’s because it seems to be the most common English spelling of the language.
Don’t hesitate to tell me if I’m wrong though!
Which would have been ironic considering Esperanto was constructed to be easy while Papiamento emerged naturally.
“I wish you a good day! See you later!”