About a month ago, while listening to The World on NPR, I heard about this incredible group from Curaçao called Kuenta i Tambú (KiT). KiT, which means "Stories and Drums" in a language called Papiamentu, is an Amsterdam-based group that mixes Antillean rhythms with electronic music, à la reggaeton, but actually way cooler, really heavy on drums and percussion and sharp electronic beats. Check out two of my favorite KiT songs, one of them in Papiamentu, the other in English. For those of you who speak Spanish or Portuguese, you should be able to pick out some of the words in Papiamentu.
Ban Selebr'é
Jackhammer
Listening to KiT sparked my curiosity in Papiamentu, a language I had only heard about once before. Turns out Papiamentu, or Papiamento, is a creole language spoken by about 260,000 people in the Netherlands Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. It is the main language of the islands and it is considered official, along with Dutch and English.
But, wait, what exactly is a creole language, you ask? Well, creole languages develop when two peoples speaking completely different languages interact heavily in a specific place (this happened a lot during colonial times). Eventually, the two groups begin speaking a very basic, unstructured speech called a pidgin language, which in essence combines bits and pieces of the two original languages. Generations later, if and when that pidgin language becomes more structured and native speakers are born, then it is officially considered a creole language. Examples of creole languages abound, from Oceania to Asia, to Africa, to the Caribbean. Some notable examples are Haitian Creole (French-based), Jamaican Patois (English-based), Cape Verdean Kriolu (Portuguese-based), Patuá in Macao (Portuguese-based), Papua New Guinea's Tok Pisin (English-based) and Chavacano in the Philippines (Mexican Spanish-based). Chavacano is another beauty of a language. Check out what is sounds like here (Spanish speakers will actually get most of it!).
There's something truly special about creole languages and their formation: the way two cultures and world views combine into one; how this process strips language to its most functional, most logical elements. It's an amazing, organic phenomenon that has been going ever since man began to speak. And yet, oftentimes, creole languages are looked down upon, considered rudimentary or unrefined. But if you think about, these languages are a product of evolution: by eliminating redundancies, they are generally more efficient than their parent language in conveying information and meaning and are easier to learn. At some level, all modern languages are themselves creoles. Spanish and Portuguese are very likely a mix of Vulgar Latin and Iberian languages; likewise, French is a creole of Vulgar Latin with Gallic Celtic languages; English is a mixture of a Germanic language (with strong Celtic and Nordic influences) and Norman French...One sometimes wonders whether the fact that we label a language a creole and others not has more to do with historical and political realities than with the actual linguistic fundamentals...
The development of Papiamentu, in particular, I find intriguing. The best-accepted genealogical theory suggests it is a Portuguese-based creole, mixed with West African languages and later influenced by Ladino Spanish (also known as Judeo-Spanish), Latin American Spanish, Dutch and English. If you listen or read it today, though, you can't help but notice that it is much more similar to Spanish than it is to Portuguese. For the word "man", for instance, Papiamentu-speakers say "homber", which is closer to "hombre" (Spanish) than it is to "homem" (Portuguese). Similarly, they say "muher" for woman, whereas in Spanish it is "mujer" (same pronunciation) and in Portuguese it is "mulher" (pronounced "mool-yair"). Linguists claim that this closer resemblance to Spanish is due to a process called relexification, in which Papiamentu has become closer to Spanish over time, due to its proximity to Spanish-speaking countries like Venezuela and Colombia. Who knows if any of this is true...What I do know, though, is that it is a beautiful and fascinating language and unique amongst creoles.
If you're interested in learning this incredible American language, check out this basic intro on Unilang.
¡Te otro bia!
Ban Selebr'é
Jackhammer
Listening to KiT sparked my curiosity in Papiamentu, a language I had only heard about once before. Turns out Papiamentu, or Papiamento, is a creole language spoken by about 260,000 people in the Netherlands Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. It is the main language of the islands and it is considered official, along with Dutch and English.
But, wait, what exactly is a creole language, you ask? Well, creole languages develop when two peoples speaking completely different languages interact heavily in a specific place (this happened a lot during colonial times). Eventually, the two groups begin speaking a very basic, unstructured speech called a pidgin language, which in essence combines bits and pieces of the two original languages. Generations later, if and when that pidgin language becomes more structured and native speakers are born, then it is officially considered a creole language. Examples of creole languages abound, from Oceania to Asia, to Africa, to the Caribbean. Some notable examples are Haitian Creole (French-based), Jamaican Patois (English-based), Cape Verdean Kriolu (Portuguese-based), Patuá in Macao (Portuguese-based), Papua New Guinea's Tok Pisin (English-based) and Chavacano in the Philippines (Mexican Spanish-based). Chavacano is another beauty of a language. Check out what is sounds like here (Spanish speakers will actually get most of it!).
There's something truly special about creole languages and their formation: the way two cultures and world views combine into one; how this process strips language to its most functional, most logical elements. It's an amazing, organic phenomenon that has been going ever since man began to speak. And yet, oftentimes, creole languages are looked down upon, considered rudimentary or unrefined. But if you think about, these languages are a product of evolution: by eliminating redundancies, they are generally more efficient than their parent language in conveying information and meaning and are easier to learn. At some level, all modern languages are themselves creoles. Spanish and Portuguese are very likely a mix of Vulgar Latin and Iberian languages; likewise, French is a creole of Vulgar Latin with Gallic Celtic languages; English is a mixture of a Germanic language (with strong Celtic and Nordic influences) and Norman French...One sometimes wonders whether the fact that we label a language a creole and others not has more to do with historical and political realities than with the actual linguistic fundamentals...
The development of Papiamentu, in particular, I find intriguing. The best-accepted genealogical theory suggests it is a Portuguese-based creole, mixed with West African languages and later influenced by Ladino Spanish (also known as Judeo-Spanish), Latin American Spanish, Dutch and English. If you listen or read it today, though, you can't help but notice that it is much more similar to Spanish than it is to Portuguese. For the word "man", for instance, Papiamentu-speakers say "homber", which is closer to "hombre" (Spanish) than it is to "homem" (Portuguese). Similarly, they say "muher" for woman, whereas in Spanish it is "mujer" (same pronunciation) and in Portuguese it is "mulher" (pronounced "mool-yair"). Linguists claim that this closer resemblance to Spanish is due to a process called relexification, in which Papiamentu has become closer to Spanish over time, due to its proximity to Spanish-speaking countries like Venezuela and Colombia. Who knows if any of this is true...What I do know, though, is that it is a beautiful and fascinating language and unique amongst creoles.
If you're interested in learning this incredible American language, check out this basic intro on Unilang.
¡Te otro bia!
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