Creoles and other minority languages are rapidly disappearing, but an obscure creole language spoken in the Caribbean is an exception to the rule.
According to a recent New York Times report, Papiamentu, a language spoken in just a few islands off the coast of Venezuela, is experiencing a renaissance.
Quarter of a million people on the islands of Curaçao, Bonaire and Aruba in the Lesser Antilles speak the creole, which has formed over several centuries from a combination of Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, English, African and Arawakan influences.
Unlike other creoles, which are in decline, Papiamentu is thriving, dominating television, radio, music, literature, politics, education and business in the islands.
"The extension of Papiamentu into different domains like writing, education and policy is incredibly high," said Dutch linguist Bart Jacobs, speaking to the NYT. "This bodes very well for the language’s chances to survive, and possibly even thrive well into the future."
Its current popularity can be traced to Trinta di Mei, the 1969 uprising against the islands’ Dutch rulers. Though the Lesser Antilles remain part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the revolt sparked a renewed interest in native language and culture.
In 2007, Papiamentu was adopted as an official language. It will remain an official language after October 2010, when the Netherlands Antilles will be officially dissolved, a move the NYT describes as "a largely anticlimactic political rearrangement."
The islands will remain a part of the Netherlands, although some want complete independence. Among them is leftist leader Helmin Wiels, who told the paper, "The preservation of Papiamentu would allow us to absorb the influences of our South American brothers, while keeping alive that which makes us unique."
5 July 2010
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