Palenquero
| Palenquero | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Colombia |
| Region | South America |
Native speakers | 2,500 |
Creole language
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| ELP | Palenquero |
Palenquero (also palenque) is a Spanish-based creole language spoken in Colombia.
The ethnic group which speaks this Creole consists only of 2,500 people, as of 1989.
Palenquero is spoken in Colombia, in the village of San Basilio de Palenque which is southeast of Cartagena, and in some neighborhoods of Barranquilla.
The village was formed by escaped slaves (Maroons) and sometimes Native Americans. Since many slaves had not been subjected to a lot of contact with people of European descent, the palenqueros spoke Creole languages from Spanish language and their African ones.
Spanish speakers are usually unable to understand Palenquero. There are some influences from Kongo in Democratic Republic of Congo. A 10% of the population of age under 25 years speaks Palenquero, as of 1998. Most common to the elderly. Words like "ngombe" which means cattle is found in several Bantu languages.[1]
References
External links
International Herald Tribune: Simon Romero, "A little-known language survives in Colombia", 17 October 2007 - discusses the current decline of the language