Papiamento

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Contents 1 Introduction 2 Pronunciation 2.1 Vowels 2.2 Consonants 2.3 Tones 2.4 Forms of Writing 3 Personal Pronouns 4 Articles 5 Verbs 5.1 "To Be" 5.2 "To Have" 5.3 Verb Tenses 5.4 Negation 5.5 Double Negatives 5.6 Serial Verbs 6 Nouns 6.1 Plurals 7 Adjectives 8 Combinations and Simplicity 9 Prepositions 10 Possession 11 Interrogatives 12 Conjunctions 13 Adverbs 13.1 Adverbs of Time 13.2 Adverbs of Place 14 Demonstratives 15 Phrases & Word Lists 15.1 Numbers 15.2 Propositions 15.3 Conjunctions 15.4 Days of the Week 15.5 Months 15.6 Family 15.7 Colors 15.8 Common Verbs

Introduction

Papiamentu, or Papiamento, is the primary language spoken on the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao (the "ABC islands").It's a creole language with roots in mainly Portuguese and Spanish, and to a lesser extent Dutch, African, and Native Indian languages.

The language started in Curaçao when Curaçao was invaded by the Spanish in the 1520s. The natives learned Spanish from the missionaries, then Holland took over the islands in 1634. The language further developed when African slaves had to communicate with their owners.

"Papia" is a Papiamentu word meaning "to speak". "-mentu" is a suffix meaning approximately "the way of doing something". Papiamentu translated would then be something like "the way of speaking".

Pronunciation

Vowels

Vowels
A a	as a in "apple"
E e	as e in "end"
I i	as ee in "teeth"
O o	as o in "ocean"
U u	as u in "clue"

Consonants

Consonants
B b	as b in "bite"
C c	as c in "cat"
D d	as d in "dog"
F f	as f in "feet"
G g	as g in "gone"
H h	as h in "hill"
J j	as y in "yes"
K k	as k in "key"
L l	as l in "lap"
M m	as m in "moon"
N n	as n in "noon"
Ñ ñ	as ny in "canyon"
P p	as p in "problem"
Q q	as q in "quip"
R r	Same as in Spanish (or the dd in "ladder")
S s	as s in "sand"
T t	as t in "top"
V v	as v in "very"
W w	as w in "wall"
Y y	as y in "yell"
Z z	as z in "zoo"

Tones

Papiamentu uses tones to differentiate between words. These tones are are marked using accent marks over vowels: high (´) and low (`).

Forms of Writing

Papiamentu has two different forms of writing.
• The writing used in Aruba is more similar to that of Spanish. It takes it's spelling for words from way they are spelled in their source language. Ex: cas = casa, meaning "house".
• In Bonaire and Curacao, it would be based on one letter for a sound, making spelling more phonologically based. Ex: kas = casa, meaning "house".

Personal Pronouns

	Singular			Plural
1st person	mi, ami	I, me		nos	we, us
2nd person	bo, abo	you		boso	you (all)
3rd person	e	he, she, it		nan	they, them

Articles

In Papiamentu, the definite article is "e". The indefinite article is "un". These articles are used, irregardless of gender.

Verbs

"To Be"

The English verb "to be" is "ta" in Papiamentu.

	Singular			Plural
1st person	mi ta	I am		nos ta	we are
2nd person	bo ta	you are		boso ta	you (all) are
3rd person	e ta	he/she/it is		nan ta	they are

Verbs do not change forms from person to person or number, as in Spanish and other European languages. Instead, they are changed by preverbal markers.

"To Have"

"Tin" means "to have". Like "ta", it does not change it's form.

	Singular			Plural
1st person	mi tin	I have		nos tin	we have
2nd person	bo tin	you have		boso tin	you (all) have
3rd person	e tin	he/she/it has		nan tin	they have

Verb Tenses

In Papiamentu, verbs don't have any inflections such as tense or aspect. These are indicated by preverbal markers.

The verb "ta" meaning "to be" is also used in showing tense when used with other verbs. Using the verb "bai ("to go"), we can say "Mi bai skol" ("I go to school"). But this isn't very clear. Does it mean the person is going to school physically right now, or in general, as in daily? To clarify this, we use "ta" to show that the action is continuous. We also need to use the present participle. It is the equivalent of adding "-ing" to a verb in English. In Papiamentu, this is done using the suffix "-ndo".

For verbs ending in "a" form, their present participle is created by replacing "a" with "ando":

duna => dunando

tuma => tumando

huma => humando

For verbs ending in "e" or "i", replace the final "e" or "i" with the ending "iendo":

haci => haciendo

come => comiendo

bini => biniendo

Exceptions are:

ta => siendo	be => being
tin => teniendo	have => having
sa => sabiendo	know => knowing
drumi => durmiendo	sleep => sleeping

We can form the past (completed) and past continuous (completed an ongoing event) using "a" and "tabata", respectively.

Past		Past Continuous
Mi a tin un pushi.	I had a cat.	Mi tabatin un pushi.	I used to have a cat.
Mi a bai skol.	I went to school.	Mi tabata bai skol.	I used to go to school.
Mi a wak un kas.	I saw a house.	Mi tabata wak un kas.	I used to see a house.
Mi a lesa un buki.	I read a book.	Mi tabata lesa un buki.	I used to read a book.

Note:
  • When "tabata is used with "tin", they are joined to make "tabatin"
  • We used "wak" to say "I saw a house"

The last tense we will cover is the future tense. This is done by adding "lo" before or after the noun (or pronoun), before the verb.

Future
Lo mi tin un pushi.	Mi lo tin un pushi.	I will have a cat.
Lo mi bai na skol.	Mi lo bai na skol.	I will go to school.
Lo mi wak un kas.	Mi lo wak un kas.	I will see a house.
Lo mi lesa un buki.	Mi lo lesa un buki.	I will read a book.

Negation

To negate a sentence in Papiamentu, we use the word "no", just like in Spanish and English. It is always placed before the verb.

Mi no tin placa. - I have no money.

Double Negatives

To create sentences using double negatives, we can use "no" with another Spanish word "nada", which means "nothing". It is used after the verb.

Mi no tin nada. - I have nothing.

If we want to say we have "none" of something, we use "no" with "ningun".

Mi no tin ningun buki. - I have not a single book. (literally: I don't have none book.)

Serial Verbs

Papiamentu has what is called serial verbs. This means that verbs can be put in a row without seperation by prepositions.

bin = to come

para = to stop

bisa = to tell

gusta = to like

uza = to use

Mi ta bai bin - I'm leaving and coming back
Mi ta para bisa nan - I stop and tell them
Mi ta gusta uza spano - I like to use Spanish

Nouns

Nouns in Papiamentu do not change their forms according to gender or tense, as in some languages.

E buki ta grandi. - The book is big.
E lesa un buki. - She read the book.
E pushi ta drumiendo. - The cat is sleeping.
E ha un pushi. - She has a cat.

Plurals

There are a few ways to make nouns plural, depending on how they are used.

Mi ta un studiante. - I am a student.
Nan ta studiante. - They are students.

Notice that "students" is plural, but no change was made. That is because the 3rd plural person pronoun ("nan") was used, and that implies plural. In fact, "nan" is the way we can make a plural when it isn't implied. It is added to the end of the noun. This would normally be done when the noun is followed by "ta", which could occur in a question.

Unda bo pushinan ta? - Where are your cats?
Unda bo tin bo bukinan? - Where do you have your books.

When neither articles "e" or "un" are used, it is safe to assume the noun is plural.

Mi ta lesa un buki. - I read a book.

The last way to make a noun plural is to use a number as a modifier.

Mi lesa dos buki. - I read two books.
Mi tin tres pushi. - I have three cats.

Adjectives

In Papiamentu, adjectives follow the noun they describe, as in Spanish.

un buki nobo - a new book
un homber altu - a tall man
e kas grandi - the big house

Combinations and Simplicity

In Papiamentu, you can combine and shorten words like you would do in English. For example, "I am tired" can also be written "I'm tired".

The pronoun can be combined with the past tense marker. "mi a traha" ("I have worked") becomes "ma traha" ("I've worked").

English	Normal	Combined
I worked	mi a traha	ma traha
you worked	bo a traha	ba traha
he, she, it worked	e a traha	ela traha *

* in "e" you would add an "l" for this combination.

This combination rule does not apply to "nos" or "boso".

Prepositions

Prepositions are rather easy in Papiamentu. Since the noun doesn't change form, they are used basically the same as in English.

E pushi ta desde e stul.	The cat is by the chair.
E buki ta riba e mesa.	The book is on the table.
E muhe a bai na e tienda.	She went to the store.
E a kanta ku un amigu.	He sang with a friend.

Possession

Possession is shown by using the possessive pronouns. In Papiamentu, they are almost identical to the personal pronouns. The only difference is "su" instead of "e" for "his,hers,its".

my	mi
your	bo
his, her, its	su
our	nos
your	boso
their	nan

Examples:

I have my book	Mi tin mi buki.
You have your book	Bo tin bo buki.
He/She/It has his/her/its book	E tin su buki.
We have our books	Nos tin nos bukinan.
You have your books	Boso tin boso bukinan.
They have their books	Nan tin nan bukinan.

In the above cases, you place the possessive pronoun before the noun. You can also place it after the noun, using "di".

of mine	di mi
of yours	di bo
of his, hers, its	di su
of ours	di nos
of yours	di boso
of theirs	di nan

Examples:

She has my book.	E tin mi buki.	E tin buki di mi.
I have his cat.	Mi tin su pushi.	Mi tin e pushi di su.

Interrogatives

We create interrogative statements (questions) by starting them with interrogatives. Here are some of the common ones:

What?	Kiko?	What do you have?	Kiko bo tin?
Where?	Unda?	Where do you go?	Unda bo ta bai?
When?	Cuandu?	When is the class?	Cuandu ta e klas?
Who?	Kende?	Who are you?	Kende bo ta?
Which?	Cua?	Which book is yours?	Cua ta buki di bo?
Why?	Pakiko?	Why do you go?	Pakiko bo ta bai?
How?	Con?	How are you?	Con ta bai?[lit. How is it going?]
How much?	Cuanto?	How much is this?	Cuanto esaki ta?

Conjunctions

i	and	Mi tin pushi i kacho.	I have cats and dogs.
o	or	Nan lo bai dialuna o djamars.	They will go Monday or Tuesday.
ma	but	E ta chikitu ma fuerte.	She is small but strong.
dus	so	Mi tabata cansá dus mi a drumi.	I was tired so I slept.

Adverbs

Adverbs of Time

Adverbs of time express how frequently the action in a sentence takes place, or how closely to the present time the action was completed. Most of the time, these will be placed after the verb they define. Here is a list of the most common, with examples.

awe	today	Mi a bai na e tienda awe.	I went to the store today.
ayera	yesterday	Mi a bai ayera.	I went yesterday.
mañan	tomorrow	Mi lo bai mañan.	I will go tomorrow.
otro siman	next week	Mi ta bai otro siman.	I am going next week.
otro luna	next month	Mi ta bai otro luna.	I am going next month.
otro aña	next year	Mi ta bai otro aña.	I am going next year.
siman pasa	last week	Mi a bai siman pasa.	I went last week.
luna pasa	last month	Mi a bai luna pasa.	I went last month.
aña pasa	last year	Mi a bai aña pasa.	I went last year.
porfin	finally	Porfin mi a bai.	I finally went.
ya	already	Ya mi ta bai na e tienda.	I already went to the store.
pronto	soon	Mi ta bai na e tienda pronto.	I am going to the store soon.
djies ki	soon	Mi ta bai na e tienda djies ki.	I am going to the store soon.
net	just	Mi ta net bai na e tienda.	I am just going to the store.
ainda	still	Mi ta ainda na e tienda.	I am still at the store.

Adverbs of Place

Adverbs of place help further define location. The most common in English are "here" and "there", with "yonder" to describe a "there" that is further away.

aki	here	E buki ta aki.	The book is here.
ei	there	E buki ta ei.	The book is there.
aya	yonder	E palu ta aya.	The tree is yonder.
ata	there is	Ata bo buki.	There is your book.
ata	there are	Ata bo bukinan.	There are your books.

Demonstratives

The most common of these in English are "this" and "that", with their plural forms "these" and "those". Here are their forms in Papiamentu with examples.

esaki	this	Esaki ta mi buki.	This is my book.
esei	that	Esei ta bo buki.	That is your book.
esakinan	these	Esakinan ta mi bukinan.	These are my books.
eseinan	those	Eseinan ta bo bukinan.	Those are your books.

Phrases & Word Lists

Greetings
Bon bini	Welcome
Bon dia	Good morning
Bon tardi	Good afternoon
Bon nochi	Good evening
Con ta bai?	How are you?
Mi ta bon	I'm fine

Phrases
Danki	Thank you (from Dutch)
Por fabor	Please
Di nada	Your welcome
Sí	Yes
No	No
Ayó	Goodbye
Te otro biaha	See you later

Numbers

Cardinal numbers are what we use for normal counting, while the ordinal numbers are how we say what "place" we are (first, second, etc). Except for "first", the ordinals are created by preceding the cardinal number with "di".

Number  Cardinal  Ordinal  0  zero, nul, nada    1  unu  prome(r), di prome(r)  first - 1st  2  dos  di dos  second - 2nd  3  tres  di tres  third - 3rd  4  cuater  di cuater  fourth - 4th  5  sinku, cincu  di sinku  fifth - 5th  6  seis  di seis  sixth - 6th  7  shete  (repeat pattern)  8  ocho    9  nuebe    10  dies    11  diesun    12  diesdos    13  diestres    14  diescuater    15  diessinku    16  diesies    17  dieshete    18  diesocho    19  diesnuebe    20  binti

Number  Cardinal  Ordinal  21  binti un    22  binti dos    23  binti tres    24  binti cuater    25  binti sinku    30  trinta    31  trinta un    32  trinta dos    33  trinta tres    40  cuarenta    50  cincuenta    60  sesenta    70  setenta    80  ochenta    90  nobenta    100  cien    200  dos cien    201  dos cien un    1000  mil    2000  dos mil

Propositions

Here is a list of some of the most common prepositions.

abou	below, beneath, down
ademas di	beside, except
aden	inside
anti	upon, against
ariba	above, over
banda	near
bou di	under
den	in, into
desde	since, by
despues	after
di	from, of, about
durante	during
enfrente	across, beyond
entre	between
gusta	like
kla	through
ku	with
na	at, to, toward
pa	before, for
pafó	out, outside
patras	behind
riba	up, on
sin	without
te	until, till

Conjunctions

Here are some other commonly used conjunctions:

despues	after	Mi a descanso despues mi a kana.	I rested after I walked.
aunke	although	Mi a drumi aunke mi ta no kansá.	I slept although I am not tired.
mes	as	Mi tabata mes altu cu e homber.	I am as tall as the man.
paso	because	Mi a para paso mi ta kansá.	I stopped because I am tired.
promer cu	before	Mi lo bai promer cu mañan.	I will go before tomorrow.
si	if	Mi no ta sa si e lo bai.	I do not know if he will go.
desde	since	Desde siman pasa caba mi a cumpra e buki ei.	Since last weekend, I bought the book there.
te	until	Mi no lo bai te e bin bèk.	I will not go until she comes back.
mientras	while	Mi a drumi mientras e a kanta.	I slept while he sang.

Days of the Week

Days of the Week
Dialuna	Monday
Diamars	Tuesday
Diawebs	Wednesday
Diarazon	Thursday
Diabierna	Friday
Diasabra	Saturday
Diadomingo	Sunday

Months

Months
Januari	January
Februari	February
Maart	March
April	April
Mei	May
Juni	June
Juli	July
Augustus	August
September	September
Oktober	October
November	November
December	December

Note: The months in Papiamentu are the same as in Dutch

Family

A list of the family members.

Family
tata, papa	father
mama	mother
welo, padushi	grandfather
wela, madushi	grandmother
omo, tio	uncle
tanta, tia	aunt
yiu homber	son
yiu muher	daughter
ruman homber	brother
ruman muhe	sister
subrino	nephew
subrina	niece
nieto	grandson
nieta	granddaughter

Colors

Colors
còrá	red
orañe, oraño	orange
geel, gel	yellow
bèrdè	green
blou	blue
maron, bruin	brown
ros	pink
lila, biña	purple
pretu	black
blancu	white
shinishi	grey

Common Verbs

traha	to work
hala rosea	to breath
bestel/pidi	to order
bishitá	to visit
primi	to press
pusha	to push
splika	to explain
bisa	to tell
come	to eat
corre auto	to drive
cai	to fall
pisca	to fish
bula	to fly
basila	to flirt
puntra	to ask
sinti	to feel
odia	to hate
juda	to help
tende	to hear
bringa	to fight
bati man	to applaud
horta	to steal
cushiná	to cook
sunchi	to kiss
hari	to laugh
kana	to walk
lesa	to read
stima/gusta	to love
descana	to rest
hasi	to make, do
tuma	to take
habri	to open
corre bais	to ride a bicycle
papia	to talk
biaha	to travel
corre	to run
zundra	to rail at
drumi	to sleep
dal	to hit
sera	to close
corta	to cut
skirbi	to write
grita	to scream
landa	to swim
corre barki-bela	to sail
wak	to see
ta	to be
sinta	to sit
bula	to jump
para	to stand
baila	to dance
jama telefon	to call (by phone)
bebe	to drink
duna	to embrace
perde	to lose
alimentá	to feed