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Palenquero

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Palenquero (sometimes spelled Palenkero) or Palenque () is a Spanish-based creole language spoken in Colombia. It is believed to be a mixture of Kikongo (a language spoken in present-day Central African countries of the Angola, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo) and Spanish. However, there is not sufficient evidence to indicate that Palenquero is strictly the result of a two-language contact. It could also have absorbed elements of local indigenous languages.

Key facts

Language.name
Palenquero
Language.nation
The Colombian constitution recognizes minority languages as "official in their territories."
Language.states
Colombia
Language.ethnicity
6,637 (2018)
Language.speakers
2,788
Language.date
2005
Language.familycolor
Creole
Language.fam1
Spanish Creole–Kikongo
Language.region
San Basilio de Palenque
Language.iso3
pln
Language.glotto
pale1260
Language.glottorefname
Palenquero
Language.lingua
51-AAC-bc
Language.script
Latin (Spanish alphabet)
Language.map
Colombia - Bolívar - Mahates.svg
Language.mapcaption
Map highlighting Mahates municipality, where Palenque is located

via Wikipedia infobox

~9 min read

Encyclopedic overview

17 sections
Contents
  • History
  • Palenque de San Basilio
  • Decline
  • Revitalization
  • Antonio Cervantes
  • UNESCO Heritage of Humanity
  • Academic Interest
  • Grammar
  • Gender
  • Plurality
  • Verbs
  • Copula
  • Vocabulary
  • Sample
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

Palenquero (sometimes spelled Palenkero) or Palenque () is a Spanish-based creole language spoken in Colombia. It is believed to be a mixture of Kikongo (a language spoken in present-day Central African countries of the Angola, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo) and Spanish. However, there is not sufficient evidence to indicate that Palenquero is strictly the result of a two-language contact. It could also have absorbed elements of local indigenous languages.

Palenquero is considered to be the only surviving Spanish-based creole language in Latin America. In 2018 more than 6,600 people spoke this language.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Palenquero” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.