Palenquero

The formation of Palenquero is recorded from the 17th century with the dilution of the Spanish language and the increase of maroon activity.[7] There are existing records dating from the era of Cartagena’s slave trade that allude to the pidgin from which Palenquero evolved. As illustrated in the ethnographic text of De Instauranda Aethiopum Salute (1627), the priest Alonso de Sandoval refers to the ‘corruption of our Spanish language’ commonly spoken amongst African slaves.[7] Palenquero's origins are unclear; it does not appear explicitly in print until 1772.[7]

Palenque de San Basilio or San Basilio de Palenque is the village from which Palenquero originated from and in which it is most commonly spoken. The village was formed in the early 17th century on the south of Cartagena by fugitive slaves from surrounding districts under the leadership of Benkos Biohó.[6] The dissolution of the Spanish language thus intensified with the arrival of maroons that escaped slavery and settled in armed fortified territories. Palenqueros maintained their physical distance from others as a form of anti colonial resistance, and as result, developed a creole mostly based on their own African languages and Spanish. Residents have also been noted to be bilingual in both Palenquero and Spanish, with a mention in 1913 of Palenque de San Basilio as having a 'guttural dialect that some believe to be the very African language, if not in all its purity at least with some variations'.[8]

For almost two decades, Palenquero has been classified as an endangered language. Although spoken in parallel to each other, Spanish has dominated the linguistic activity of Palenque de San Basilio, with 53% of residents being unable to speak Palenquero. The decline of Palenquero can be traced back to the establishment of sugar and banana plantations with many of its natives leaving the village in order to find work either in the Panama Canal or the Department of Magdalena.[6] and coming into contact with other languages. In the 20th century, with the introduction of a standard Spanish educational system, Palenquero was often criticized and mocked, as Spanish became the supra regional prescriptive speech.[9] Racial discrimination furthered the deterioration of Palenquero as parents did not feel comfortable continuing to teach their children the language.[10]

A legacy of cultural resistance, Palenquero has managed to remain active since the early 17th century despite the many challenges. In recent years, Palenquero has undergone a significant renovation through 'community activism' and 'educational programs' as an attempt to bring pride to native speakers.[11] Three major events have contributed to the revived interest in the Palenquero creole:

Antonio Cervantes, also known as Kid Pambelé, is an internationally recognized boxing champion born in Palenque de San Basilio. After winning the 1972 world Jr. Welterweight championship, a sense of pride for both the village and Palenquero as a language emerged. As result, Palenque de San Basilio became the interest of many journalists and politicians,[12] which consequently brought lots of cultural and foreign attention.

In 2005, Palenque was declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations. The recognition led to appreciation for Palenquero culture as films, documentaries and music festivals have brought upon more attention to the community.[12] These type of cultural programs have successfully appealed to Colombian youth, to whom the Palenquero language is mostly lost upon.

Beginning in 1992, the educational system in Palenque de San Basilio started reintroducing Palenquero in the curriculum. Children resumed their learning of Palenquero, as it was introduced in preschool and a fully equipped cultural centre was constructed to promote the language and culture.[12] Additionally, academic research, conferences and activism has increased the desirability to learn Palenquero and continue to pass it down generations.

Grammatical gender is non-existent, and adjectives derived from Spanish default to the masculine form: lengua africano ‘African language’.[13]

Plurality is marked with the particle ma. (for example: ma posá is "houses"). This particle is believed to derive from Kikongo, a Bantu language, and is the sole Kikongo-derived inflection present in Palenquero.[14] The younger speakers of Palenquero utilize ma for plurality more so than the speakers that came before them.

This particle is usually dropped with cardinal numbers greater than two: ma ndo baka "two cows" but tresi año "13 years".[13]

There are four copulas in Palenquero: e, ta, jue, and senda. E roughly corresponds to ser in Spanish and is used for permanent states, and ta is similar to the Spanish estar in that it used for temporary states and locatives. Jue is used as a copula for nouns and senda is only found with predicative nouns and adjectives referring to permanent states.[15]

Examples:[16]

• Bo é mamá mí nu (You are not my mother)
• Mujé mí jue negra i yo jue negro (My wife is black and I am black)
• I tan sendá dotó (I will be a doctor)
• Ese mujé ta ngolo (That woman is fat)