Palenquero is a Spanish-based creole spoken in the El Palenque de San Basilio, and in parts of Barranquilla in northern Colombia. In 2005 there were 2,788 speakers of Palenquero, which is also known as palenque. It is spoken mainly by people over 25 years. old.
The village of El Palenque de San Basilio, or San Basilio de Palenque, was founded in 1604 by escaped slaves (maroons) lead by Benkos Biojo, and also some indigenous people of the region. The slaves spoken creole languages that combined elements from Spanish and Bantu languages, especially Kikongo. Palenquero developed from those languages, and is unintelligible to Spanish speakers.
Hear the Palenquero alphabet
Download an alphabet chart for Palenquero (Excel)
Tatá suto lo ke ta riba sielo,
santifikaro sendá nombre si,
miní a reino sí,
asé ño boluntá sí,
aí tiela kumo a sielo.
Nda suto agué pan ri to ma ría,
peddona ma fata suto,
asina kumo suto a se peddoná,
lo ke se fatá suto.
Nu rejá sujo kaí andí tentación nu,
librá suto ri má. Amén.
Information about the Palenquero languages
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palenquero
http://apics-online.info/surveys/48
http://fronterasdesk.org/content/10257/saving-palenque-how-tiny-colombian-city-revived-its-native-tongue
https://www.scribd.com/document/168737612/Hualde-Schwegler-Palenquero
https://www.ethnologue.com/language/pln
Betawi, Bislama, Cape Verdean Creole, Chavacano, Chinook Jargon, Dominican Creole French, Fanagalo, French Guianese Creole, Guadeloupean Creole, Guinea-Bissau Creole, Haitian Creole, Jamaican, Kituba, Manado Malay, Mauritian Creole, Nagamese, Ndyuka, Norfuk, Nubi, Palenquero, Papiamento, Pijin, Réunion Creole, Sango, Saramaccan, Seychelles Creole, Sierra Leonean Creole, Singlish, Sranan, Saint Lucian Creole, Tok Pisin, Torres-Strait Creole
Page last modified: 23.04.21
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