Papiamento

Vocabulary

Most of the vocabulary is derived from Portuguese and Spanish, and most of the time the real origin is unknown due to the great similarity between the two Iberian languages and the adaptations required by Papiamento.

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Linguistic studies have shown that roughly two thirds of the words in Papiamento's present vocabulary are of Spanish or Portuguese origin, a quarter are of Dutch origin, and the rest come from other tongues.

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Examples of words that can be impossible or where the determination is very difficult:

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• Por fabor = Please - Portuguese/Spanish por favor
• Señora = Mrs, Madam, - Portuguese Senhora, Spanish Señora
• Cua? = Which? - Portuguese, Qual; Spanish, Cual
• Cuanto? = How much? - Portuguese, Quanto; Spanish, Cuanto

Meanwhile the existence of a final vowel can easily be traced to Portuguese, and a diphthongization in some vowels can easily be traced to Spanish. The  sound and "ñ" character can mislead an untrained observer; also a sound-shift could occur in direction to Spanish, because this language is of a later influence than Portuguese.

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Other words can have dual origin, and certainly dual influence. For instance: Subrino (nephew); in Portuguese is Sobrinho while in Spanish is Sobrino. The pronunciation of u in the "su-" is traceable to Portuguese, while in "-no", can be traceable to Spanish.

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Portuguese origin words:

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• sapatu = shoes - Portuguese, sapato, Spanish, zapato
• cacho = dog - Portuguese, cachorro (dog), Spanish, perro
• bisiña = neighbour - Portuguese, vizinho, vizinha, Spanish, vecino, vecina

Spanish origin words:

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• siudat = city - Spanish, ciudad
• sombré = hat - Spanish, sombrero
• karsón = trousers - Spanish, calzón

Dutch origin words:

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• apel = apple - Dutch, appel
• blou = blue - Dutch, blauw
• buki = book - Dutch, boek