Alternate Names: Curaçoleño, Curassese, Papiamen, Papiamento, Papiamentoe
Dialects: None known. Becoming more like Spanish ,, which is prestigious. Papiamentu is genetically related to Kabuverdianu , and Crioulo (Guinea-Bissau) , (Jacobs 2009).
Status Notes: De facto national language.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 115,000 in Curacao (2011 SIL). Population total all countries: 263,200. L2 users: 20,000 in Curacao.
Language Use: Importance varies by island. Use of both Papiamento and Dutch [nld] not considered an indication of lack of education. Dutch use fosters social and political mobility. All domains. All ages. Also use Dutch [nld], English [eng], Spanish [spa].
Language Development: First 2 years of primary school. Newspapers. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1997.
Typology: Maximum number of prefixes, 2; word order distinguishes subjects, objects, indirect objects; affixes indicate case of noun phrases; verb affixes mark person, number, gender of subject, object, other noun phrase—not obligatory; passives; causatives; comparatives; CVC.
Writing System: Latin
Other Comments: Christian.