Glossary · Term

Papiamento

Also known as Papiamentu

Papiamento is a creole language spoken on Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao in the southern Caribbean. Its vocabulary draws mainly on Portuguese and Spanish, with Dutch, English and African influences, and it developed among enslaved Africans and settlers from the 17th century. It is an official language of Aruba and Curaçao alongside Dutch.

Papiamento
Image: CROIX · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 4 state histories

Colony of CuraçaoNetherlands AntillesArubaCuraçao

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Papiamento. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/papiamento
MLA
“Papiamento.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/papiamento. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Papiamento.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/papiamento.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Papiamento’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/papiamento (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻