In this chapter the author addresses the following questions: What does it mean to say that a language is a creole? Do creoles constitute a separate global typological class apart from other language typological groupings? The author calls for research on creole languages that is free from linguistic feature bias, creole language list bias, and genealogical bias. He compares expansion languages from the Meso and South American indigenous language families, particularly the Quechuan family (focusing on Ecuador, the northern border), with the Arawakan, Tupian, Cariban, Jêan, Chibchan, Uto-Aztecan, Mayan, and Otomanguean families. The comparison highlights processes of ethnogenesis, morphological reduction, and sub- or adstrate influence. The findings help broaden the definition of “creole” to refer to a special lexifier– descendant relationship, making the notion of creole a relational one, to facilitate comparisons with other languages and with “linguistic areas.” Questions that remain include: Are there area-specific features? And can this approach shed light on the characterization of creoles as a particular group of languages? What role can language contact play in reconstructing language families?

Papiamentu/o (Papiamento) / Papiamentu

Riba ala di Lenga di Mama

Ohalá

mas i mas

nos por siña,

un pèrla bunita,

balorá i konservá

nos lenga materno

Pasobra

no ta asina

ku ora nos lanta buelo

riba ala di lenga di mama

mas nos por amplia nos bista

riba tur aspekto di bida?

Pasobra papiamentu,

no ta ku bo konosementu

usando bo palabra i gramátika

ku entonashon i ritmo verbal natural

nos por bisa esun ku mas nos ta stima

ku t’e so so so asin’aki nos ta stima,

mi pretu di wowo, mi suku, mi dushi,

nos por usa palabranan kuchikuchi

yen di karino ku nos yuchi?

Pasobra,

mi lenga di mama,

mi m’matongo,

mi lengua materna,

minha lingua materna,

ma langue maternelle,

my mother language,

mijn moedertaal,

my moedertaal,

logghat oummi ( ,(لغة أمي

Zu Guo De Yu Yan (我的母语),

mia lingua nativa,

no ta asina

ku ta abo ta habri hanchu hanchu e kaminda

pa mas fasil otro idiomanan nos sina,

pa multilingual un dia nos por bira?

Hilda de Windt Ayoubi, Korsou, 1 di februari, 2015. Nederlands (Dutch) / Hulandes

Op de vleugels van moedertaal

Konden we maar

steeds meer leren

onze moedertaal,

een prachtige parel,

te waarderen en

te conserveren

Want is het toch niet zo

dat wanneer wij op de vleugels

van moedertaal opstijgen

wij ons zicht op alle aspecten

des leven meer kunnen uitbreiden?

Want Papiamentu,

is het toch niet met jouw kennis,

dat wij gebruikmakend van jouw woorden en grammatica

met de natuurlijk intonatie en verbale ritme

tegen degene die wij het meest beminnen kunnen zeggen

dat wij hem, maar dan ook hem alleen zo liefhebben,

mijn oogappel, mijn suikerdiefje, mijn lieve schat,

wij liefdevol kooswoordjes tegen ons kindje kunnen spreken?

Want

moedertaal,

mi mamatongo

mi lengua materna,

ma langue maternelle,

my mother language,

mijn moedertaal,

my moedertaal,

logghat oummi ( ,(لغة أمي

Zu Guo De Yu Yan (我的母语),

mia lingua nativa,

is het toch niet zo

dat jij de weg voor ons hebt vrijgemaakt

Africa is home to both large and smaller language families, and some that, as far as we know, are unrelated to other languages altogether. Due to the history and legacy of European colonization, most languages of Africa generally do not have a high social status in the country. Many African countries are highly multilingual, with several languages used in the same community, neighborhood, and even household.

Similarly, the languages of Asia belong to many different families (including Indo-European which we have presented separately). As many countries in Asia were not fully under European colonial rule, their languages have generally maintained a high social status.

In some cases, the colonial powers did not completely impose their own European language onto the local population, but rather gave privileges to the people who spoke their European language, as is the case in Dutchcolonized Indonesia.

We begin with a selection of African languages, from north to south in the continent, and then turn to Asian languages.

Tarifiyt is the variety of Berber or Amazigh spoken in the Rif mountain range in northern Morocco and in some communities in Algeria. It is also a heritage language in Belgium and the Netherlands. Altogether, it may have six or seven million speakers. It does not have much prestige in Morocco itself, although there is a current cultural revival movement. It is also called Rif or Riffian Berber and many speakers use “Tamazight” to refer to it, but that term is a generic label for all of Berber. While there is a rich oral tradition, much of which has been recorded, and/or written, Tarifiyt literature only dates from the twentieth century, and includes short stories, novels, plays, retellings of traditional stories, cartoons, and songs. Many writers whose first language is Tarifiyt have written in the languages of the diaspora: Spanish, French, Dutch, and even English. In Morocco itself, many Tarifiyt speakers also know Arabic and French or Spanish.

Papiamentu/o (Papiamento) / Papiamentu and Nederlands (Dutch) / Hulandes

PAPIAMENTU PA SEMPER

Papiamentu,

nan a pidi mi

pa mi lubida bo,

nan a asta roga mi

pa mi no papia bo

argumentando

ku no ta hopi hende

na mundu ta papia bo,

ku bo vokabulario ta masha limita

pa nos por ekspresa lo ke nos ta pensa

Papiamentu,

mi sinti a konsenti un tiki,

mi kurason a bringa ku rason

i a bisa rotundamente: NO!

Pasobra

maske* lenga di pueblo di

ku nos mester sina lenganan

internashonal

ku por hiba nos muchu mas ayá di kas…

kon lo mi por menospresiá bo,

kon lo mi por habraká** bo

si ta abo a sina mi kana

tur senda den selvá

i den mondi salbahe

di sílaba, palabra i frase?

Ku ta abo

a duna mi e base

pa semper mi por sigui kana

den mundu mas grandi di palabra?

Kon e yu por nenga

su mama ku a mam’è

sin’e kana sin trompekè

riba niun silaba ni niun palabra?

PAPIAMENTU VOOR ALTIJD

Papiamentu

ze vragen me

om je te vergeten

ze smeken me

om je niet te spreken

met het argument

dat er niet veel mensen

in de wereld zijn die je spreken,

dat je woordenschat te beperkt is

om uit te drukken wat we denken

Papiamentu,

Mijn verstand was het er een beetje mee

eens,

mijn hart sprong terecht op

en heeft ronduit: NEE gezegd!

Omdat

hoewel het volk beweert

dat we internationale talen moeten leren

die ons ver van huis kunnen meenemen …

hoe zouden we je kunnen minachten,

hoe zouden we je kunnen verhaspelen,

als jij zelf me hebt leren lopen

langs alle paden in het bos

en in het wilde woud

van lettergrepen, woorden, zinnen?

Dat jij zelf

mij de basis hebt gegeven

zodat ik altijd kan blijven lopen

in de grotere woorden wereld?

Hoe kan het kind zijn moeder negeren

die hem heeft gezoogd

hem heeft leren lopen zonder struikelen

over geen enkel lettergreep of woord?

Dansk sprog (Danish) is a Scandinavian language spoken primarily in Denmark, in Greenland, and in Southern Schleswig in Germany, across the Danish border. Many find it hard to learn as a second language, in part because of its many vowels (it has 27 of them) and 19 diphthongs. When learning indefinite nouns, the article precedes the noun, while with definite nouns it is attached to it. Thus, we have Jeg sa et hus. “I saw a house” and Jeg sa huset “I saw the house” and in the translation of the poem landet “the land”. Many writers have published in Danish, a tradition established in the Middle Ages. Outside of Denmark, perhaps the best known are Hans Christian Andersen for his children's tales and the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard. Modern Danish literature is thriving and many of its works are translated into other languages.

German is an important language spoken primarily in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It has a rich history and a vast literature. It has a standard written form but there is much regional variation. Someone from Bavaria speaks differently than someone from Berlin. In these territories, and in other areas in central Europe where German used to be a literary language, great literary works have appeared over the past millennium. German, Austrian and Swiss authors are core figures in the European cultural landscape. German also used to be an important scientific language, but this is less of the case now.

Swiss German (also called Schweizerdeutsch or locally Schwiizerdutsch is closely related to the German of the larger northern Federal Republic and Austria, and coexists with standard German in Switzerland itself. However, it has many distinct features. It is part of the group of Alemannic dialects of German, and there are many grammatical differences from standard German.

Ackermans, Annelies en Elodie

Alexander, Patrick (Director Penn State University Press)

Amigoe di Kòrsou (newspaper Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire)

Andriguetto-Sabag, Mariza

Ansano, Richinel (Former Director National Archeological Anthropological

Memory Management)

Arab American Institute Foundation in the United States of America

Aspekor Perú Kòrsou

Ayoubi, Abdallah

Bak, Suzette

Ball F, Gregory (Former Dean and now vice President for research University

of Maryland)

Bassil Davidson, Liliane

Berg, van der Margot (Assistant Professor, University of Utrecht)

Berry-Haseth, Lucille

Bouwland, Rebecca

Britten, Astrid (Director of Biblioteca Nacional Aruba)

Broere, Joss

Brute, Ithel (Papiamento Faculty, University of Curaçao)

Bushrui, Mary

Bushrui, Suheil (Professor, University of Maryland)

Consulate of Denmark in Curaçao

Consulate of Estonia in Curaçao

Consulate of Germany in Curaçao

Consulate of Israel in Curaçao

Consulate of Lebanon in Curaçao

Consulate of Suriname in Curaçao

Cornips, Leonie (Professor Maastricht University)

Corsen, Larissa

Criens, Linda

Cuales, Orlando (Radio Z86)

Da Costa Gomez, Monique

Dalnoot, Ludrith

Dick, Irene

Dingemans, Mark (University of Radboud, Department of Language and Communication)

Doorn van, Monique

Do Rego, Charles (University of Curaçao, and writer)

Dovale, Myrna

El Hoss, Majid and Suzy

Engels, Verele

Eps van, Quirine

Feng, Yen

Freitas de Ayoubi, Hadie

Freitas de, Zena

Fundashon Arte di Palabra

Fundashon Stima Korsou

Georges, Joseph Marcel (Professor University of Haiti)

Glorie, Ingrid (www.voertaal.nu)

Gonzalez, Zatessa

Graff de, Anne Frederic (Professor Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Groenewoud, Margo (Assistant Professor University of Curaçao)

Hek, Ivana

Heuvel, Jeroen (University of Curaçao)

Hooyer, Helen (Director/Owner Radio Hoyer)

Kahlil Gibran National Committee Lebanon

Kahlil Gibran Spirits of Humanity

Kalem, Glen (Australian Filmmaker and Kahlil Gibran Research-Historian)

Kempen van, Michiel (Professor of Dutch-Caribbean Literature, University of Amsterdam) Lacle, Jenny

Lacle, Mirjen

Lebacs, Diana

Leonora, Lianne (Library University of Curaçao and Mongui Maduro Library)

Liesbeth Echteld (Associate Professor University of Curaçao)

Lodewijks, Ludmila

Mantel, Liesbeth (Newspaper Amigoe)

Martinus Arion, Frank (Professor University of Curaçao)

Martinus, Margi

Mous, Maarten (Professor Leiden University)

Mufwene, S. Salikoko

Neerlandistiek.nl (Journal of Dutch Linguistics and Literature)

Neijhorst, Achmed (Board member of the UNI Foundation and Stichting Caraibische Integratie)

Irish (Gaeilge) is spoken both in Ireland and Scotland. in two different varieties, Irish (Gaelic) and Scottish Gaelic. Like Welsh, it is one of the Celtic languages and thus part of the Indo European languages. Although Irish has the third oldest literature in Europe after Latin and Greek, it has now been reduced to the language of a minority on the island of Ireland, spoken daily by about 150,000 people, most of whom speak English as well. It is spoken as a first language in counties such as Cork, Donegal, Galway and Kerry, as well as in smaller areas of the counties of Mayo and Meath and Waterford. Even though it is an official language of the country, it is in an endangered state, and as such it should be conserved.

Greek is the official language of Greece and Cyprus. It has 13 million speakers in Greece, Cyprus, southern Albania, as well as in diaspora communities all over the world and small traditional pockets of speakers elsewhere in the eastern Mediterranean. In addition to the modern standard language, there are many dialects. The language is written with the traditional alphabet inherited from Ancient Greek, from which it descends but from which it also significantly differs. The impact of Greek upon the vocabulary of all languages, including English, has been enormous. Many prefixes such as, -poli (many), ‒ tele (distance) and suffixes such as -gram (letter), phobia, are used in the majority of languages. Modern Greek literature started flourishing around 1600, and since the nineteenth century there has been a steady stream of novels and poetry collections written in Greek.

The word “Arabic” can be used as a collective name for a large number of varieties, spoken in a vast area from the Persian Gulf to Mauritania, often alongside of other local languages. It is also the term for Modern Standard Arabic (a standardized variety that developed in the Arabic world over a hundred years ago) and Classical Arabic (the language used in the Quran and texts from the same period). The latter two varieties differ mostly in vocabulary, and for Arabic speakers are variants of the same language. The identity conveyed by the term “Arabic” is so strong that it overrides the many linguistic differences between the varieties of the language. The written version of the language is mostly the standard variety. Like Hebrew, Arabic is a Semitic language and it belongs to the Afro-asiatic language family. The Arabic script dates back to the fourth century CE, and is also used for many other languages in countries with a strong Islamic tradition. The Qur’an has been instrumental in giving shape to the extremely rich Arabic literary tradition, which covers many genres: poetry has been very important, as well as religious studies, surprisingly many cookbooks, but also plays, novels, and scholarly treatises. Only a small part of this tradition is known in the West. As is already apparent from the writing system, words are characterized through their consonants, and vowels added for extra information.

Little need to introduce the French language here. It has lost quite a bit of its status as a language of international communication, but it is spoken natively in most of France and parts of Belgium, Luxemburg, Switzerland, and Canada. It is the official language of 29 countries (also of some islands in the Caribbean, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, Saint Barthelemy, French Guiana and Saint-Martin), but in many of these it is primarily used as a second language. This also means that there is much diversity in the way French is spoken, although presumably there is a single “standard” in French, corresponding to educated Parisian French. There has been a large literature in French since the early Middle Ages. In the Francophone countries, including countries in Africa, authors write and publish in French. French does not have the same flexibility as Spanish to change the grammatical order of the parts of the sentence. For instance, existent dans notre monde “exist in our world” in the translation is the only order possible. France has the appearance now of a fairly monolingual country, but in earlier times, before the French Revolution and Napoleon in particular, the country was much more multilingual. In the north there was a Dutch speaking region, the Breton speaking area was much larger, in the southwest there was Gascon and Basque, in the south Provencal was widely spoken, and in the east Alsatian German was spoken. In addition, there were many dialects.

Catalan, catala or llengua catalana is a Western Romance language derived from Vulgar Latin.

On International Native Language Day, 2014, Hilda de Windt Ayoubi wrote a poem in Papiamento, “Lenga di Mama” (Mother Tongue). A beautiful poem where the content speaks for itself.

I then tried to translate the poem into Dutch. It was published on the website of Stemmen van Africa, Voices from Africa (www.stemmenvanafrika. nl). It soon turned out that many more people thought it was a beautiful poem, and in the course of time we received translations in more than fifty languages. The results from this prolific support is found in this collection. It seems that time and time again, translators considered it worth the effort. The act of translation led to released emotions and new thinking. Hilda has supported this process enthusiastically during the years and deserves all the praise for this publication.

The translators were not all professional translators, some had never thought they would ever translate anything, because very little was previously written in their own language. In this respect it seems a little bit like Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, which, with translations in more than 300 languages is the most translated book in the world after the Bible. The Dutch film maker Marjoleine Boonstra recently made a beautiful documentary about this, Het wonder van Le Petit Prince (The Miracle of Le Petit Prince) (IDFA, 2018).

Before you lies a smaller miracle. You may encounter the poem in your own language, but it also invites you to discover all kinds of different languages, even several that you did not think you could understand. Translating, recognizing, understanding: all of these contribute to making us become more human.

The reader of this book may wonder why, instead of the usual number of one or two languages for the preface and acknowledgements, six different languages are included in these sections. The first reason is simply that this book contains more than fifty translations of the main poem “Lenga di Mama”; adding these six languages in the opening sections of the publication builds on that consistency with the idea of translingualism. The second reason, and perhaps the more important one, is that it reflects the language situation in the Dutch Caribbean Leeward Islands, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, where five languages, namely Dutch, English, French, Papiamento, and Spanish, are included in the present school curriculum. A sixth language, Greek, was also included because it used to be part of the curriculum at the secondary level in Curaçao, and also because it was my wish to include one language with different letter signs. Moreover, approximately seven-teen percent of the vocabulary of the languages included in our curriculum are of Greek origin.

As for the choice of translations of the poem “Lenga di Mama”, one important criteria was that at least fifty percent of the languages would be a minority and/or an endangered language. In addition, then, at least one translation from each language family would be a minority language.

The other fifty percent of larger languages would then serve as promoting media and information to the minority ones. It was our idea to include languages from each continent. However, due to unforeseen Covid-19 circumstances, it was not possible to include indigenous languages of Australia.

Regarding the sequence of languages, instead of alphabetically ordering the languages from each language family, we opted for a more visual structure, that is, a more or less geographical order, moving mostly from north to south. For the Creole languages, we departed from the Caribbean, that is from Curaçao, the island where Papiamento is spoken, moving first towards the northern islands of Guadeloupe, Haiti and Jamaica, then southwards to the more southern islands, finally to Suriname for the language of Sranantongo. After this, we proceeded to the West Coast of Africa for the Cape Verdean language, and finally to the Indian and Pacific Ocean Creole languages.