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Examining perceptions of threat: Does an influx of Spanish speakers pose a threat to

Aruban Papiamento?

Article · January 2010

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Kevin CARROLL
Esta obra está bajo una licencia de Creative Commons.
Kevin S. Carroll received his Ph.D. at the University of
Arizona from with a major in language policy and Recibido: 21.III.2009
planning and a minor in teaching English as a second
language. He is currently an assistant professor at the Aprobado : 18.IX.2009
University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez in the English
Department. His research interests range from the
implementation of critical pedagogy in the classroom to
issues concerning language threat in different colonial
Examining perceptions of threat: Does an influx of Spanish speak
contexts.
pose a threat to Aruban Papiamento?
Kevin S. Carroll recibió su Ph.D. en la Universidad de
Arizona en el campo de la planificación lingüística con
una segunda concentración en la enseñanza del inglés
como segundo idioma. Actualmente labora como Abstract: The objective of this paper is to describe and analyze the current level of thr
catedrático auxiliar en el Departamento de Inglés de la
Papiamento. After a brief description of the importance of the study of language threat,
Universidad de Puerto Rico en Mayagüez. Sus intereses
de investigación varían desde la implementación de la historical account of how Papiamento has been maintained and has thrived over the pas
pedagogía crítica en el salón de clases hasta los asuntos island of Aruba. Special attention is paid to the influence of the latest influx of Spanis
relacionados con la amenaza de idiomas en diferentes maintenance of Papiamento and the extent to which these immigrants and their language h
contextos coloniales. the local language.

Resumen: El objetivo de este articulo es de describir y analizar el actual nivel de amenaz

papiamento de Aruba. Después de una breve descripción de la importancia del estudio de las
artículo provee un informe histórico extenso de cómo el papiamento ha sido mantenido y ha prosperado a través de los últimos dos
Aruba. Se presta atención especial a la influencia del más reciente flujo de inmigrantes de habla española sobre el mantenimiento del
que estos emigrantes y su lengua representan para la lengua local.

Current levels of language loss around the globe are unprecedented. With more than half of the world’s languages thought to be endangered to the ex
these languages within the near future, the study of language threat and endangerment is more essential then ever (Krauss, 2000). The reaso
endangerment has come as a direct result of increased globalization, where people and the languages they speak have the ability to move througho
literally anyone, anywhere, at any time. Furthermore, an ever-globalizing economy has created a space whereby a few languages have garnered
inspires the envy of speakers of minority languages as they witness the economic benefits of being able to speak a language of wider communication.

The threat posed by English to languages throughout the world is well-documented (Crystal, 2004; Dalby, 2003). However, the ever-growing presti
Romance language spoken by more than 250 million speakers in North and South America, has not been as adequately documented. This paper docu
has begun to be perceived as a threat to an indigenous language. Throughout the subsequent sections of this paper I will document the language co
waves of Spanish-speaking immigrants have affected the linguistic balance of the island prompting locals to reexamine what it means to be ‘Aruba
language of Papiamento. Thus, the primary objective of this research is to answer the question: Does the presence of the Spanish language present
Papiamento?

Methodology
The present research is based on a larger case study of language planning and policy on the island of Aruba. The case study method was chosen
approach was essential to improved understanding of the complexity of language threat on this island. As is customary in case study research, a var
were compiled, coded, and analyzed in order to triangulate findings (Miles and Huberman, 1994; Merriam, 1998). The case study method provided am
of the relevant history of language planning and highlight the current status of language maintenance and perceptions of threat on the island of Aruba

Data collection for this study occurred in the spring of 2008. Various documents concerning Aruban language policy and planning were obtained befo
allowed the researcher to become familiar with the history of the various language polices that have effected the maintenance of Papiamento.
participants, formal, digitally tape-recorded interviews with key players in the movement to maintain and promote Papiamento in Aruba. The inter
eleven scholars and teaching professionals who were all active in or knowledgeable about the maintenance of Aruban Papiamento. All of the particip
to allow their names to be published in future publications. In addition, informal interviews and observations were written up in the form of field no
transcribed and uploaded in to TAMZ Analyzer, a program used to organize and highlight reoccurring themes that emerged across various qualitative

Using themes that emerged from the data, a historic and contemporary analysis of the threat that Spanish poses to the native language of Aruba, Pap
not pretend to represent the opinions of all or even a majority of Arubans with regard to language threat but is limited to the expertise of the participa
promotion of Papiamento. Thus, regardless of its limitations, this article provides an overview of the historical background necessary to understa
thriving today and explains how local perceptions of language threat have worked to ensure the future stability of Papiamento on the island of Aruba.

The development of Papiamento in Aruba

The island of Aruba is located in the Caribbean Sea, approximately eighteen miles north of the country of Venezuela. This small island is nineteen
widest part. Aruba, together with Bonaire and Curaçao, form the ABC islands, more formally known as the Dutch Leeward Islands. Aruba is also
Netherlands Antilles, which it was part of until 1986. In 1986, Aruba received Status Aparte from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, granting the islan
Aruba has two official languages, Dutch and Papiamento, but many Arubans are also fluent in English and Spanish.

The Spanish crown is recognized as having discovered in 1499 the island of Aruba, which was sparsely populated by Caiquetio Indians who were
1995). Shortly after the Spanish arrived, the island was declared an “isla inútil” or useless island. The Spanish did not erect plantations on the island
colonies, but they did enslave the indigenous population to “raise horses for transportation and sheep, goats and cattle for food and hides”
the emergence of the Dutch as colonizers, and the islands of Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire were claimed under the Dutch flag between 1634 and 1636
served as a strategic trading point for the West Indian Company (WIC), which ran the islands administratively until they were formally handed ov
(Fouse, 2002: 57). The island of Curaçao, with its magnificent natural port, was the focal point of the Dutch expansion into the Americas and was t
trade involving the Dutch. Despite its close proximity to Curaçao, Aruba did not have as much exposure to the slave trade because the island was not
Curaçao and Bonaire. It was not until the late 18th century that any significant population moved to Aruba.

The first large settlements in Curaçao were comprised of Dutch merchants along with their African slaves, small groups from other European natio

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whose ancestors were from Portugal. These groups brought a collection of diverse languages, cultures and histories that laid the foundation for
language or languages used among the people throughout the 18th century is highly contested among scholars on the ABC islands, most agree tha
period in the creation and formation of the language of Papiamento.

According to Frank Martinus, one of the most respected scholars regarding the origins of Papiamento, Papiamento is a Proto-Afro-Portuguese Creo
in his often-cited book titled: The Kiss of a Slave: Papiamentu’s West­African Connections (Martinus, 1996). Martinus uses historical data a
Papiamento did not originate from Spanish, as many have come to assume, given their great lexical similarities. Instead, Martinus (1996) argues tha
to other Afro-Portuguese creoles prove that Papiamento’s origins “began to develop in the Netherlands Antilles around 1640 as a mixture o
transferred from the west coast of Africa through the slave trade” (Martinus, 1996: 1). Although many scholars still debate the exact origins o
islands tend to agree that Martinus is at least on the right track and disagree with earlier theories that Papiamento is a Spanish-based Creole.
the connection of Spanish in the creation of Papiamento was the absence of Spanish speakers during the instrumental years of Creole formation.

The formation of Papiamento, as well as its subsequent survival, had a lot to do with its role as a lingua franca among the diverse inhabitants of t
when people of different language groups come together, a compromise must be struck in order to communicate. The social context of the Leewa
traditional colonies in the new world because there were essentially four different groups of people confined to a relatively small space, each usi
diversity resulted in the urgent need for a lingua franca that would enable islanders to communicate with one another.

The colonization practices and beliefs of the Dutch were instrumental in allowing a space in which Papiamento could grow. For instance, the Dutch
speaking their language, or practicing the same religion. Thus, it is understandable that the lingua franca did not become Dutch because slaves w
learn it. The Sephardic Jews, who settled in Curaçao after having migrated from Brazil, had economic power but relatively little political power.
able to use their language as the lingua franca. Nevertheless, given the fact that the first known document to be written in Papiamento was a S
population is argued to have played an instrumental role in the genesis of the language (Martinus, 1996). Ramon Todd, a professor of Papiam
Pedagogico Arubano, articulated this difference in colonization practices in his interview:

It comes from different types of colonization. For example, when the Spanish came to this side of the world and these countries here,
their language and second it was their religion. So they obliged the colonized people to take over their language and that is why Span
the Dutch didn't want the slaves. They just wanted them as a trade item, to buy and to sell. They didn't want to teach them and they d
Dutch didn't really oppress the people to take over their language like the Spanish did and the Catholic Church.

Don't forget that the Dutch and the Jews were able to hire the upper class groups, who, they themselves, took over Papiamento.
community, but the language of the whole community which is different from what happened in other communities like with t
languages did not became the language of the community, Spanish did and it stayed like that. (Interview with Ramon Todd)

African slaves, who were captured from a variety of different areas on the western coast and hinterlands of Africa, spoke a plethora of different Afric
went so far as to separate slaves from the same language group so they could not plot a rebellion. As the slaves spent more and more time together
own languages, mixed with the language used by those in control. The fourth group that would have been present on the islands was the indigenous p
for slaves, however, “almost the entire Indian population of the ABC islands had been carried off to Hispaniola” by the year 1515 (Fouse,
indigenous population on the language situation in the Leeward Islands was minimal. Nevertheless, the need to communicate among the three m
Aruba was great. Over time, Papiamento emerged as a viable Creole language that was spoken and embraced by all three groups living in Aruba.

While the slave trade had an enormous impact on the development of Papiamento, so too did the Catholic Church. Most of the priests who worked in
came from the Diocese of Coroon on the northern tip of Venezuela which is only a few miles from the islands. The Catholic priests sent to wo
ministering to the indigenous population. When the Dutch took over the ABC islands from 1634-1636, the religious division between Dutch Protesta
rift, and Catholic priests were banned from the islands by the WIC. Despite Dutch restrictions, Catholic priests worked, often in secret, on the islands
indigenous populations and later to the slaves. The first real Catholic Church in Aruba was built in 1750, and “[t]he Catholic Church took the lead
the slaves, believing that it would prepare them for the day when they would become emancipated. The Catholic Church also recogn
appropriate vehicle to reach out to the slaves” (Fouse, 2002: 125).

Slaves would have used Papiamento for religious services and education, and the Dutch Protestants and Sephardic Jews more than likely used Pa
another. Papiamento was also used for educational purposes among the slaves until the mid- 19th century, when the Dutch government started
subsidies for education with the requirement that all education would be in Dutch. The medium of instruction in Aruban schools has been a content
since, as Dutch is still the medium of instruction despite the fact that only seven percent of the population speaks it as their first language (Central B
important to note that while the Catholic Church stopped using Papiamento as the medium of instruction, it continued to use Papiamento
Nevertheless, the move away from Papiamento in the schools was contested by many priests who disagreed and felt strongly about the importance
The political clout of the priests was not strong enough, however, to reverse the policies of the powerful Dutch government. Nevertheless, Papiamen
religious ceremonies just as it continues to be used today.

Toward the beginning of the 20th century, the Dutch government had to start competing with American influence, which was introduced upon the op
Company, a subsidiary of Standard Oil of New Jersey. The Aruban participants in this study all pointed to 1929, when the construction for the large r
Aruban history. In contrast to Curaçao, whose refinery was run by Royal Dutch Shell, the Lago Company and its English-speaking owners attracte
West Indies. Many of these English speakers came from St. Eustatius (an English-speaking island in the Netherlands Antilles) as well as other islands
new group of English-speaking immigrants started their own community near the southern portion of Aruba in the town of San Nicolaas. San Nico
than Oranjestad, the capital of Aruba, and provided the English speakers with a more private and isolated place to live and congregate.

The presence of the English speakers and a major U.S. business changed the linguistic complexion of the island in a matter of years. While Dutch w
now had more incentive to learn another language other than Papiamento. After the arrival of the Lago Company, the Dutch continued to symbolize
very distant to many Arubans.

As Aruba’s economy and political status has changed over the years, more attention has been given to developing the tourism industry and becoming
(Boekhoudt-Croes, 1996). Government-sponsored incentives to bolster the tourist sector created a demand for an additional workforce that Aruba’s
a new wave of immigrants, primarily from Spanish-speaking countries (Emerencia, 1996).

Many of the new immigrants came from Spanish-speaking countries such as the Dominican Republic, Columbia, and Venezuela, among others.
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Arubans feel that immigrants who do not speak their language and are not willing to adopt their cultural practices are threatening their current way o
a law professor at the University of Aruba, every time there has been a wave of immigrants, there has also been a counter-movement to define and r
(Milliard, 2008)

Currently, Aruba is one of the most developed islands within the Caribbean (Emerencia, 1998). Valero now operates the oil refinery, first opened by t
the tourism industry has created literally thousands of jobs within the last decade. While Aruba no longer has to fight for attention as a member of th
to Status Aparte was supposed to eventually lead to complete independence from the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Such separation now seem
infeasibility of becoming completely independent seems to outweigh other nationalistic priorities (U.S. Department of State, 2008). Due to Aru
Kingdom of the Netherlands, Dutch is still the primary language of education, the government, and the courts. Thus, while Papiamento has held
March 19, 2003 and is spoken and used in virtually every aspect of daily life, it still plays a subordinate role in domains of education and high go
highest politicians generally use Papiamento to speak among themselves, official correspondence from the government is generally in Dutch, and all
the Netherlands is in Dutch.

The role of Papiamento in Aruban nationalism

While Papiamento is strong in the sense that it is well entrenched in all aspects of Aruban society and there are a number of institutions that seek t
one of the principal factors that has facilitated the rise and maintenance of the language over the last century has been the role that Papiamento has
nationalism. As Papiamento emerged as the lingua franca among the early inhabitants of the ABC islands, it served to mark those who were there
positions of power based on their experience and years on the island. As in other places in the world where language has been used to differentia
historically has been a marker of national identity and a necessary rite of passage to becoming Aruban. In an interview with Ramón Todd, he
immigrants to Curaçao used Papiamento as a reason to discriminate against new arrivals from Holland who did not speak the language.

Anderson (1991) argues that, historically, language has played a fundamental role in the creation of nation states and the creation of imagined comm
aspect of nation building and has important implications for language attitudes. The next section highlights the impact of immigration upon the co
Spanish have both represented threats to Papiamento.

Immigration
Participants who were formally interviewed, as well as many others spoken to on an informal basis, highlighted the substantial impact that immigrat
of the island. Luciano Milliard asserted that each wave of immigration has made Arubans step back, re-evaluate and cling to what it means to be Aru
able to speak Papiamento. As discussed earlier, the opening of the Lago Company’s oil refinery was a major jolt to the Aruban economy, but it also a
considerable number of English-speaking immigrants forced Arubans to define or re-define who they were as a form of protection against their new
could have reverted to everything Dutch to protect against the large waves of immigrants who all spoke a language of wider communication, but th
policies that limited the use of Papiamento in schools and government, Arubans used their language, Papiamento, to differentiate themselves and ma

The English-speaking immigrants who worked for the Lago Company tried to maintain their variety of Caribbean English and also worked hard to
important tool necessary to be successful. What is interesting about the children of these English-speaking immigrants is that they also learned Pa
children to want to fit in, and English-speaking children growing up in Aruba understood that Papiamento held a very powerful and covert prestige
parents tended not to claim to be Aruban, these children were caught in the predicament that many children of immigrants find themselves in whe
options were to identify with their ancestral island(s) and/or country(ies) (which many had never even visited), or they could claim to be Aruba
Papiamento. They generally chose the latter option.

When immigration to the island by Spanish speakers occurred later in the 20th century, the English-speaking immigrants and their children had
According to Lydia Emerencia, the current President of the University of Aruba,

These people (the English speakers) also looked down at Papiamento, almost the same as the Dutch people. So what happened is tha
typically in English, but then happened suddenly something and it happened around when the Largo [sic] closed down. And many
came up again and there became a massive immigration. And so they had a new influx of Spanish­speaking people and then you see th
to feel that they were being kind of threatened.

This perception of threat exhibited by English speakers living in Aruba made them rethink their place in Aruba, and because most of those who had b
speak Papiamento, they were able to use that as a marker of in-group identity, a circle that new Spanish-speaking immigrants were not able to p
immigrants provided a context in which identifying as Aruban becomes more relevant when there is the perception that a new group will be com
political power. With increased development of the tourism industry, Aruba will need a considerable number of new workers to fill future jobs.
children of the most recent Spanish-speaking immigrants identify themselves and how they are accepted in Aruban society in the future.

With each wave of immigration, Aruba has continually had to define itself, and “every time Aruba goes through a new influx of immigrant
(Interview with Lydia Emerencia). Thus, according to those who work on the maintenance of Papiamento, the latest influx in Spanish-speaking imm
of the average Aruban. Nevertheless, despite a history that would point toward future maintenance of Papiamento, the general population continues
immigrants be different from those in the past? Or will Spanish speakers be the first not to learn Papiamento?

Language threat
Historically within the context of Aruba, there have been two different fronts upon which Papiamento has been perceived as threatened.
association with the Netherlands and its strong anti-Papiamento policies at the end of the 19th century and through most of the 20th century.
and the various different waves of immigrants who moved to the island throughout the mid to late 1900s. The English speakers who came to the is
later the English and Spanish speakers who arrived to fill positions in the booming tourism industry all prompted a perception of threat to local langu
this paper, I will concentrate solely on the common perception that the Spanish-speaking immigrant population represents a threat to the future vital

The participants in this study expressed their concern regarding the increased spread and prominence of Spanish on the island as a result of the mo
immigrants from Columbia, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, and other Spanish-speaking nations. Throughout the data collection period on the i
great many Spanish-speaking immigrants resided on the island. The fieldnotes for this study included numerous references to anti-immigrant disco
Spanish speakers. Whether it was a bartender talking about how “everywhere you go, there are Spanish speakers,” or the teacher who felt that s
teaching Spanish immigrant students, all of whom she assumed were undocumented, the anti-Spanish immigrant discourse was pervasive througho

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Lydia Emerencia, President of the University of Aruba, explained the main difference between the recent Spanish-speaking-immigrants and past im
of the new immigrants. Past immigrants, mostly English speaking, came to work for the Lago Company and were largely confined to San Nicolaas, a
However, unlike the English-speaking immigrants who came before them, the Spanish-speaking immigrants have moved all over the island, and the
Arubans. This permeation by Spanish-speaking immigrants has prompted a defensive reaction among Arubans to protect their language and cul
average Aruban would feel that Papiamento is threatened, Lydia Emerencia responded:

I think that there are people who feel that, but I would say as a matter of fact though, that I get the sense that our situation resemb
their Dushi Papiamento ­ I love Papiamento. They would protest firmly against especially Latin Americans who choose not to speak P
that an insult, they consider that an act of arrogance, and they would really claim that Latin Americans must learn to speak Papiamen
do fear that Papiamento would lose because of so much presence. That is true.

She went on to say:

I think that they fear it (English), I think people do see it (extent to which English is a threat to Papiamento) but, not in the same ext
one reason is that in terms of numbers, we have more Latin American speaking people here, so I think we fear that they are a danger
everywhere.

Despite the significant presence of Spanish-speaking immigrants to the island, only 13.2 percent of respondents to the Aruban census reported Spani
(Central Bureau of Statistics Aruba, 2001). According to the study participants, the children of these Spanish-speaking immigrants are learning Papia
the second generation of the Spanish speaking people, they speak Papiamento. You see them at the schools, and about, and they don't hav
Pereira also noted the absence of a shift away from Papiamento to Spanish. Nonetheless, the participants pointed to a growing trend among Aruba
anti-immigrant rhetoric and associate the Spanish language with cheap labor and a language that is not worthy of learning.

The anti-immigrant sentiment among Aruban children was exemplified when different participants in the Department of Education focus group talk
did not like learning Spanish. These participants also noted how different the younger generation’s ideas toward Spanish speakers were from those o
very positive view of Latin America, primarily through their access to Venezuelan television channels. Evelyn said in the focus group, “but in terms o
it is possible. And, it is like my daughter and my nephew, they don't really like Spanish, and I don't know where that comes from.”
other colleagues, Evelyn discussed why she felt her daughter and nephew did not like Spanish and said, “[t]he kids don't wish to identify with that

Aruban’s general ability to speak multiple languages and their willingness to speak to visitors in their native tongue has made Aruba a very inviting
there is currently major concern among Arubans regarding Spanish-speakers not learning Papiamento. Such concern over Spanish-speakers’ seemin
is another reason why Arubans think Spanish speakers could potentially pose a threat to Papiamento. Audrey, a representative from the Aruban
working on a campaign to promote Papiamento, discussed Arubans’ general affinity for language and their willingness to speak to a foreigner in thei
hospitable gesture. She said:

in Aruba we have been taught to be hospitable. So when people come from other countries, we try to speak with them in their lang
came, and then when we realized that they were not learning Papiamento, and you were hearing Spanish everywhere you go, we starte

The perception that immigrants are not learning Papiamento is common in regions and areas where there has been an influx of immigrants, but, a
were interviewed agreed that the younger immigrants were generally very successful in learning Papiamento, which begs the question: so then why a
are just trying to establish a strong front against the increased use of Spanish, understanding that, given time, the Spanish-speaking immigrants w
they think that Spanish-speaking immigrants will be the exception to the historical trend of immigrants quickly learning Papiamento?

Aruban immigrants were faced with a choice: they could either go against the grain, elect not to learn Papiamento, and risk being ostracized and n
their own language at home and insist that their children learn Papiamento as a symbol of their willingness to assimilate into Aruba’s unique cultu
number of societal cues that immigrants to Aruba would have picked up on shortly after moving to the island. While Arubans are on the whole ext
foreign visitors, Papiamento is essential in being able to claim any sort of “Arubanness.” This is felt throughout the island and figures prominently in
Aruba’s anti-immigrant discourse strongly encourages immigrants to use Papiamento, the general multilingual environment and language-as
immigrants to maintain their native language even as they add Papiamento to their often times complex linguistic repertoire. This is refreshing
problem orientation that seems to permeate many countries throughout the world (Ruiz, 1984). This view, that a minority’s first language is un
frequently experienced by immigrants in the United States, where anti-immigrant discourses and English-only proponents reiterate the importance o

Discussion
As citizens of a nation and speakers of a language, ordinary people naturally feel they have something at stake in discussions concerning language –
1995). The opinions of the general population are influenced by their own experiences; hence such experiences operate in developing a fear of other
them despite data that suggest that such fear is merely a perception. In other words, in line with Cameron (2007), there are language contexts in whi
considered threatened.

For a particular body of people, fear translates into a perceived threat that somehow the presence of a group of speakers of another language or cultu
current linguistic norm. Throughout the history of Aruba, three language groups have, to different extents, been perceived as a threat to Papiamento.
Papiamento is a stable language that is not in danger of language shift. Despite its strength and longevity in the region, however, participants cautio
example, Juan Gilbertus Schwengle stated: “Well, I have never seen Papiamento on the list of endangered languages from UNESCO… If I saw it
we have to be careful not to say this out loud or else we will think, "Oh, we don't have to do anything," and that is a problem.” Thus, while
was in no way endangered, there is a notion that Arubans need to continue to work to maintain the language because, without a conscious effort, it
wider communication.

As a result of the early stages of the colonization process, Aruba benefited from an established base of nationalist leaders who did not take kindly t
power. It is important to remember that while the Dutch have controlled Aruba since the 1630s, their policies on the island were quite laissez faire
allowed locals to become very instrumental in the local government until the early 1900s, when the Dutch created The Netherlands Antilles, and
essence, island leaders were working to define core cultural ideals to rally around, which became a necessity in opposing the various colonial policies
Dutch.

It was a commonly held idea that, as a colony of The Netherlands, the Aruban constituents should lose their mother tongue and adopt that of their c

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respect for their government. Political leaders on Aruba, however, countered the colonial ideologies and argued vehemently to maintain their local la
Aruba’s movement toward separation, and the eventual attainment of Status Aparte (local autonomy as they broke apart from Curaçao and t
underscored the importance of Papiamento as a marker of identity.

Despite the fact that many of the core ideals of Arubanness presumably were present, it was only after major policy changes promulgated by the
examine what it meant to be Aruban. Aruba did experience migration of non-Papiamento speakers and the island has always been a multilingual s
used as the lingua franca. Thus, Dutch, Spanish and English-speaking immigrants learned Papiamento along with their own languages because of t
with each. The Aruban multilingual context contrasts sharply to many other contexts within the Caribbean (e.g. Puerto Rico) that have not witnessed
another language.

Conclusion
The linguistic history of Papiamento in Aruba and past and current perception of language threat have created a context in Aruba where new imm
have been perceived as a threat to the local language of Papiamento. The prestige of Spanish is growing throughout the world, and as the presence of
in Aruba, it is understandable that so too will the perception that somehow Papiamento is threatened. However, as one examines the historic pattern
to the island of Aruba, one can hypothesize that the perception of threat posed by Spanish speakers will work to revive the importance of the use o
identity. As a result, the Spanish-speaking immigrants may be forced to assimilate into the larger Aruban population by learning Papiamento or run t
stigmatized minority group. Hence, while Papiamento is currently in a stable condition, the local government and citizens alike must continue to stre
foment its use in the larger society in order to ensure its existence for decades to come.

Notes
[1] In Curaçao the Papiamentu is spelled with the final-u as their spelling follows the phonemic pronunciation whereas in Aruba, Papiamento is spelled with a final-
system and the fact that the actual pronunciation is [o] since there is no final vowel closing. Return

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