A Language, Not Quite Spanish, With African Echoes - - NY Times
By SIMON ROMERO
SAN BASILIO DE PALENQUE, Colombia — The residents of this village, founded centuries ago by runaway slaves in the jungle of northern Colombia, eke out their survival from plots of manioc. Pigs wander through dirt roads. The occasional soldier on patrol peeks into houses made of straw, mud and cow dung.
On the surface it resembles any other impoverished Colombian village. But when adults here speak with one another, their language draws inspiration from as far away as the Congo River Basin in Africa. This peculiar speech has astonished linguists since they began studying it several decades ago.
The language is known up and down Colombia’s Caribbean coast as Palenquero and here simply as “lengua� — tongue. Theories about its origins vary, but one thing is certain: it survived for centuries in this small community, which is now struggling to keep it from perishing.
Today, fewer than half of the community’s 3,000 residents actively speak Palenquero, though many children and young adults can understand it and pronounce some phrases.
“Palenge a senda tielan ngombe ri nduse i betuaya,� Sebastián Salgado, 37, a teacher at the public school here, said before a classroom of teenage students on a recent Tuesday morning. (The sentence roughly translates as, “Palenque is the land of cattle, sweets and basic staples.�)
complete story: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/18/world/americas/18colombia.html
By SamGompers on Oct 18, 2007, 16:33 in Friendly Talkzone.
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SamGompers says on Oct 18, 2007, 16:55: . . yeah, I thought it was amazing - - how much history that language contains! . . .so close to Cartagena, but never heard of the town or the language . . . lol . . guess that's why I subscribe to the Times
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pedro says on Oct 18, 2007, 17:40: They had a festival this past Sunday, with lots of outsiders there. My girlfriend went and said it was surprisingly interesting. que nota! 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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Simon says on Oct 18, 2007, 18:46: THEY SHOULD SPEAK SPANISH ONLY!!! "Tu vas a ver, llegaras a mi edad y veras que Colombia seguira igual"-----Simon Sr. 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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Simon says on Oct 18, 2007, 19:05: Hey indios4u.....I think you're begging for an ass-whooping!! "Tu vas a ver, llegaras a mi edad y veras que Colombia seguira igual"-----Simon Sr. 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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Simon says on Oct 18, 2007, 19:18: Mire huevon,.....no me busque porque si no se va a encontrar con mi bota en su cu....!!!! "Tu vas a ver, llegaras a mi edad y veras que Colombia seguira igual"-----Simon Sr. 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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Simon says on Oct 18, 2007, 19:27: Why do you ask Pedro? "Tu vas a ver, llegaras a mi edad y veras que Colombia seguira igual"-----Simon Sr. 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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Simon says on Oct 18, 2007, 19:29: Hey, I'm proud Colombia has such a dicerse land and I just made a silly joke and the Mr. indio comes at me with his holier-than-thou attitude! "Tu vas a ver, llegaras a mi edad y veras que Colombia seguira igual"-----Simon Sr. 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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Robert Jorge says on Oct 18, 2007, 22:30: Simon, indios4u is a newbie, and obviously doesn't know you yet. With that said indio, I will explain to you that if you knew Simon from this blog, you would then know he is perhaps the biggest advocate and supporter of all that is Colombian on this site. You are getting upset at the wrong person. Take a step back, click on Simon's name (underlined in blue), and read some of his posts. Then, you will know you were foolish in your response to his comment. His comment was a joke, because all of us who know Simon, know what he said is the opposite of what he really feels. It was an "inside joke", so to speak. BEWARE of gold diggers. 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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Robert Jorge says on Oct 18, 2007, 22:41: Indio, Sly sold his Miami home in '99 for 27.5 million. BEWARE of gold diggers. 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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pedro says on Oct 18, 2007, 22:55: Simon, I asked because I have my doubts about if you're even a real person... or just the alter-ego of someone on the forum. que nota! 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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dwmte7 says on Oct 19, 2007, 07:28: yeah, jorge, i heard about that, then he moved to buena ventura.... dwmte 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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dwmte7 says on Oct 19, 2007, 07:31: dwmte, simon, indio, et al. opinions are like assholes, we all have one. they aint the same, but they do the same thing and they work for each and everyone of us. we should--especially me in my old age--get used to it. si o no? dwmte 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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Swinn88 says on Oct 19, 2007, 08:14: I have posted this video in the past. I Hope you like it.
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Swinn88 says on Oct 19, 2007, 08:15: By the way, it is a CNN short on Palenque San Bisilio.
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Simon says on Oct 19, 2007, 10:49: Robert Jorge, "Tu vas a ver, llegaras a mi edad y veras que Colombia seguira igual"-----Simon Sr. 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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Colombiche says on Oct 19, 2007, 18:27: Indios for you is gone. No me den trago extranjero, que es caro y no sabe a bueno.... (Rafael Godoy) 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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slguy says on Oct 19, 2007, 21:59: Hell, I have enough trouble with the paisa accent! ;) Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab 0 funny, 0 helpful. |
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