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Article published In:
Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages
Vol. 38:2 (2023) ► pp.389–430

Language use, language attitudes, and identity in Aruba

Is Aruban Papiamento under threat?

ORCID logo | Utrecht University
| Utrecht University, Taalcentrum Kookoovaja
This study investigates the language situation in Aruba, a Caribbean island that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The main home language in Aruba is Papiamento, a Spanish/Portuguese lexifier creole, but Dutch was the only official language for centuries. English and Spanish are also widely used due to immigration, tourism, and the media.
Carroll (2009, 2010, 2015) observes that Papiamento has high vitality, but also signals that speakers think that the language is under threat due to the increase in the use of English and Spanish. The aim of this study is to examine to what extent Carroll’s findings may be corroborated by a quantitative survey that accessed the views of a large group of people (809) from all over the island. The results indicate that Papiamento is the most frequently cited language regardless of backgrounds. People hold positive attitudes toward Papiamento and Aruban identity. Hence, our findings corroborate Carroll’s hypothesis that sentiments of language threat are mostly based in perception rather than in actual language use and attitudes.
Keywords: Aruba, Dutch Leeward Islands, Netherlands Antilles, Papiamento, Papiamentu, multilingualism, language attitudes, identity, language threat
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.A brief summary about the history of Aruba
  • 3.Multilingualism and language ideologies in Aruba
  • 4.Perceptions of language threat in Aruba
  • 5.Theoretical framework
  • 6.Research questions and hypotheses
  • 7.Methodology
    • 7.1Participants
    • 7.2Materials
    • 7.3Procedure
    • 7.4The statistical analysis
  • 8.Results
    • 8.1Language use
      • 8.1.1Language use among participants of different age groups
        • Language use within the family
        • Language use outside the family
        • Language use with strangers
      • 8.1.2Language use among participants with different education levels
        • Language use within the family
        • Language use outside the family
        • Language use with strangers
      • 8.1.3Language use among participants of different origins
        • Language use within the family
        • Language use outside the family
        • Language use with strangers
    • 8.2Language attitudes: The importance of Papiamento
      • 8.2.1Language attitudes among participants of different age groups
      • 8.2.2Language attitudes among participants with different education levels
      • 8.2.3Language attitudes among participants of different origins
    • 8.3Attitudes toward Aruban and Dutch identity
      • 8.3.1Attitudes toward identity among participants of different age groups
      • 8.3.2Attitudes toward identity among participants with different education levels
      • 8.3.3Attitudes toward identity among participants of different origins
  • 9.Discussion
  • 10.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at [email protected].

Published online: 11 July 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jpcl.22010.kes
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