Great Dicatation in Papiamento/u of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Prolongated because of its success in 2006: the public dictation in Papiamento/u. Participants may choose from the dictation in Papiamentu or Papiamento Sonia Garmers and Sydney Kock do the dicating. Winternachten provides pen and paper.

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Information

Date and time Saturday 19 January 2008 20:00 tot 21:20 uur
Location Filmhuis - zaal 6

Prolongated because of its success in 2006: the public dictation Papiamento/u. Since March 2007 it is the official language on the Dutch Antilles - so high time to test your knowledge. Participants may choose from Papiamentu, spoken on Curaçao and Bonaire, and Papiamento (Aruba). The FPI (Foundation for Language Planning) from Curaçao will provide the text, together with the writer Sonia Garmers, who will dictate it herself. The Papiamento will be dictated by Sidney Kock, press officer of the Aruba House in The Hague. It is just and fair that old-member of the Council of State Gilbert Wawoe and writer Olga Orman, who did the dictation in 2006, will be subjected to this spelling test. Winternachten provides pen and pencil. A professional jury with Quito Nicolaas and Igma van Putte, led by Ronald Severing of the FPI, will judge the dictations and award the winners with a suitable prize. The dicatation is programmed at the start of the evening. Be on time, full is full.

Sonia Garmers

(Curaçao, 1933) wrote her first children's stories in Papiamentu, Conta Cuenta. In addition to very popular cookery books she also wrote Un makutu yen di cuenta (A Basket Full of Stories). And together with Nydia Ecury and Mila Palm she published the collection of poetry Tres Rosea (Three Laments). Her two booklets (together with Hanny Lim) about Brua (black magic) was and is in great demand. She has also worked as a politicial reporter. In 1976 she published (in Dutch) Lieve Koningin, hierbij stuur ik u mijn dochter (Dear Queen, Hereby I Am Sending You My Daughter). It was a great success both in the Netherlands and on the Antilles. After that the children's book Orkaan (Hurricane) appeared in 1977. At the close of the 1970s she lived in Holland, and wrote short spoken columns for the NCRV-radio programme Rozengeur en Prikkeldraad. In 1980 her next children's book Orkaan en Mayra appeared in 1980, which won her the 1981 Nienke van Hichtum-prize of the Jan Campertstichting in the Hague. In May 1983 Sonia Garmers received the Cola Debrot prize, the highest literary award of the island area of Curaçao. In the collection of short storied Ieder diertje z’n pleziertje (To Every Animal Its Fun) a number of themes from Sonia Garmers' very first children's stories can be found. Wonen in een glimlach (Living in a Smile) was written in 1985.
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Sidney Kock

(Aruba) worked with the Aruban news programme of TeleAruba after studying at the Journalism School in Utrecht. Back in the Netherlands he worked as a editor with the KRO programme Echo on Radio 1. In addition he worked for a long time as reporter for the NPS programme Tambu. Since 1 November 1996 Kock has been working with the Office of the minister plenipotentiary of Aruba. As a communications and PR officer he is among other things spokesperson of the Dutch Aruba office; maintaining contacts with both the Dutch and the Aruban press and responsible for the newsletter of the Dutch Aruba office, the Noticiero.
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Ruben Severina

(Curaçao, 1956) For years was the face of the Antillean community in the Netherlands. He came to the country in 1989 to study and wanted to return afterwards. However, he stayed because of his young family and found a new mission: taking care of the interests of Arubans and Antilleans in the Netherlands. With the Splika foundation he dedicated himself to the promotion of Papiamentu, the language that he also teaches. Subsequently he chaired MAAPP (Movimentu Antiano i Arubano pa Partisipashon Politiko), the platform for the social participation of Antilleans and Arubans in the Netherlands. When he resigned on 1 March 2009 he received the MAAPP award Mi ta yuda, a new medal which will be awarded on Severina's birthday to people who have dedicated themselves to the Antillean and Aruban communities. For some time Severina served on the town council for the Dutch Labour Party in the town of Zoetermeer and now chairs HAAB (The Hague Antillean Aruban Board).
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Igma van Putte

is a poet and translator. Together with Florimon van Putte she compiled the Complete Papiamento-Dutch Dictionary, published in September 2005, followed in 2006 by the Dutch-Papiamento volume.
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Quito Nicolaas

(Aruba, 1955) studied political science and law at the University of Amsterdam. In 1980 his poem E Dia di Mañan appeared, followed by many publications such as the poetry collection Politico (1990), Illucion Optico (1995) and the poem Ser Nihilo (1998). His collection of poems Destino appeared in 2000. In 2001 his first short story, Un Pasco Tristo, was published. Another poetry collection, Gerede Twijfels (Certain Doubts), appeared in 2002. In 2003 his novel Sentencia sin Proceso appeared. Nicolaas - who sees himself first and foremost as an Aruban writer - is chairman of the board of the Antillean and Aruban literary organisation Simia Literario. Since April 2001 he has been attached as a reviewer to the weekly publication Contrast. He mostly comments on novels and poetry collections written by mainly non-indigenous writers.
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Ronald Severing

(1949) is director of the Fundashon pa Planifikashon di Idioma (Foundation for Language Planning) on Curaçao. Its goals is to promote the relevant languages of the community and to regulate the state of affairs of language. Severing studied Dutch in Nijmegen, sociolinguistics and applied linguistics in Tilburg, and obtained his doctorate with a thesis on literacy and successful teaching on Curaçao. For years he has been working at all levels of education, both in the Netherlands and in the Netherlands Antilles. He is editor of teaching methods of Papiamentu for primary schools on Curaçao, like Mosaiko, Trampolin and Cristal. In addition he wrote about the writers Cola Debrot and Frank Martinus Arion.
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