The Papiamento dictation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Test your spelling of Papiamentu or Papiamento. Take your chance to win the new Papiamentu-Dutch dictionary. Winternachten will provide you with pen and paper. Don't worry about the results, only the number of spelling mistakes that the winner makes will be revealed. Dutch and Papiamento spoken.

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Information

Date and time Saturday 21 January 2006 20:15 tot 21:15 uur
Location Filmhuis - zaal 4

It does not come as a surprise that very few speakers of Papiamento and Papiamentu can also spell in their mother tongue. Although the spelling has been officially established, teaching spelling has only for some years been part of the official school system. In this first public dictation we will evaluate the state of affairs. Visitors to Winternachten were invited to join in: choose Papiamentu or Papiamento and test your knowledge. They needn't worry about the results, only the number of faults that the winner makes was revealed. The prize: a recent copy of the Papiamentu-Dutch complete dictionary (2005). The dictation was put together by the FPI (Foundation for language planning) from Curaçao. Chairman of the jury was the director of FPI, Ronald Severing. Gilbert Wawoe, member of the State Council, dictated the Papiamentu, and children's book writer Olga Orman the Papiamento. You can try your Papiamento and Papiamentu by listening to the dictation on this recording. The correct spelling can been seen in this document (PDF). Dutch and Papiamento spoken.

Line-up

Gilbert Wawoe

(Curaçao, 1937) from 1994-2007 served as the Antillean representative on the Dutch Council of State. A chemical engineer, he held various top positions with Shell, but became particularly known for his dedication towards Antillean interests in the Netherlands and as an advisor to the Antillean government. He occupied a host of additional offices, including that of chair of the National Bureau to Combat Racial Discrimination and membership of the recommending committee for a national monument to commemorate slavery.
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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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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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Olga Orman

(Aruba) is a poet and writer of children's books. She wrote two fairytale-like (picture) books about the spider Anansi and is a storyteller in heart and soul and introduced the kamishibai, a portable story-theatre, originally from Japan.
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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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Sidney Joubert

(Curaçao, 1939) got his degree in Spanish at the University of Amsterdam. He fololowed a course in Papiamentu by drs Raúl Römer. From 1965 to 1985 he was a teacher of Spanish at a secondary school in Curaçao. For some years he worked at the Sede di Papiamentu, later the Curaçao language-institute Fundashon di Planifikashon di Idioma. Hij was a teacher at the first course of Papiamentu on Curaçao in the early seventies; secretary of the spelling-committee Maduro en Jonis en chairperson of the subcommission Curaçao of the Standardisationcommikttee of Papiamentu; he is the chairperson of the Stichting Raúl Römer, that last year - in co-operation with Zirkoon Publishers - published the bilingual book Kon Nanzi a nèk Shon Arei.../ Hoe Nanzi de koning beetnam... . His most important works are Papiaments op Reis, written with his wife Debbie Joubert; Stemmen uit het verleden (Indian words in Papiamentu) with drs. G. van Buurt and a Dutch-Papiementu dictionary, published both in print and electronically.
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