Kristang language
| Papia Kristang | |
|---|---|
| Malaccan Creole Portuguese | |
| Kristang | |
| Native to | Malaysia, Singapore |
|
Native speakers
|
2,200 (2007) |
|
Portuguese Creole
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog |
Nonemala1533 (Malacca–Batavia Creole)
|
| Linguasphere | 51-AAC-aha |
Papia Kristang ("speak kristang"), or just Kristang, is a creole language. It is spoken by the Kristang, a community of people of mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry, chiefly in Malacca (Malaysia) and Singapore.
The language is also called Cristão or Cristan ("Christian"), Portugues di Melaka ("Malacca Portuguese"), Linggu Mai ("Mother Tongue") or simply Papia. Papia means speak. However, locals and most of the Kristang community refer to the language as "Portugis".
The language has about 750 speakers in Malacca and another 100 in Singapore. A small number of speakers also live in other Portuguese Eurasian communities in Kuala Lumpur and Penang in Malaysia, and in diaspora communities in Perth, Canada, the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
The language is currently in steep decline, although efforts to revive it have begun in recent years in both Malacca and Singapore.
The Kristang language originated after the conquest of Malacca (Malaysia) in 1511 by the Portuguese Empire. The community of speakers descends mainly from interracial relationships between Portuguese men and local women, as well as a number of migrants from Portuguese India, themselves of mixed Indo-Portuguese ancestry.
Kristang had a substantial influence on Macanese, the creole language spoken in Macau, due to substantial migration from Malacca after its takeover by the Dutch.
Even after Portugal lost Malacca and almost all contact in 1641, the Kristang community largely preserved its language. The language is not taught at school, although there are still some Church services in Portuguese.
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Wikipedia