Abstract

ARIAS-QUINTERO, Irene; JIMENEZ-BARALT, Rafael; VISCONTE, Piero  and  SESSAREGO, Sandro. Chocó Spanish: an Afro-Hispanic language on the Spanish frontier. Forma. func. [online]. 2023, vol.36, n.1, e9388.  Epub Dec 08, 2022. ISSN 0120-338X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/fyf.v36n1.99388.

Chocó Spanish (CS) is an Afro-Hispanic vernacular spoken in the Colombian Pacific lowlands (The Department of Chocó). Although linguistically similar to standard Colombian Spanish, the historical conditions that characterized the Department of Chocó seem to have been ideal for the development of a creole language: reduced white population, massive introduction of slaves, harsh working conditions, total isolation from the urban context and from the Spanish language. In this regard, two main hypotheses have been proposed: (1) Decreolization and (2) Afrogenesis. Analyzing the linguistic and sociohistorical evidence of CS, this work indicates that the conditions were not favorable to the formation of a creole language in colonial Chocó. Therefore, neither hypothesis 1 nor 2 reflects the true nature and evolution of this dialect. The present study suggests that CS can be analyzed as the result of advanced processes of second language acquisition, not necessarily implying a previous creole stage.

Keywords : Afro-Hispanic vernacular; Chocó Spanish; Decreolization; Afrogenesis; Creole languages.

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