Cristão or Papiá Kristang, Português de Malaca (Malacca Portuguese), or simply papia is a Creole language based in Portuguese in a Malay grammatical structure spoken in Malacca, Malaysia and in Singapore.

As the Portuguese are devout Catholics, Papia Cristão - the name of the language and culture - means both "Papist Christian" as well as "to talk christian". Other synonyms for the Portuguese community are "Serani" (short for Malay "nasrani") - meaning followers of Jesus the Nazarene; and "Gragok" (slang term for Malau "Geragau" or shrimp) - as the Malaccan Portuguese were traditionally fishermen who fished shrimp. The community is known, by themselves, as Gente Kristang (from broken Portuguese: Gente Cristão, Port. Gente Cristã, Eng. Christian People).

Contents

1 History 2 Classification and related languages 3 Geographic distribution 3.1 Dialects 4 Sounds 5 Grammar 6 Vocabulary 7 Writing system 8 Examples 9 External links

History

One common misconception is that the Portuguese first arrived in Malacca in 1511. In fact, an expeditionary party first landed in 1507. It is recorded in the "Sejarah Melayu" that they were mistaken to be "Bengali Puteh" (White Bengalis). The story goes the landing party insulted the Malaccan sultan by placing a garland of flowers over his head, and had them detained. The second wave came in 1511 in an armada of ships from India to free the landing party. Currently, the Malaccan Portuguese enjoy the status of being "semi-bumiputra" - which means they are half-natives, one step lower than the indgenous Malays.

Another misconception is that the all Portuguese in Singapore came from Malacca. Not quite, as some came from the former Portugues Goa.

Papia Kristang is a Portuguese creole among many Portuguese creole that exist in Portuguese satellite communities worldwide (including Timor Leste, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Daman, Sri Lanka, Macau, and Angola).

Following the take-over of Malacca (Malaysia) in 1511, the Portuguese were encouraged to marry local women. A Portuguese-based Creole was shaped and is still spoken today by more than 5,000 Christians.

Even though Portugal lost Malacca and almost all contact in 1641, the Gente Kristang maintained its traditions, religion and language almost unharmed, which is a curiosity and unique in the world; the cultural and linguistic link with today's Portugal (especially, Minho region), is astonishing. Because of some aspects of their language and culture, some Malaysians still refer to the Portuguese-Malay Eurasian community as 'Portuguese'.

Classification and related languages

Creole - Portuguese-based

Kristang is very close to Malay in its grammatical construction, but its vocabulary is 95% derived from Portuguese.

Although vernacular Kristang is based on Malay grammar and has many Malay words in it, it could be understood by speakers of Portuguese, and Cape Verdean Kriolu. Due to this, some people do not consider it a creole, but rather a Portuguese dialect.

The most related creoles are Patuá, and the Indo-Portuguese Creoles of India and Sri Lanka. The extinct creoles of Indonesia and the pidgin of East Timor were also directly related.

However, their language is not taught in schools, although in there are still some church services in Portuguese.

Geographic distribution

About 80% of the older residents of the Portuguese settlement in Malacca regularly speak Kristang. There are also some speakers in today's Singapore and Kuala Lumpur due to emigration.

It is also spoken by some immigrants and their descendants in Malaysia's and Singapore's former metropoli, United Kingdom, where some settled after independence. Also Australia, in particular the city of Perth, is a popular destination for retirees in the community.

In Pulau Tikus there were more speakers in 1997 than in 1987.

Dialects

Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Pulau Tikus and Singapore.

Sounds

Grammar

Another feature is the word "ja" (i.e. already) to indicate all past tenses, and "ta"(from 'esta', which means "is") to indicate all present continuous tenses and "logu" to indicate future tense.

A peculiarity of the language is the pronoun "Yo" (meaning "I") which is used in Spanish and Sicilian.

The leading expert in this field is Monsignior Manuel Texeira (also known respectfully as the "Old Man of Macau"), who has written some volumes on the subject.

Vocabulary

One feature of the kristang language is the inverted "r". For example, the Portuguese word "Gordo" (meaning "fat") is pronounced "Godro" in kristang.

The digraph "ch" is pronounced as in "cheese" to accommodate and be inline with a host of malay words that begin with "ch". Thus the soft "ch" in "chegar" and "chuva" is prounounced "chegak" and "chu" in a malay way. This way of pronunciation occurs in Northern Portugal dialects and related Portuguese Creoles, and it could be the real origin. Many Portuguese words have been simplified in kristang to avoid confusion and to accommodate a peranakan/malay speaking environment in old Melaka. Thus "Padrinho" and "Madrinha" (Godfather and Godmother) in Portuguese is simplified to "inyu" and "inya" in kristang.

Writing system

As there were no proper schools, kristang was passed down orally and attempts at a kristang orthography began only in the 1990's with Joan Marbeck's book "Ungua Andanza" (available in Malacca).

Examples

Thank You: Mutu Merseh (Port. Muito Obrigado)

How Are You?, Teng Bong? (From Port. Estás bom?)

Good Morning, Bong Pamiang (From Port. Boa Manhã)

Good Afternoon: Bong Midia (From Port. Bom Meio-dia)

Good Evening: Bong Atadi (From Port. Boa Tarde)

Good Night: Bong Anuti (From Port. Boa Noite)

Me: yo (From Port. eu)

You (singular): bos (From Port. vós)

You (plural): bolotudu (From Port. vós todos, vocês todos)

Mother: mai (From Port. mãe)

Father: pai (From Port. pai)

Wife: muleh (From Port. mulher)

Husband: maridu (From Port. marido)

Old Women: bela (From Port. velha)

Old Man: belu (From Port. velho)

Little one: Quenino or Kenino (From Port. Pequenino)

Fat: godru (From Port. gordo)

Beautiful: Bonitu (From Port. bonito)

Party: festa (From Port. festa)

one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, teen: ungua, dos, tres, kuatu, singku, sez, seti, oitu, novi, des (From Port. um, dois, três, quatro, cinco, seis, sete, oito, nove, dez)

Poem of Malacca:

Keng teng fortuna ficah na Malaka,

Nang kereh partih bai otru tera.

Pra ki tudu jenti teng amizadi,

Kontu partih logo ficah saudadi.

Ó Malaka, tera di San Francisku,

Nten otru tera ki yo kereh.

Ó Malaka undi teng sempri fresku,

Yo kereh ficah atih moreh.

Portuguese translation:

Quem tem fortuna fica em Malaca,

Não quer partir para outra terra.

Por aqui toda a gente tem amizade,

Quando partir logo fica a saudade.

Ó Malaca, terra de São Francisco,

Não há outra terra que eu quero.

Ó Malaca, onde tem sempre ar fresco,

Eu quero ficar até morrer.

English translation:

Who has wealth stays in Malacca,

Doesn't want to go to another land.

In here everyone has friendship,

When one leaves, stays saudade.

Oh Malacca, land of Saint Francis,

There is no other land that I want.

Oh Malacca, where there's always fresh air,

I want to stay here until I die.

External links

• Cristão: Ethnologue report on Kristang.
• Papia, Relijang e Tradisang, The Portuguese Eurasians in Malaysia
• Malacca Portuguese Eurasian Association
• Malacca Portuguese Settlement