page_title: San Basilio de Palenque
section_title: Palenquero language
hierarchical_section_title: San Basilio de Palenque / Palenquero language
caption_attribution_description: English: Statue of Benkos Bioho in the main square of Palenque, ColombiaDeutsch: Statue des Benkos Bioho auf dem Hauptplatz von Palenque, Kolumbien
context_page_description: San Basilio de Palenque or Palenque de San Basilio, often referred to by the locals simply as Palenke, is a Palenque village and corregimiento in the Municipality of Mahates, Bolivar in northern Colombia. Palenque was the first free African town in the Americas, and in 2005 was declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
context_section_description: A Spanish-based creole language known as Palenquero originates in this community. The New York Times reported on October 18, 2007 that the language spoken in Palenquero is thought to be the only Spanish-based creole language spoken in Latin America. Being a creole language, its grammar differs substantially from Spanish making the language unintelligible to Spanish speakers. Palenquero was influenced by the Kikongo language of Congo and Angola, and also by Portuguese, the language of the slave traders who brought African slaves to South America in the 17th century. Exact information on the different roots of Palenquero is still lacking, and there are different theories of its origin. Today fewer than half of the community's 3,000 residents still speak Palenquero.
  A linguist born in Palenquero is compiling a lexicon for the language and others are assembling a dictionary of Palenquero. The defenders of Palenquero continue working to keep the language alive.
caption: Statue of Benkos Biohó in the main square of Palenque
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