Page 9 - AHATA

a4 local
Saturday 4 January 2025

Papiamento words and phrases you may want to know!

(Oranjestad)—Aruba is a melting 3. Bon nochi. You guessed it, “bon
pot of different nationalities, cul- nochi” means “good night”.
tures and languages. Primarily for Just like “tardi”, “nochi” is ac-
this reason, the average Aruban tually the shortened version of
can understand and speak Dutch, the word “anochi”.
English and Spanish relatively well.
However, as much as we pride Yes…no…maybe?
ourselves in being able to com- The affirmative and negative ex-
municate with almost everyone, pression is very simple in Papia-
we cherish our native tongue Pa- mento. Just like Spanish, our yeses
piamento above all else. Want to are “si” and our no’s are “no”. Pret-
learn some common words in our bay?”, which essentially means es may look very familiar. ty easy right? If you want to gain
language? Here are a few basic “how are you?” some extra points from younger lo-
words and phrases that can get 1. Bon dia is used in the morning, cals, you can also say “se”, which
you a hat tip from an Aruban. The word “con” in Papiamento up to about noon. Bon dia es- is a more casual affirmative used
means “how?” and is pronounced sentially means good morn- mostly by the younger generation.
When you arrive at the airport in with a rounder “o” sounds, like in ing. The word “bon” means However, do note: some older
Aruba, one of the first words in Pa- the English word “cone”. “Ta bay” “good”, and while “dia” does generations may find this improper
piamento you may encounter is refers to how you are doing. not directly mean “morning” in and not respectful, so keep that in
“Bon bini.” Bon bini in Papiamento English, it is used often to refer mind.
means welcome, and is probably When we say goodbye, we use to the morning time.
the most famous Papiamento the word “ayo” (not like the Ayo 2. Bon tardi. In the afternoon to Thanks man…
word for tourists. Rock Formation, but also…kinda?). early evening hours, we use Lastly, a word that we can also
We may also use “te oro”, which “bon tardi” to greet people, say more often is “danki”, which
Hi! Bye! means “see you later”. which means “good after- means literally “thank you”. “Dan-
To be fair, there is no unique way to noon”. “Tardi” actually comes ki” is derived from the Dutch word
say “hello” in Papiamento. At least, Greetings during the day from the word “atardi”, which “bedankt”. Though we don’t really
not officially. We often just use the Most, if not all, languages have dif- directly translates to “after- have a translation for “I appreci-
English “hello” or “hey”, or Dutch ferent ways to greet according to noon”. However, the short- ate it” in English, we do use “ma-
“hallo” to greet someone. We do the time of day, and Papiamento ened “tardi” is used to keep sha danki” to convey the message.
however, always follow it up with is no different. Since Papiamento is the rhythm on the phrase. And “Masha” means “a lot” or “very”,
“con bay?” or “con ta?” Con bay heavily influences from Portuguese the same could be said for our so “masha danki” means “thank
is a shortened version of “con ta and Spanish, some of these phras- last greeting of the day. you very much”. q

Aruba to me

ORANJESTAD — You are back and Caribbean Speed Printers and any Third time back to your wonderful
we would like to portrait you! By of its affiliated companies to use and happy island.
inviting you to send us your favorite said materials, as well as names, We arrived on December 19, 2024
vacation picture while enjoying our likeness, etc. for promotional pur- at the Marriott Courtyard and soon
Happy Island. poses without compensation. after met Bill from Ohio and Mark
Last but not least: check out our and Margie from Albany, NY. We
Complete the sentence: Aruba to website, Instagram and Facebook spent days seeing the sites enjoying
me is ……. Send your picture with page! Thank you for supporting each others company and laughs.
that text (including your name and our free newspaper, we strive to Here we all are at the pool side at
where you are from) to: news@aru- make you a happy reader every the Courtyard; Pictured right to left,
batoday.com and we will publish day again. Elma Erazo, Luis Erazo, Bill Jordan,
your vacation memory. Isn’t that For today we received a lovely Margie and Mark.”
a special way to keep your best message from Luis & Elma Erazo.
moments alive? Please do note: Thank you for sending us this won-
By submitting photos, text or any They wrote to us saying: “Aruba to derful message sharing what Aru-
other materials, you give permission me is enjoying the amazing people ba means to you with us and our
to The Aruba Today Newspaper, and island and making new friends. readers!q