This article looks at the language(s) spoken in the homes of the Sephardic Jews of Curacao in the period between ca. 1650 and 1750, i.e., the period preceding the diffusion of Papiamentu as the native language of the Curacaoan society at large, including the Sephardim. While the linguistic profile of the Curacaoan Sephardim in that period is an important issue in itself, it gains further relevance in the context of the disputed origins of Papiamentu, a creole language with a mixed Spanish-Portuguese lexicon. The Portuguese elements in Papiamentu are often assumed to be a linguistic contribution of the Curacaoan Sephardim. That assumption, in turn, is based on the widespread consensus that the first generations of Curacaoan Sephardim spoke mainly Portuguese. This article takes issue with that consensus and argues that their vernacular was in fact chiefly Spanish. This implies that the Portuguese elements in Papiamentu must have a non-Sephardic origin.

中文翻译：

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对库拉索安·塞巴第姆（CuraçaoanSephardim）的语言分布的新认识，1650-1750年

本文着眼于大约在公元前至公元前这段时间在库拉索岛的塞巴第犹太人家中所使用的语言。1650年和1750年，即Papiamentu作为库拉索岛整个社会（包括Sephardim）的母语传播之前的时期。虽然那个时期的库拉索岛塞帕尔丁语的语言特征本身就是一个重要问题，但在帕皮阿门图语（这是一种克里奥尔语，西班牙语和葡萄牙语词典混合在一起）的起源中，它的意义进一步增强。Papiamentu中的葡萄牙语元素通常被认为是库拉索人Sephardim的语言贡献。反过来，这种假设是基于广泛的共识，即库拉索岛的第一代Sephardim主要讲葡萄牙语。本文对此共识表示质疑，并认为他们的母语实际上主要是西班牙语。这意味着，Papiamentu中的葡萄牙元素必须具有非塞法尔德起源。