Kiko bo ta papia? Wat kals dich? Language prestige in the Caribbean and Limburg

What does it mean to feel at home in a language that isn’t the dominant ‘standard language’? One that is sometimes looked down upon? And what does an identity shaped by multilingualism look like?

This evening, a collaboration between SCHUNCK Museum, Wintertuin, and PANDA Collectief, linguist and historical language researcher Alexia Kerkhof explores the similarities and differences between Limburg and Curaçao within the complex dynamics of multilingualism, language prestige, and cultural identity.

The gathering takes place in the museum gallery, right in the heart of the exhibition On the other side of the ocean, and is framed by poetic performances from Mikayla Vieira Ribeiro and Jonathan Tjien Fooh. Both artists are involved in the Future Language Innovation programme.

Future Language Innovation (FLI) is a creative European initiative in which Wintertuin and partners promote Creole languages and multilingual practices through international collaboration, education, and cultural heritage. FLI is carried out by Wintertuin (Netherlands and Curaçao), Escuela de Escritores (Spain), and Escrever Escrever (Portugal), with support from the European Union’s Creative Europe programme.

Kiko bo ta papia? Wat kals dich? is an activity linked to the exhibition On the other side of the ocean.

What to expect

In her talk, Alexia explores the triangle of superstrate language – substrate language – identity. She highlights how languages such as Limburgish and Papiamentu relate to a dominant standard language (Dutch), and the social consequences this has for speakers of these so-called 'substrate languages'.

Using examples from both the Limburg and Curaçao contexts, she addresses themes such as:

• language prestige and power structures;
• the concept of the 'regiolect' as both a compromise and a bearer of identity;
• and the visibility of minority languages in everyday life.

Future Language Innovation

Future Language Innovation (FLI) is an international project carried out by Wintertuin (Netherlands and Curaçao), Escuela de Escritores (Spain), and Escrever Escrever (Portugal), with support from the European Union’s Creative Europe programme. The initiative was launched with goals such as:

• Protecting, developing, and institutionalising Creole languages (such as Papiamentu, Sranantongo, Kriolu, Spanglish, Portuñol, and Lingala) as valuable European heritage;
• Creating a transnational network of literary makers from Curaçao, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal to foster multilingual exchange;
• Offering workshops, masterclasses and mentorships on multilingualism, cultural hybridity and linguistic innovation.

The name expresses versatility: 'creole' is derived from the Latin creare (to create, to bring forth), and 'FLI' – which means 'kite' in Papiamentu – symbolises resilience, connection, ambition and playfulness. The project focuses on how multilingual realities – such as spoken street language and oral traditions – shape identity, culture, and creative processes.

FLI also encourages multilingual artistic communication by pairing creators across borders to collaborate on experimental projects, and it organises open calls and presentations at events such as the Wintertuin Curaçao Festival.

About Alexia Kerkhof

Alexia Kerkhof was born in Colombia, grew up in West Brabant, and has worked for over ten years as a historian and historical linguist. She was trained in comparative Indo-European linguistics and medieval studies, specialising in the Early Middle Ages. Her current research focuses on the geographical distribution of personal and place names in Friesland, Holland, and the former Duchy of Brabant (both Dutch and Belgian Brabant), with the aim of gaining insight into the medieval settlement history of these regions. A common thread throughout her work is the use of historical linguistics to better understand the lives of ordinary people in the Middle Ages.

Over the past year, she has expanded her skills to include archival research in late medieval sources such as income records, rent rolls, property registers, tax books, and notarial protocols. In the future, she hopes to make greater use of QGIS to deepen her expertise in digitally mapping historical data.

From 2021 to 2024, Kerkhof was affiliated with the Fryske Akademy, a research institute dedicated to Frisian language, history, and culture. In 2023, she was awarded the Friesland Science Prize for her interdisciplinary research on the decline of Frisian language use in Zeeland, Holland, and Groningen.

She is also actively involved in making scholarly knowledge about Old Dutch more accessible. Her expertise includes the influence of Old Dutch on the linguistic history of French. She shares this knowledge through accessible articles, media appearances, and podcast collaborations. In addition, she contributes to various heritage projects that aim to make historical Dutch audible again. Her knowledge of historical pronunciation adds an extra dimension to initiatives focused on unlocking cultural heritage.

Mikayla Vieira Ribeiro

Mikayla Vieira Ribeiro (she/her) was born and raised in Curaçao. She holds a bachelor's degree in Black Studies and English, and a research master's in Literature with a focus on ecological healing in Papiamentu fiction. In addition to practicing capoeira, Mikayla enjoys writing, reading, and translating poetry and short stories in her five languages, connecting with the territories that have shaped her, and building community with her queer and trans, Caribbean and Latinx (chosen) family.

Mikayla is a member of Simia Literario, a (Dutch-)Caribbean writers’ collective, and the organiser of AWA ARCHIVES, a digital archive of ABCSSS oral literature about water. She currently lives in Amsterdam and works as a librarian-teacher.

Jonathan Tjien Fooh

Jonathan Tjien Fooh (he/him) is a writer, poet and cultural anthropologist born in Suriname and currently based in Amsterdam. He shares his poetry and spoken word on stage, in recordings, and in written form, and has contributed to audio tours and exhibitions. His work explores themes such as queer intimacy, ancestral memory, ecological imagination, migration, colonial history, and its ongoing impact in the present. A recurring thread in his work is the questioning of dominant systems, fostering connection, and inviting an embrace of the vulnerability of being human.

By remixing Dutch, Sranan Tongo, English, and Ngoko Jawa (informal Javanese), he creates layered, multilingual stories that revive forgotten and erased histories.

In 2015, he also wrote and published the children’s book De Magische Tuin van Mbah Semie (Grandma Semie's Magical Garden).