The African vocabulary of Palenque (Columbia), part 1, Introduction and corpus of previously undocumented Afro-Palenquerisms

Investigations into African linguistic and cultural remnants in Palenque ha ve been anything but programmatic, and to this date there is no agreement a s to just how profoundly African languages contributed to the formation of Palenquero speech. This three-part study is a first step toward remedying t his situation by offering a systematic investigation of Palenque's African lexicon. Part 1 offers a theoretical introduction, plus a collection of approximatel y 100 hitherto undocumented Afro-Palenquerisms. Usage of these words is oft en illustrated with accompanying examples. Part 2 (Schwegler, 1999a [in Spa nish]) incorporates these new Afro-Palenquerisms into the previously publis hed Afro-Palenquero lexicon (over 350 entries are given, many with a brief etymological discussion). Part 3 (1999b [in Spanish]) will examine in great er detail Palenquero Africanisms whose origins are either in doubt or have been given only summarily in Parts 1-2 of the investigation. Together, these three studies focus on Bantu lexical survivals in the New W orld (especially Colombia) to strengthen the historical evidence supporting the linguistic connection between Bantu territories(particularly Kikongo-s peaking regions) and the Spanish Caribbean(the Cartagena area in particular ).