Bon Bini
This small bit of colonial Dunglish comes from the sunny island of Curaçao, part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, although there is speculation about it becoming its own country. They officially use Dutch and speak Papiamento, Spanish and English. It makes sense to get words mixed up with so many languages, but in any country, it is surprising to see mistakes on ‘official’ signs. That said, I still have to look at a Dutch sign near my place in Amsterdam that says “moter af” instead of “motor af” (turn off your motor) near a canal bridge.
(Photo: Remco’s mom)
February 15th, 2006 at 6:17 pm
Curaçao is rife with unofficial signs! About the only official ones are street names and road signs (a curious mix of US-style green ones over the road and old-school ANWB signposts at intersections).
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=intervieuw+site%3Anl
December 6th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
Contrary to popular belief, moter is not a Dutch word. It’s motor for both the engine and the ‘bike’
Btw, funny to see a typical dutch ‘paaltje’ (the one with the red band) on Curaçao.